HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (AP) — Federal prosecutors are seeing lengthy prison terms for a former Long Island prosecutor and one of his top aides convicted of helping cover up the beating of a suspect. Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and Christopher McPartland were convicted in December 2019 on counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and civil rights violations. They are scheduled to be sentenced on June 30. In a court filing Friday, prosecutors say the sentence should be longer than prescribed by sentencing guidelines because it should “reflect the unprecedented magnitude and scope of the defendants’ abuse of power.”
Photo: FILE – In this Oct. 25, 2017, file photo Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota leaves the courthouse in Central Islip, N.Y. The former prosecutor was convicted Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019, on charges he helped cover for a former protege who, as police chief, punched a handcuffed man suspected of stealing embarrassing items from his police department SUV, including sex toys and pornography. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
