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Thomas Spota, Ex-Suffolk DA, Convicted In Corruption Scandal

Thomas Spota
Seth Wenig
/
AP
Then-Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota leaves the courthouse in Central Islip, N.Y., in 2017.

A federal jury has found former Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota guilty on all charges in the latest corruption trial that has brought down some of Long Island’s most powerful public officials. Spota’s ex-aide, Christopher McPartland, was also found guilty.   

The guilty charges include witness tampering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and acting as accessories to a civil rights violation. 

U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said at a news conference that Spota and McPartland now join an “infamous” group of convicted Long Island officials.

“The days of Long Island’s good old boy networks – combining politics, power and policing to benefit a select few at the expense of the tax-paying public – are dead and gone.” 

After fewer than 24 hours, the jury found that Spota and McPartland tried to cover up the 2012 beating of a handcuffed prisoner by former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke.

Spota and McPartland face up to 20 years in prison. 

Spota’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment. An attorney for McPartland said the verdict was “not supported by credible evidence” and that he will continue the “legal fight.” 

Desiree reports on the lives of military service members, veterans, and their families for WSHU as part of the American Homefront project. Born and raised in Connecticut, she now calls Long Island home.
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