By Hank Russell
A Suffolk County official has sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to deny clemency to two former members of the District Attorney’s office who were arrested and sentenced for covering up an incident involving the county’s chief of police.
During a press conference on July 24, Legislative Majority Leader Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holbrook) said that Thomas Spota, the former district attorney, and Christopher McPartland, who ran the DA’s Anti-Corruption Bureau under Spota, do not deserve to be exonerated. Earlier this week, Spota and McPartland requested a pardon from Trump, according to Newsday.
The outlet previously reported that Spota, a Democrat, and McPartland were sentenced in 2019 for their roles in a coverup in the 2012 beating of Christopher Loeb by ex-Suffolk Police Chief James Burke. Burke assaulted Loeb after he caught Loeb stealing a duffel bag from his car. In 2016, Burke was sentenced to 46 months in prison.
Spota, 84, was released from a federal prison in 2024 while McPartland, 60, was released in 2023.
In a copy of a letter dated July 23 and obtained by Long Island Life & Politics, Piccirillo emphasized that while the presidential pardon power is one of the nation’s most important constitutional authorities, it should be reserved for correcting injustices or extending mercy in truly exceptional circumstances—not for public officials convicted of betraying the trust placed in them.
“Thomas Spota and Christopher McPartland were entrusted with enforcing the law and protecting the integrity of our justice system,” said Piccirillo. “Instead, they abused that trust, undermined confidence in our institutions, and damaged the public’s faith in government. Granting clemency would send the wrong message—that powerful public officials are held to a different standard than everyone else.”
Piccirillo noted that Suffolk County has spent years working to restore public confidence in its government and justice system following the convictions.
“Our residents deserve to know that no one is above the law,” Piccirillo said. “The progress we have made in rebuilding trust should not be undermined by a pardon that erases accountability for those who violated the public’s confidence.”
In the letter, Piccirillo respectfully asked Trump to consider the lasting impact the case had on Suffolk County and to reject any request for executive clemency submitted on behalf of Spota or McPartland.
“I respectfully urge the President to deny any request for executive clemency in this matter,” Piccirillo wrote. “Maintaining public confidence in our institutions requires that those entrusted with public office remain accountable for their actions.”
LILP reached out to the White House to see if the president would grant Spota and McPartland clemency, but did not hear back as of press time.