Cuomo aide: No plans to appoint an interim DA in Suffolk

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has no plans to appoint an interim Suffolk County district attorney to run the office that was vacated by Thomas Spota as he faces federal charges, a Cuomo spokeswoman said Monday.

Spota retired amid federal obstruction of justice charges and left office Friday.

Cuomo could appoint an interim district attorney. Instead, Chief Assistant District Attorney Emily Constant continues to run the office. Timothy Sini, a Democrat, was elected last week to succeed Spota and will take office Jan. 1.

“Under the law, and consistent with the practice in a variety of cases in the past, in the absence of an elected district attorney, the designated assistant district attorney runs the office until a successor assumes office,” said Dani Lever, spokeswoman for Cuomo.

Cuomo’s staff is checking to make sure there would be no operational problems in allowing the office to continue to be run by the chief assistant.

Sini had told Newsday last week that he planned to reach out to Cuomo to discuss the possibility of appointing him early “to ensure the wheels of justice operate in an effective way.”

Spota and one of his chief aides, Christopher McPartland, were indicted last month on federal charges accusing them of taking part in a cover-up of former Suffolk Police Chief James Burke’s assault of Christopher Loeb in 2012. Loeb had been arrested after Burke’s police vehicle had been broken into.

Sini didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.