December 2012

• Christopher Loeb, a heroin addict, breaks into James Burke’s parked police vehicle
• Loeb steals a duffel bag containing pornography, sex toys, police gear, and Burke’s personal items
• Loeb is arrested by Suffolk County Police
• He is brought to the Fourth Precinct
• Three detectives are present during initial interrogation
• Detective Kenneth Bombace
• Detective Anthony Leto
• Detective Michael Malone
• The detectives question Loeb
• Loeb insults Burke, calling him a “pervert”
• Burke enters the interrogation room furious
• Burke violently punches, kicks, knees, and beats Loeb
• Detectives attempt to stop Burke
• Burke screams at Loeb during the beating
• Loeb later files a federal civil rights complaint

2013 FBI Special Agents served members of the SCPD with federal grand jury subpoenas. 

Burke,  Spota and McPartland learned of the existence of the federal investigation. they instructed Hickey to debrief his Intel detectives and learn what was said by the FBI agents serving the subpoenas, and find out who might be cooperating with them. However, because of the threats and intimidation, none of the Intel detectives cooperated with the investigation, and it was closed eight months later, in December 2013. Through the efforts of the defendants and Burke, the initial grand jury investigation of Burke’s civil rights violation was successfully derailed. 

• FBI opens a federal grand jury investigation into the assault
• Federal agents serve SCPD personnel with subpoenas
• James Burke learns of the probe
• Suffolk DA Thomas Spota learns of the probe
• Chief of Investigations Christopher McPartland learns of the probe
• They immediately move to obstruct the investigation
• They instruct Deputy Chief William “Bill” Hickey to
• Identify who is cooperating
• Interview Intelligence detectives
• Learn exactly what FBI agents asked
• Maintain control of narrative
• Detectives are threatened and intimidated
• SCPD culture of fear prevents cooperation
• Officers are warned not to talk
• Defendants ensure silence
• FBI investigation collapses

February to March 2013

• Burke and McPartland conduct coaching sessions
• They work to build a unified false narrative
• They test stories to see what will “hold up”
• They decide Burke will claim
• He only briefly “popped his head in”
• He never beat Loeb
• He barely entered the room
• Detectives Bombace, Leto, and Malone are instructed to lie
• They are warned to deny witnessing any assault

September 2013

• Suppression hearings are scheduled in Loeb’s criminal case
• Burke, Hickey, and McPartland meet to prepare lies
• They rehearse Burke’s testimony
• They stage mock testimony scenarios
• They choose which detectives will testify
• Tactical choices
• Malone considered “too shaky”
• Bombace considered too inexperienced
• Leto selected to testify falsely

October to November 2013

• Detective Anthony Leto testifies falsely
• Leto presents fabricated account in suppression hearings
• Purpose of lies
• Protect Burke
• Prevent truth entering court record
• Prevent lawsuit exposure
• Protect SCPD image

December 2013

• First federal grand jury investigation is officially shut down
• Effort to expose Burke’s assault is successfully buried

2014

• Suspicious behavior at Federal Courthouse raises alarms
• Burke becomes paranoid
• Spota and McPartland grow increasingly nervous
• They begin to fear cooperation inside SCPD

2015, Burke, Spota and McPartland learned that the federal investigation had been reopened.

June 2015

• Detective Bombace learns federal investigation has reopened
• Fear spreads through police ranks
• Federal pressure escalates

Summer 2015

• Burke repeatedly refers to cooperating detectives as “rats”
• Internal meetings intensify
• Burke insists detectives answer two things only
• Did you hit anyone? “No”
• Did you see anyone hit anyone? “No”

August 17, 2015

• Meeting between
• Burke
• Hickey
• McPartland
• McPartland says he “lost control of Bombace”
• Calls Bombace a “rat”
• Pressure campaign escalates

September to October 2015

• Bombace decides to cooperate
• Leto decides to cooperate
• They testify before grand jury
• Burke’s girlfriend testified that Burke often spoke to McPartland during the summer of 2015 and that she overheard Burke tell McPartland that “if everyone would just be quiet, that this would all go away.”

