Ex-Suffolk police chief's arrest, Hollywood elite politicians, and sentence in Barbara Gustern's death

Burke was a bad influence on cops

It is amazing to read how the mighty have fallen [“A small reminder of big public fall,” Opinion, Aug. 24]. But what scares me even more is that former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke led a police force. What does that say about everyone below him?

How many people were convicted because of bad policing? How many bad cops are working for Suffolk County based upon what they were taught? Why isn’t the federal government looking into the entire force? The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.

How many more are there like him? This could be why some people don’t trust the police. For the police to regain that trust, they must stop covering up for bad police officers. Just think of how many innocent people Burke may have sent to jail so he could move up the ranks. He used his power to hurt people.

I just hope that any police officers who worked for him take a step back and rethink the way they treat the public. They need to remember they work for the public, not for someone like Burke.

— Gerard Boettcher, West Hempstead

Former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke disgraced the police department and district attorney’s office. His criminal conduct tarnishes the reputation and credibility of all who have served in either place. Now, he decides to degrade all veterans by his vulgar conduct at a memorial dedicated to those who served in Vietnam. Burke once took an oath to protect and serve. He apparently has never respected that oath.

— Gerard V. Pelkofsky, Kings Park

The writer retired after more than 40 years in the Suffolk County Police Department.

The park ranger who arrested former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke should get an award for not letting Burke intimidate him when he said, “Do you know who I am?” Public humiliation is on Burke. If he wasn’t soliciting for sex, he wouldn’t have been arrested. What a disgrace to be soliciting at the county’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park. He showed no respect and apparently has not learned a thing about redeeming himself.

— Kathleen Teleglow, Holbrook

Former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke abused his privilege to be a police officer with his prior convictions at the expense of the very police officers who proudly serve and protect our community. I was glad to see that no special privilege was given to Burke since he first crossed the line by disgracing the Suffolk County Police Department.

Apparently, any prison reform didn’t hold since he still thinks he’s above the law, as displayed by his recent alleged actions.

— Frank Knight, Mastic

How does this man still receive an annual pension of $145,000 after already having been convicted of serious crimes? What type of leadership allows this to happen? It’s no wonder that some people have no confidence in our counties’ leaders.

— Bob Wolf, Rockville Centre

Don’t spout your view unless I agree with it

We often hear politicians and their supporters complain when actors and athletes speak out on social issues, saying they should stick to their area of talent and not engage in political activism.

A reader decried the “Hollywood elite” and athletes in that “they need to understand that just because they are coordinated enough to play a game or can sing or memorize script lines, many of us don’t care what their views are, and it doesn’t make you an expert smarter than the rest of us” [“U.S. women’s team shows no patriotism,” Letters, Aug. 15].

President Ronald Reagan initially achieved his fame by appearing in over 50 movies. Former President Donald Trump was the host of “The Apprentice” for 14 years. Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville was elected primarily because of his name recognition as a well-known college football coach. If Arnold Schwarzenegger, the two-term Republican governor of California, was not a famous bodybuilder and actor, he probably would have never been elected. Would Herschel Walker have been a viable Senate candidate in 2022 if he was not a famous football star?

So I guess it’s OK for Hollywood elites and athletes to enter the political arena but only if they share your political views.

— Mark Nocero, Smithtown

Reduced sentence doesn’t make sense

A woman, 28, is sentenced in the death of famed voice coach Barbara Gustern, 87 [“Ex-LIer pleads guilty in shove,” News, Aug. 24]. Wait a minute, only eight years in prison? She faced as much as 25 years. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office offers a plea of 17 years for the top manslaughter charge, but because of the defendant’s heavy drinking and impaired mental state just before the incident, the plea gets reduced. Isn’t that like saying that the defendant, by her own actions, heavily drinking, warrants a reduction in the sentencing? What sense does that make?

— Tom Carey, Massapequa