Barket Epstein partner Donna Aldea, head of the firm’s Post Conviction and Appellate Practice Group, recently won a motion to dismiss an indictment on grounds of police misconduct brought against Christopher Loeb. Mr. Loeb’s case has already resulted in federal indictments for former Police Chief Burke (who pled guilty and is serving a lengthy prison sentence) and Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and one of his high ranking Assistant District Attorneys.
In labeling the prosecution of Mr. Loeb tainted by the actions of former Police Chief James Burke, the Court noted that the, “…evidence tying Mr. Loeb to the crimes charged in the indictment was either illegally obtained and falsely testified to, or tampered with.”
The Court, in adopting arguments made by Ms. Aldea, went on to note that the, “…the deliberate and pervasive tactics employed by the police in this case impaired the integrity of the grand jury proceeding and, at the very least, prejudice to the defendant may have resulted.”
Finally, the Court ended the prosecution by denying the prosecution’s request to resubmit the case to another Grand Jury lamenting, “…the extent of the misconduct in this prosecution is uncertain and thus any re-presentation of this case to another Grand Jury cannot be guaranteed to be free of similar impairments.”
Click on the link below to read the full decision.
