Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, 84, and his former aide Christopher McPartland, 50, have filed petitions for clemency seeking a pardon from former President Donald Trump. The two were convicted in 2019 for their roles in a corruption scandal involving the cover-up of an assault on an inmate.
Spota, who served as Suffolk DA for 16 years before resigning and facing indictment in 2017, and McPartland, formerly the head of the prosecutor’s corruption bureau, were each sentenced to five years in federal prison. They served approximately two years of their sentences and were subsequently disbarred.
Their convictions stemmed from a conspiracy to obstruct justice, witness tampering, and acting as accessories to the deprivation of inmate Christopher Loeb’s civil rights. The case involved the cover-up of an assault on Loeb by then-Police Chief James Burke in 2012. Loeb had stolen items from Burke's car, leading to the inmate being taken into custody and beaten while handcuffed.
Burke, who also pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the beating, served nearly four years of his sentence. He was re-arrested in August 2023 on charges of indecent exposure, which are slated to be dropped if he avoids further arrests.
McPartland, who now works as a consultant for individuals facing federal charges through his firm, McPartland Federal Prison Strategies, has publicly advocated for his and Spota's clemency. He recently participated in an interview with right-wing influencer Nick Shirley, where he claimed their convictions were a result of a "weaponized Justice Department" under the Obama and Biden administrations.
Spota has since taken a position as a clerk for a Long Island law firm. The pardon applications are now under review by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, an entity established in 1894 to vet clemency requests before forwarding recommendations to the president. Between 2022 and 2024, the office reviewed approximately 12,000 clemency petitions. Trump has issued clemency to roughly 1,700 individuals during his presidency.