October 25, 2015

• Hickey was served with a grand jury subpoena. That same day, Hickey met with Burke and learned that “Leto had collapsed in the grand jury.”
• Burke resigns as Chief

December 2015

• Hickey begins cooperating with federal government
• Burke is arrested

Burke pleaded guilty approximately two months later, admitting to his involvement in both the deprivation of Loeb’s civil rights and the conspiracy to obstruct justice. In November 2016, he was sentenced to 46 months’ in prison.   Case Recap

2016 Arrest and resignations

February 2016 

• Spota and McPartland both resigned from the District Attorney’s Office in light of the charges against them and have since been disbarred and Burke was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment.
  

2016 McPartland took ex-police chief’s cash for legal defense

February 18, 2016,

• D’Orazio received what he has described, in substance, as an out-of-the-blue phone call from defendant McPartland, who was seeking to meet with him. Per D’Orazio, and as supported by his phone records, this was the first time D’Orazio ever recalled McPartland calling him on the phone. In fact, McPartland did not even have D’Orazio’s phone number – in order to obtain it, McPartland had to contact another friend of Burke’s, who McPartland knew from the Suffolk County Police Department.
• During this phone call, D’Orazio agreed to meet with McPartland. The two met at the Golden Dynasty (“Golden Dynasty”) restaurant in St. James. During the meeting, defendant McPartland asked D’Orazio if he would loan him $25,000 to aid defendant McPartland in paying his legal defense fees. Defendant McPartland promised that if D’Orazio made the Loan, McPartland would provide a promissory note and pay him back.
• According to D’Orazio, he was stunned by this request, as the two were only acquaintances. D’Orazio was uncertain how to handle this, so he discussed the matter with Burke’s half-brother, John Toal (“Toal”), who had been placed in charge of handling Burke’s finances while he was incarcerated. The two men decided this should be brought to Burke’s attention.
• Following the request, and just one day prior to visiting Burke in jail, on February 24, 2016, Toal removed cash and jewelry from a safe deposit box he held jointly with Burke at a TD Bank in St. James (“Safe Deposit Box 1”). He then met D’Orazio at a different TD Bank located in Centereach, and they opened a new safe deposit box in both Toal’s and D’Orazio’s names, but not in Burke’s name (“Safe Deposit Box 2”).1 Toal placed most of the contents of Safe Deposit Box 1 into Safe Deposit Box 2.
• The following day (February 25, 2016), D’Orazio, Toal and Burke’s two other brothers visited Burke at the MDC. During the visit, D’Orazio advised Burke of McPartland’s request for the Loan. D’Orazio told Burke that, although he had the money himself, he did not want to provide the Loan to defendant McPartland, as McPartland was Burke’s friend, not his. Burke told D’Orazio to inform defendant McPartland, in substance, not to worry; and further instructed D’Orazio to tell McPartland that D’Orazio would get him the money. Burke then directed D’Orazio and Toal to remove the $25,000 that had previously been in his safe deposit box (i.e., Safe Deposit Box 1), and provide McPartland the funds.

February 29, 2016

• D’Orazio and Toal went to the TD Bank in Centereach and removed $25,000 in cash from Safe Deposit Box 2 – i.e., the box held jointly in Toal and D’Orazio’s names, but which contained Burke’s cash. D’Orazio then contacted McPartland and arranged, once again, to meet at Golden Dynasty.

October 25, 2017 FBI agents arrested Spota and McPartland 

October 25, 2017

• FBI agents arrested Spota and McPartland on charges including witness tampering and deprivation of civil rights.  Spota resigned his office in November.

Detectives:

Suffolk police arrested Loeb, then a heroin addict, in December 2012, after he allegedly stole a duffel bag containing a gun belt, ammunition, sex toys and pornography from Burke’s unmarked police car, which had been parked in front of Burke’s St. James home.

Three Suffolk detectives – Kenneth Bombace, Anthony Leto and Michael Malone – cursed and slapped Loeb at the Fourth Precinct to get Loeb to confess. Burke then “fiercely punched, kicked, kneed and screamed at Loeb, stopping only when the other officers intervened,” Livingston wrote.

Burke, Chris and Hickey ensured that the detectives stayed quiet in response to the federal investigation. However, in Loeb’s criminal matter, the state court scheduled suppression hearings to determine whether Loeb’s statements to the officers at the precinct should be suppressed.

Hickey, Burke and McPartland all met together in Burke’s office in September 2013 to prepare Burke in case he had to testify at the suppression hearing. During this meeting, McPartland and Burke engaged in a brief mock examination during which they settled on a story that Burke stuck his head into the interrogation room to see “if he recognized Loeb from his neighborhood because . . . Burke, had an elderly mother who lived next door to him and the park across the street from his house was known for drug problems.”

