Spota trial star witness James Hickey sentenced to probation

James Hickey, the former Suffolk County police lieutenant who testified against ex-Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota and his top aide at their corruption trial, was sentenced Friday to one year of probation for his role in conspiring to obstruct the federal investigation into former Suffolk Police Chief James Burke's assault of a handcuffed prisoner.

Hickey, 58, faced a possible sentence of 37 to 46 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, but received a much lighter punishment because of what federal prosecutors described as his "extraordinary" assistance in helping to win a conviction against Spota and his top aide Christopher McPartland, said U.S. District Court Judge Joan M. Azrack.

"It was exceptional," Azrack said Friday of Hickey's testimony during Spota and McPartland's 2019 trial. Azrack, who presided over the trial, said Hickey was the "linchpin" of the case and called his trial testimony "critical in its evidentiary value." Azrack also cited letters she received from Hickey's four children, which she called "quite moving.'

Hickey pleaded guilty in 2016 to a single count of conspiracy to obstruct justice for his role as the middleman in the scheme to cover up Burke's Dec. 14, 2012, assault of prisoner Christopher Loeb, who had stolen a duffel bag from Burke's department-issued vehicle containing pornography, a sex toy and his gun belt. Burke pleaded guilty and served most of a 46-month federal prison sentence.

Hickey, who at the time of the assault was the commanding officer of the department's Criminal Intelligence Unit, which was nicknamed Burke's "palace guard," testified at the trial about keeping the detectives under his command who had participated in the assault from cooperating with federal authorities.

Hickey, in his trial testimony, took the jury inside "The Administration," the alliance of Burke, Spota and McPartland that he said ruled with an iron fist and punished its enemies. Spota and McPartland, convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and acting as accessories to the deprivation of Loeb’s civil rights, began 5-year sentences in December.

Hickey, who defense attorneys for Spota and McPartland attempted to paint as an alcoholic, a womanizer and mentally unstable, testified that he was "very concerned that he [Burke] would kill me," because he suspected Hickey was cooperating.

Hickey, who now drives a bread delivery truck after a 29-year career with the Suffolk County Police Department, appeared to get emotional as he very briefly addressed the judge Friday, saying: "I'm looking forward to moving on with my life."

In a newly unsealed letter that Hickey wrote to the judge late last year, he expressed regret and shame for his misconduct and his personal impropriety.

"I have let down all of the people in my life that I love and care about the most including: my wife, my kids, my family and my friends. I have let down the people of Suffolk County, the people that I loved serving for 30 years," Hickey wrote. "I have always taught my kids to live life without regrets and now I find myself with enough regret to last several lifetimes. I have broken my vows and oaths I swore to uphold. I am embarrassed, ashamed and profoundly sorry; however, I will do better, I will get back to who I was."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Treinis Gatz, in court Friday, said Hickey's cooperation amounted to "substantial assistance [that] was extraordinary."

She said Hickey's cooperation was crucial because while the government had "substantial evidence to suggest" Spota and McPartland engaged in criminal conduct, "ultimately the government didn't have the evidence to prove it" without his testimony. She also cited Hickey's waiver of his attorney-client privilege to provide the defense with his lawyer's notes of early conversations they had about his misconduct and his decision to provide his medical records detailing his 2013 and 2015 hospitalizations to the defense.

"James Hickey provided substantial assistance to the government in perhaps the most significant federal criminal prosecution concerning corruption in law enforcement in the history of the EDNY," Gatz said in a 5k letter to the judge outlining Hickey's cooperation. "Hickey’s cooperation was singular, extraordinary, and worthy of the highest consideration from the Court. Simply put, the arrest, indictment and convictions of Spota and McPartland would not have occurred without Hickey’s cooperation."

Anthony Leto, a former criminal intelligence detective who was under the supervision of Hickey and also testified for the government at the Spota-McPartland trial, including his admission that he participated in the assault of Loeb, was sentenced last year to three years of probation.

Edward Sapone, Hickey's defense attorney, cited Leto's sentence in asking for a downward departure of sentencing guidelines for his client — who had not participated in the assault.

"He knew it was as dangerous as it gets, but he wanted to do the right thing," Sapone said.

Sapone argued for his client to receive one year of probation, which was also less than the probation department's recommended two years.

"Once the dust settled and he cleared his mind, he did everything right," Sapone said. "He got on the right path and he really is a model of self-rehabilitation."

Attorneys for Spota and McPartland declined to comment Friday.

Hickey, in his letter to the judge, said his police officer friends have since turned their backs on him.

"There is still very much a blue wall of silence," Hickey wrote. "I have lost every friend I ever had in the police department over the years, including neighbors who I have known for 30 years. I still fear retaliation from the powerful people involved and the friends they still have out there. That being said, it is a decision I have never regretted. I am over eight years and 3,000 days sober and am working every day in a job I love and working even harder on getting back to who I was, a great dad and a loving husband."

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.