Former Suffolk Police Chief Jim Burke Arrested Again

Former Suffolk Police Chief Jim Burke, a key figure in the corruption scandal that sent him to jail along with District Attorney Tom Spota and his deputy, Chris McPartland, has been busted again for allegedly offering a sex act, public lewdness, indecent exposure, and criminal solicitation.

Former Suffolk Police Chief James Burke charged with public lewdness and offering a sex act. File Photo

County Park Rangers with the Targeted Response Unit took him into custody Tuesday morning at the Vietnam Memorial in Farmingville. Other potential charges may be pending, police sources said, in the incident which reportedly involved a sex worker.

The disgraced cop spent 46 months in a federal prison for the beating of a suspect accused of stealing ammo, pornography and sex toys from his unmarked police vehicle. Spota and McPartland are still in jail serving five-year sentences for trying to cover up the assault. The convictions were a spectacular fall from grace for the trio that ruled Suffolk law enforcement for years.

Burke, 58, was criticized for shutting out the FBI and other investigators from the Gilgo murder case, which was finally cracked by the current DA, Raymond Tierney, after languishing under the Spota regime and his successor, Tim Sini.

Suffolk County Police hold press conference Tuesday afternoon announcing arrest of former Suffolk Police Chief James Burke. File Photo

News reports revealed that Burke was found to possess narcotics during his incarceration at the federal prison in Allenwood, Pa. He was an original suspect–-turned prosecution witness–in the 1979 death of 13-year-old John Pius, a boy allegedly killed by having stones stuffed down his throat. Spota, who championed Burke’s career and relied on him in many of his cases, was the prosecutor in the Pius case.