CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — A former Long Island prosecutor has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for helping cover up the police beating of a prisoner suspected of stealing sex toys and other items from a police chief’s vehicle. Thomas Spota and one his top aides in the Suffolk County district attorney’s office were convicted in December 2019 on counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and civil rights violations. The 79-year-old Spota told U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack on Tuesday he feared dying alone in prison.
Photo: FILE – In this Oct. 25, 2017, file photo Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota leaves the courthouse in Central Islip, N.Y. The former Long Island prosecutor, convicted of helping cover up the police beating of a prisoner accused to stealing sex toys from a police chief’s vehicle, was sentenced Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, to 5 years in prison. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