At this meeting, they also discussed which of the detectives should testify at the suppression hearing. They agreed that Leto should testify because Malone was “too shaky” and Bombace was too inexperienced.

Leto ended up testifying falsely at the suppression hearing in Loeb’s criminal case, which was held over seven days in October and November 2013.

Bombace, Leto, and Hickey were granted either immunity or cooperation deals, they admitted their role in the conspiracy to cover up the beating, and Burke was eventually charged in 2016 after resigning in late 2015. Det. Thomas Cottingham, the lead detective handling the Loeb case, left the force in July 2013.

Burke served 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his charges.

Detective Kenneth Bombace

Bombace, who received immunity, testified that in March 2013, 

• Burke and Hickey told Bombase, Leto and Malone that they “were going to have to go iin to meet with and talk with the special prosecutor. . that we needed to go and meet with the chief in his office to discuss this.”
• Later that day, Bombace, Leto and Malone met with Burke, who told them to say,
  

“look, nothing happened here. . . . 

I might have poked my head in, the door might have been opened or it might have been closed. It’s not a big deal.”

• According to Bombace, Burke told them that he popped his head in to see the suspect and did not provide any further explanation why it was necessary for Burke to see the suspect. (Bombace understood that he was to tell the special prosecutor this false story, which he did.

Detective Anthony Leto

Leto, who plead guilty and cooperated with the government, also testified about these meetings with Hickey and Burke in March 2013.

• Anthony Leto, described Loeb’s beating by Burke was more brutal than then the earlier testimony by Det. Kenneth Bombace.
• Leto testified: Loeb calls Burke a “pervert.”and “He starts striking, kicking, punching him, grabbing his ears, shaking him.”
• Leto testified that when the detectives met with Hickey, they discussed whether they “should say the chief came in the room, just popped his head in the room, was even in the building? And we all agreed that was not a good idea.”
• According to Leto, at the subsequent meeting with Burke later that day, “t was finally decided that what we would say the door was open and Chief Burke popped his head in and then left, just asked how everything was going and left.”
• Leto testified that, in the meeting with Burke, different scenarios were discussed, including the possibility that Burke was not even at the precinct. Burke told the detectives he just “popped his head into where Loeb was and that was it.”

Detective Michael Malone

Malone was involved in the arrest of Christopher Loeb.

• October 2013 Malone was inside an interrogation room with Leto and Detective Kenneth Bombace while they interviewed Loeb, at the Fourth Precinct.
• Later on Leto and Malone were told that they “were going to have to go in to meet with and talk with the special prosecutor. . that we needed to go and meet with the chief in his office to discuss this.”
• Later, Bombace, Leto and Malone met with Burke, who told them “look, nothing happened here. . . .
• I might have poked my head in, the door might have been opened or it might have been closed. It’s not a big deal.”

1988, 1992 and 1996 hiring exam scandal:

1988 Exam Scandal

• Whistleblowers and journalists uncovered allegations that scores were altered or hidden to promote certain candidates.
• Some candidates were allegedly given advance access to exam questions.
• Internal investigation raised red flags, but very few disciplinary measures were enforced.
• Among those who benefited from the 1988 cycle was James Burke, who had strong connections with then-DA Thomas Spota and rose quickly despite concerns about his behavior.

1992 Exam Scandal

• Civil service results again showed irregularities, such as dramatic discrepancies between written scores and subsequent oral interviews.
• Well-connected individuals leapfrogged over higher-scoring candidates.
• Lawsuits were filed by overlooked applicants, alleging violations of civil service regulations and demanding reform.

1993: Early Warning Signs – Burke’s Misconduct

• Burke, then a young officer, had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a known sex worker involved in an active case. He was disciplined internally but allowed to continue rising.

1996 Exam Scandal

• By 1996, the practice had become institutionalized: exam scores were used as a tool of political reward.
• Investigative reports claimed that internal lists of “favored” candidates were circulated among top brass and political offices.
• Reform efforts were stalled or watered down due to political pressure.

