Message From The D. A. 

“The duty of a prosecutor is to seek justice, not merely to convict.”  ABA Standards Relating to the Prosecution Function and Defense Function, §1.1(c) (1970).

Throughout my campaign for the Office of Suffolk County District Attorney, I emphasized that my main priority would be to enforce the laws of this State without bias or favoritism.  I am going to meet that demand by striving in every thing we do and in every way we act to be fair and non-partisan.

To that end, I promise that this office will enforce the law with temperance and without malice, to seek truth and not victims, to serve the law and not fractional purposes and to approach these tasks with humility and respect.

The District Attorney is the public’s advocate in the criminal justice system and the first line of defense against those whose acts and conduct serve notice on society that they are not fit to live amongst us. 

To insure the safety of our citizens and maintain safe, secure and vibrant communities, it is absolutely critical that we protect all the people who live in our County.  The decency of any society is defined by how it treats and cares for its most vulnerable citizens.  Elder abuse is rampant, the horrors of child abuse continue to plague our society, and women are far too often victims of dangerous domestic violence.

I pledge to you that this office will guard and defend the rights of our seniors, our children and women – and punish those who prey on them.  We will use every tool at our disposal, including actively working with victim’s support groups to ensure that those who suffer abuse are not further abused by an uncaring system.

We must also remember to fight for those who protect us.  With increasing frequency police officers are considered fair game by criminals and are being assaulted on a daily basis.  All too often defendants who assault these officers have been treated far too leniently.  Simply put, a police officer performing his or her lawful duty does not assume the risk of being intentionally injured.  Those who physically injure police officers are going to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of our law.

In addition to safeguarding the physical security of people, the District Attorney must also ensure that citizens are not the victims of economic injustice. 

We can’t forget the important role that laborers – and labor organizations – play in our emerging partnership to create safer communities.  All too often, contractors and subcontractors bid on municipal contracts fully anticipating that they will blatantly violate the prevailing wage laws.  Not only are workers hurt by a sub-standard wage, but County taxpayers as a whole are victimized by the loss of tax revenue that should be easing all of their tax burdens.  This office is committed to enforcing the prevailing wage laws to protect working men and women.

I also promise the people of Suffolk County that my office will be proactive in investigating consumer frauds as well as prosecuting any business that engages in false advertising, bait and switch tactics or any other scams intent on defrauding the public.

We will also aggressively fight gangs.  The rapid increase in the number of street gangs and gang violence is a major problem in this County.  Combating that threat is a high priority of this office.  I have doubled the size of the unit dev0ted to prosecuting gangs, as well as created new programs to work cooperatively with our fellow law enforcement colleagues.

To these ends, I have restructured the investigative bureaus and units by significantly increasing the number of prosecutors and police personnel available to attack the problems of gangs, frauds upon consumers and the elderly, labor law violations, organized crime enterprises and political corruption. 

The English novelist John Galsworthy said, “The law is a majestic edifice, sheltering and protecting all of us, with each stone resting on another. 

The people of Suffolk County have entrusted me to place yet another stone on that “majestic edifice.”

This is the responsibility I now accept as your District Attorney.  In every word and deed I’ll strive to prove worthy of the trust and confidence that you have reposed in me.

Thomas J. Spota
Suffolk County District Attorney