Lawsuit seeking recovery of Suffolk district attorney bonuses dismissed 

A state Supreme Court justice has dismissed a lawsuit to force Suffolk officials to recover $3.25 million in bonuses paid to prosecutors out of asset forfeiture funds when former District Attorney Thomas Spota was in office.

Justice David T. Reilly dismissed the suit brought by Miller Place attorney John Ray because he failed to directly ask county officials to recover the bonus payments before he sued.

“Before commencing a proceeding . . . it is necessary to make a demand and await a refusal,” said Reilly. “The statute of limitations begins to run on the day of the refusal . . . and expires four months thereafter.”

Reilly ruled that Ray “failed to demand repayment of the civil forfeiture funds,” before filing the suit.

Ray said Reilly dismissed the case on “very narrow grounds” and “never even addressed whether this is right or wrong.” Ray said he plans to ask Reilly to allow him to reargue the case, and raise other statutes the judge did not consider.

Ray said he also plans to appeal the decision to a higher court. And he plans to formally ask Suffolk County officials to take action against those who received bonuses and seek formal denials, so he can file a new lawsuit.

Ray filed suit in 2017 to compel Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and county Comptroller John Kennedy to recover bonuses paid from 2012 to 2017. District Attorney Timothy Sini ended the practice last year.

Money for bonuses came from assets seized by law enforcement during criminal investigations. The money was not included in the county budget. Nor were expenditures approved by the county legislature. Backers say that was not required under state law.

District attorney officials said the stipends were used to keep the pay of prosecutors, who get no overtime, competitive with police salaries.

Ray said the bonus payments boosted prosecutors’ pensions, and created an incentive for them to go after “potential defendants with attractive assets.” He also called the bonus payments a misuse of asset forfeiture funding, which in part is intended to compensate crime victims.

Bellone said bonus payments should never have been made, but he took no position on whether the money should be returned. Bellone’s spokesman declined to comment on the Supreme Court ruling.

In September, the county legislature passed a law to bar law enforcement agencies from using asset forfeiture funds for bonuses.

However, critics say current laws still don’t require enough detail about such spending.

Kennedy said although questions can be raised about whether bonus payments were proper, they were legal because state law gives district attorneys wide latitude in using forfeiture funds.

In an unrelated federal case, Spota and a former key aide, Christopher McPartland, face trial May 6 on charges of covering up an assault by former Suffolk Police Chief James Burke. They have pleaded not guilty.

Each is charged with four counts: conspiracy to tamper with witnesses and obstruct an official proceeding; witness tampering and obstruction of an official proceeding; obstruction of justice; and accessory after the fact to the deprivation of civil rights.