2012: Assault & Cover-Up Begins

• December 14, 2012: Christopher Loeb arrested after stealing a duffel bag from Chief James Burke’s car. The bag contained a gun belt, ammo, sex toys, and pornography.
• At the Fourth Precinct, Detectives Bombace, Leto, and Malone physically and verbally abused Loeb. Burke later entered the room and viciously assaulted Loeb.
• Detectives instructed to stay quiet about the assault, as Burke, Chief of Department, exerted control.

2013: Fabricated Narrative & Suppression Hearing

• February–March 2013: Coaching session involving Burke and DA Chief McPartland to create a false explanation for Burke’s presence at the precinct. Hickey testifies about this later.
• March 2013: Burke meets with Bombace and Leto to coordinate their false testimony.
• September 2013: Meeting in Burke’s office between Burke, McPartland, and Hickey to prep for Loeb’s suppression hearing.
• October–November 2013: Det. Anthony Leto testifies falsely during the suppression hearing; Bombace deemed “too green,” Malone “too shaky.”
• December 2013: Initial federal grand jury investigation into Burke is derailed after threats and intimidation discourage cooperation from SCPD Intel detectives.

2014–2015: Federal Probe Revives

• Fall 2014: Incident at Central Islip Courthouse raises fears Bombace is cooperating with the FBI.
• June 3, 2015: Bombace learns the federal investigation is reopened.
• June 4, 2015: Spota, McPartland, and Burke hold obstruction planning meeting, threatening witnesses and discussing strategy.
• August 17, 2015: McPartland admits he lost control of Bombace, calling him a “rat.”
• October 30, 2015: Hickey receives grand jury subpoena; Leto collapses during grand jury testimony.
• Late October 2015: Burke resigns as SCPD Chief.
• December 2015: Hickey begins cooperating with federal prosecutors. Burke arrested.

2016: Arrests, Guilty Pleas, and Bribery

• February 2016: DA Spota and McPartland resign. Both are later disbarred.
• February 18–29, 2016: McPartland solicits $25,000 loan from D’Orazio. Burke, from jail, arranges to fund McPartland’s legal fees using cash from his safe deposit box.
• November 2016: Burke sentenced to 46 months in federal prison, plus 3 years’ supervised release.

2017: Additional Charges and Arrests

• July 27, 2017: SCPD Officer Christopher McCoy arrested for sexual assault of arrestee Jane Doe at precinct.
• October 25, 2017: FBI arrests Spota and McPartland for witness tampering and obstruction.

2019: Federal Trial and Testimony

• November 12–14, 2019: Jury selection and opening statements in Spota & McPartland’s federal trial.
• Key Prosecution Witness: Lt. James Hickey testifies in detail about obstruction meetings, fabricated narratives, and internal intimidation.
• Trial Evidence: Over 70 pages of FBI 302 reports and Hickey’s notes submitted. Defense challenges his credibility, alleging perjury.
• December 9, 2019: Defense argues Giglio violations; court finds no grounds for disclosure breach or new trial.

Dtective’s Complaint Internal Investigation

Olivia former Suffolk County Police Department (“SCPD”) Detective was subject to a vindictive and retaliatory investigation and prosecution as a result of his provision of information to the news media and federal law enforcement concerning the misdeeds of former SCPD Chief of Department James Burke and others with ties to former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and his senior deputy Christopher McPartland. 

Oliva also alleges improprieties in connection with the conduct of the investigation. Testimony and judicial fact-finding m connection with the federal prosecution of Spota and McPartland, which is corroborated by evidence developed by the CIB, establish that the investigation and prosecution of Oliva were unconstitutionally vindictive, in violation of Oliva’ s Due Process rights.

Detective Kenneth Bombace

Bombace, who received immunity, testified that in March 2013, 

Burke and Hickey told Bombase, Leto and Malone that they “were going to have to go in to meet with and talk with the special prosecutor. . that we needed to go and meet with the chief in his office to discuss this.”

Later that day, Bombace, Leto and Malone met with Burke, who told them to say,

“look, nothing happened here. . . . 

I might have poked my head in, the door might have been opened or it might have been closed. It’s not a big deal.”

According to Bombace, Burke told them that he popped his head in to see the suspect and did not provide any further explanation why it was necessary for Burke to see the suspect. (Bombace understood that he was to tell the special prosecutor this false story, which he did.

