Since the days of Tom Dewey district attorneys have used NYPD detectives to bolster their investigative ability to investigate crimes that come to the attention of the DA. What Dewey also did was to form his own investigative team solely under his control.
The investigators could investigate cases of police corruption and thereby relieving NYPD cops of the stigma of investigating fellow cops, some many of them knew and worked with before they were assigned to the DA squads. It served as a check and balance. In other words the DA investigators would be an entirely separate entity answerable only to the DA, not the NYPD.
The principle was so solid that it exists to this day for more than 75 years. ……..that is with the exception of the SCDA.
The other four NYC DA’s adopted this same program as it increased the size of the investigative team of the DA, with the detectives being paid from the police budget.
Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and other DA’s soon followed. It was a win – win situation.
In NYC it wasn’t a civil service position, there was no test needed to get the job.
In Nassau and Suffolk it was civil service. That meant if you were an investigator you had tenure and couldn’t be summarily dismissed if a new DA took office.
Spota comes into office and is saddled with the previous administrations investigators- can he trust them to stay on the ‘reservation?’ He hires a non-controversial guy named Robert Creighton. Now Spota has to manage that part of the office. Investigators you can’t trust you hand out menial jobs to them. Those that are on board you bring into the fold, and you even instruct them NOT to share with their own boss. All one has to do is to review the payroll records for the DA Investigators and see which one take down the most OT and you should see which ones sold their souls to the Devil and which ones did not.
Now there comes a time when Mr. Creighton leaves his job. There is a Deputy Chief Investigator, but Spota doesn’t give him the job, HE GIVES IT TO JAMES BURKE!!! Burke is already the commanding officer of the SCPD detectives working under Spota, now he is the DA Chief Investigator. Spota will leave nothing to chance when it concerns Burke. He wants him in total control so they can continue with their ‘criminal enterprise’ without interference.
To add to this mess we have Spota hiring on several ex-detectives from days of old. At least one of them chased a 14 year old kid named Burke while investigating the 1979 John Pius murder. That detective screwed the case up to a fare-thee-well, so much so it took 11 years to complete. Now this former detective, now DA Investigator now works for Burke as Burke is the Chief Investigator. OK, at least on paper he does. It has always been my opinion that Spota hired these guys on not to work for Burke, BUT to watch Burke and keep him out of trouble.
I hope you folks are getting to understand the back story to the DA office.
