Mr. Hickey said that he stayed awake at night, feeling paranoid. McPartland, who also is serving a five-year sentence, is incarcerated at Beaumont Federal Correctional Complex in Texas, according to the newspaper. Mr. Leto told jurors that he feared if he were truthful, the police chief would falsely accuse his sons of a crime or plant drugs on them. Thomas Spota, 79, and his top aide, 55-year-old Christopher McPartland, were handed their sentences on Tuesday by a federal judge following their December 2019 convictions on conspiracy, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and civil rights violation charges related to a vast cover-up of the beating of a suspected thief by Suffolk County . Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Jacqueline Maguire, acting assistant director-in-charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced the sentences. The chief barged into the police interrogation room where the man, handcuffed to the floor, called him a pervert. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/ad2/Handdowns/2020/Decisions/D62922.pdf, "Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota resigning Friday after allegedly covering up police chief beating", "Spota, under indictment, finishes DA career under cloud of cover-up charges", "A scandal sent a Long Island police chief to prison. [5], Spota was born in 1941 and grew up in New Hyde Park, New York, on Long Island. August 10, 2021 / 7:09 PM / CBS New York CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota was sentenced Tuesday for a cover-up involving the county's. Rather, he engaged in a years-long cover-up.. [14] In October 2017, Spota and an aide were indicted on charges of obstructing the investigation of James Burke for police brutality. All rights reserved, Met Gala 2023: Start Time, Theme, Guests & Everything Else to Know, Construction May Make Getting to JFK Airport a Nightmare for 3 Years: What to Know, 20 Students Injured in Long Island School Bus Crash With Pickup Truck, 25-Year-Old Makes $200/Hour Without a Bachelor's Degree: I Work Less Than 6 Hours a Day'. A scandal sent a Long Island police chief to prison. Now it's brought One of the detectives present for the interrogation had to jump in to stop Burke from beating on Loeb, who was shackled at the time. Spota, who spent 15 years at the top of Suffolk's law and order structure before his 2017 federal indictment, said in the Central Islip courtroom that his conviction marked "the lowest point" in his life one he fears will become his legacy. McPartland, 55, will begin his sentence Nov. 10. Already a lame duck for foregoing a re-election bid, Spota announced his retirement just days after he was charged amid growing pressure from politicians and the public. As certain key witnesses were then compelled to testify before the grand jury under a grant of immunity, the truth about Burke assaulting Loeb finally emerged. With many big projects about to seek agency benefits, the answer is critical. Krantz cited what he said was McPartlands history of public service and good deeds, calling him a loving husband and father and someone who worked his way through college and law school before earning accolades throughout his career. Eyewitness News has learned it appears Spota and McPartland will appeal their sentences. Thomas J. Spota, the former district attorney in Suffolk County, N.Y., was found guilty on Tuesday of four counts, including obstruction of justice and witness tampering.