1988, 1992 and 1996 hiring exam scandal:

1988 Exam Scandal

• Whistleblowers and journalists uncovered allegations that scores were altered or hidden to promote certain candidates.
• Some candidates were allegedly given advance access to exam questions.
• Internal investigation raised red flags, but very few disciplinary measures were enforced.
• Among those who benefited from the 1988 cycle was James Burke, who had strong connections with then-DA Thomas Spota and rose quickly despite concerns about his behavior.

1992 Exam Scandal

• Civil service results again showed irregularities, such as dramatic discrepancies between written scores and subsequent oral interviews.
• Well-connected individuals leapfrogged over higher-scoring candidates.
• Lawsuits were filed by overlooked applicants, alleging violations of civil service regulations and demanding reform.

1993: Burke’s Misconduct

• Burke, then a young officer, had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a known sex worker involved in an active case. He was disciplined internally but allowed to continue rising.

1996 Exam Scandal

• By 1996, the practice had become institutionalized: exam scores were used as a tool of political reward.
• Investigative reports claimed that internal lists of “favored” candidates were circulated among top brass and political offices.
• Reform efforts were stalled or watered down due to political pressure.

2012: Assault & Cover-Up Begins

• December 14, 2012: Christopher Loeb arrested after stealing a duffel bag from Chief James Burke’s car. The bag contained a gun belt, ammo, sex toys, and pornography.
• At the Fourth Precinct, Detectives Bombace, Leto, and Malone physically and verbally abused Loeb. Burke later entered the room and viciously assaulted Loeb.
• Detectives instructed to stay quiet about the assault, as Burke, Chief of Department, exerted control.

July 27, 2017

• Suffolk County Police Officer Christopher McCoy was charged today with depriving an arrestee of the right to bodily integrity by forcing her to perform a sexual act in the precinct.
• According to the complaint (as the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the description of the alleged activity set forth herein constitutes only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation), on March 16, 2017, while on duty, McCoy arrested Jane Doe as she was the subject of several outstanding warrants in connection with unresolved vehicle and traffic offenses. Jane Doe was transported to the First Precinct in Wyandanch. During arrest processing, while McCoy and Jane Doe were alone in the precinct’s juvenile room, McCoy forced Jane Doe to perform oral sex. Upon her release, Jane Doe promptly reported the incident.
• McCoy was arrested this morning by FBI agents on Long Island.

“This type of behavior is outrageous. It won’t be tolerated within our criminal justice system, and those who subject others to such cruel conduct will be swiftly removed from serving in any official capacity. Many thanks to our partners from the Suffolk County Police Department for working with us and providing assistance throughout the course of this investigation, which is currently ongoing. We ask any individuals who may have been a victim of Officer McCoy to call us at  (212) 384-2166,” said Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr.  Read More

Officers Misconduct

• Christine Amthor Former SCPD Officer – Drugs while her child was in the car
• Edward Bienz – Shot and Beat Cabdriver, while intoxicated
• Philip Branigan – False Reporting of Crime
• Bruce Blanco – False Testimony in Traffic court, fixing ticket for a contractor
• Robert Bodenmiller – Shot and wounded Michael Moran, charged with obstruction
• Anthony Cappa – Wrote Fake Traffic Summons
• Robert Cardona – Lying to IAB
• Leonardo Carrasco – Threatened NewsDay reported while on duty

Fraud

Former Suffolk County Legislator And Co-Conspirator Convicted Of Defrauding Mortgage Lender Out Of More Than A Quarter Of A Million Dollars

• Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the convictions of GEORGE GULDI, a former Suffolk County legislator and disbarred attorney, and VICTORIA DAVIDSON for defrauding Ditech Financial LLC, a mortgage lender, out of more than a quarter of a million dollars. The jury convicted GULDI and DAVIDSON of all counts following an approximately two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.
• U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “George Guldi, while in prison, concocted and conducted a scheme along with his co-conspirator, Victoria Davidson, to brazenly steal more than $250,000 through blatant lies. Today, a jury held them accountable for their scheme, and they will both face justice for their shameless misconduct.”  Read More
• Suffolk County Conservative Party Chairman Edward Walsh Guilty In Scheme To Defraud The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office
• Following three weeks of trial, a federal jury in Central Islip, returned a guilty verdict against Suffolk County Conservative Party Chairman Edward M. Walsh, Jr., on charges that he engaged in a scheme to steal wages for regular and overtime hours in connection with his employment with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO). The jury convicted the defendant of both counts of an indictment charging him with theft of government funds and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. §§ 666 and 1343, respectively.     Read More