2 of 4 charges dropped against James Burke, ex-Suffolk police chief arrested in sex solicitation sting, documents show

Two of four original charges against James Burke, Suffolk's disgraced former chief of police, have been dropped after his arrest last week during a sex solicitation sting at a Farmingville park, a spokeswoman for the county said Tuesday.

The park police recommended charging Burke, 58, with offering a sex act and fifth-degree criminal solicitation in addition to public lewdness and indecent exposure. County officials announced Burke's arrest and the four charges at a news conference last week.

But the county dropped charges of offering a sex act and criminal solicitation after discussions with Suffolk police detectives, Suffolk County spokeswoman Marykate Guilfoyle said Tuesday. 

Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office ultimately reviewed and approved two charges — public lewdness and indecent exposure, according to Tania Lopez, a spokeswoman for his office. The district attorney's office did not receive additional charges and did not reject charges, she said. 

Burke is a felon whose federal prosecution for beating a handcuffed suspect and covering it up more than a decade ago left an ethical stain on the police department.

Burke is scheduled to appear for arraignment on the charges before Suffolk Judge Susan A. Berland in Central Islip on Sept. 11. An attorney for Burke is not listed in the court records, and Burke did not make comments after he was released from the Sixth Precinct in Selden on Aug. 22. 

Burke had a small amount of marijuana and a muscle relaxant at the time of his arrest, a law enforcement source told Newsday. The former chief has not been charged with drug counts. Additional charges could be pending, Suffolk Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison said at an Aug. 22 news conference announcing Burke’s arrest. 

Burke’s latest arrest comes as some recent public discussion has centered on his role in the initial police failings to crack the Gilgo Beach serial killer case following the arrest last month of suspected killer Rex A. Heuermann — 13 years after the victims’ remains were found. Burke cut out the FBI from the investigation, starving it of expertise and resources, which various law enforcement officials conceded hurt the investigation.

Burke, who was Suffolk’s highest-ranking uniformed officer for four years, was arrested in December 2015 after he was indicted on charges of obstruction of justice and violating the civil rights of Christopher Loeb, then 26, of Smithtown, and then orchestrating a departmental cover-up of the crime. Burke was denied bail and remained in federal custody after the late U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Wexler deemed him a danger to the community.

In February 2016, he pleaded guilty, and nine months later Wexler sentenced Burke to 46 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. 

Burke, of Smithtown, was released from federal prison in November 2018 after serving most of his 46-month sentence.

Suffolk police had arrested Loeb, a heroin addict at the time, on Dec. 14, 2012, after he was suspected of stealing a duffel bag containing a gun belt, ammunition, sex toys and pornography from Burke’s unmarked police SUV in front of the chief's home.

Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and top aide Christopher McPartland were later convicted of charges, including conspiracy, witness tampering and obstruction in connection with the federal investigation of Burke. They are serving 5-year prison sentences. A federal court of appeals panel last week affirmed their convictions.

The county paid Loeb a $1.5 million settlement over the beating.