Disgraced former top Suffolk County cop James Burke pleaded guilty Friday to civil rights violations for roughing up a junkie and then covering up an ensuring probe.
As part of his plea deal, Burke will face up to 51 months in prison per federal sentencing guidelines.
The feds arrested Burke last month and charged him with brutalizing smack addict Christopher Loeb after he broke into the veteran officer’s department issued truck and stole a duffel bag.
The sack contained several items — including sex toys and pornography. Burke snapped when Loeb called him a “pervert” during an interrogation and roughed him up, prosecutors said.
The St. James resident then tried to influence subordinates into clamming up about the incident after learning that he was the target of a federal probe, prosecutors said.
Burke has been held without bail since his arrest after federal prosecutors argued that he had the potential to strong arm potential witnesses in the case if he was released.
The lifelong law enforcement officer wielded his former power and influence like a king, suppressing dissent through implied and explicit threats, prosecutors said.
In a filing, the feds said he relished his treatment of Loeb as a throwback to the golden age of aggressive policing in Suffolk County.
“Burke regaled a group of officers with his account of the assault, saying it reminded him of his ‘old days’ as a young police officer and referred to the detectives who were present at the assault of a defenseless prisoner as his ‘palace guards,'” prosecutors wrote in a filing.
Burke’s ascent up the ranks of Suffolk County power has been tethered to Suffolk DA Thomas Spota, who first encountered Burke as a teenager while prosecuting a murder trial.
Spota called on Burke as a pivotal witness in the case that eventually to a conviction.
In addition to prison time, Burke will also face post release supervision and a fine.