Before the explosive arrest Thursday of Rex Heuermann in three of the Gilgo Beach murders, the case had been hampered by a series of scandals within the police department leading the investigation.
Disgraced former Suffolk County Police Department Chief James Burke was at the center of the storm, which culminated in his 2016 imprisonment for 46 months for beating up a thief who stole a bag from his police car containing pornography. and sex toys.
Shocking details emerged about Burke’s alleged fondness for drugs and prostitutes. His colleagues have also described him as a “psychopath” who was always “hot” and thought he was “untouchable”.
Burke is also accused of hampering the Gilgo Beach case in its early stages by blocking the FBI’s role in the investigation.
He built a reputation as a “tough cop” throughout his career that included dubious police tactics and a penchant for cherry brandy-soaked cigars. Burke, who enjoyed close relationships with several disgraced local officials, rose through the department’s ranks despite scandals that included sleeping with a prostitute in his patrol car.
James Burke, the disgraced former chief of the Suffolk County Police Department, has been charged with hindering the investigation of the Gilgo Beach serial killer by pulling the FBI off the case in its early stages.
Burke pictured outside an FBI office in New York in 2015 after he was arrested and charged with beating up a robber who took a bag of pornography and sex toys from his police car and then tried to cover up the attack.
JAILED FOR MISTREATING A THIEF AND COVERING UP
Burke’s alleged secret taste for drugs and prostitutes came to light in 2015 after he was investigated for attacking Christopher Loeb, a young heroin addict who stole a bag from the police chief’s car.
Inside the bag, Loeb found sex toys and a porn DVD with disgusting images showing bound and gagged women being tortured.
Burke roughed up Christopher Loeb (pictured), who stole a bag from the police chief’s car containing pornography and sex toys.
Burke was determined to catch the thief and protect his career, knowing that the contents of the duffel bag could land him in hot water. He then orchestrated a failed cover-up when Loeb complained about the beating and the FBI investigated Burke and his cronies in Suffolk County.
Loeb broke into Burke’s department-issued SUV in December 2012 and was later identified and arrested.
He was taken to a police station and handcuffed to the floor of an interrogation room before Burke violently beat Loeb. The police chief, who led a force of 2,200 officers, also threatened to kill Loeb before a junior police officer urged his chief to stop.
The episode ultimately exposed a culture of corruption at the highest levels of Suffolk County government. Former district attorney Thomas Spota and Christopher McPartland, the former head of an anti-corruption bureau, were also jailed for five years for their role in the scandal.
The FBI spent two years investigating the cover-up before Burke was arrested after at least ten police officers agreed to cooperate in the case.
The judge who jailed Burke, who was charged with conspiring to obstruct justice and violating Loeb’s civil rights, said he “corrupted a system.”
BURKE TAKEN THE FBI OUT OF THE GILGO BEACH PROBE
The saga involving Loeb unfolded as the police department worked desperately to track down the killer, or killers, of several women found dead in and around Gilgo Beach from 2010 onwards.
Burke was appointed police chief in late 2011, several months after the initial discovery of the bodies of four women. The deaths were linked and became known across the country as the Gilgo Beach murders.
Due to the severity and scale of the case, the FBI also joined the investigation. But soon after, Burke took the dresser out of the case. He allegedly blocked his paper because he knew the office was also investigating his attack on Loeb and the subsequent cover-up, a source told the outlet. New York Post in 2015.
Melissa Barthelemy, top left, Amber Costello, top right, Megan Waterman, bottom left, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Long Island authorities vow to continue investigating the Gilgo Beach murders after charging an architect with the deaths of three of the 11 victims.
The source claimed that Burke “never wanted us to get involved in [the Gilgo Beach] case because he knew we were investigating it.’
A former Suffolk County family judge went on to claim that Burke was able to block the FBI through “something to do with ‘initial jurisdiction’ and other bureaucratic crap.” The judge, Greg Blass, wrote in the Riverhead Local: ‘That a police chief can pull the FBI out of a murder investigation itself is mind-boggling.’
The move was criticized for potentially delaying a breakthrough in the case.
BURKE’S ‘REIGN OF TERROR’
Burke was able to rise to police chief and enforce his so-called “reign of terror” despite a checkered career that included a series of scandals.
In 1993, he had a sexual relationship with a prostitute and was reprimanded for having sex with the woman in his patrol car. Burke was wearing his uniform at the time.
The incident allegedly did not stop Burke’s pursuit of sex workers, nor put an end to his taste for seedy hookups, according to testimony from sex workers and former colleagues in various outlets.
A prostitute once suggested that there should be an investigation into whether Burke was connected to the Gilgo Beach murders. The prostitute, Lee Ann, claimed the police chief would attend drug-fueled sex parties with escorts in the Long Beach area. She said she had ‘rough sex’ with Burke and also saw him ‘grab a girl by her hair and drag her to the ground’.
A profile of Burke in the Daily Beast said he was “well known for having a predilection not only for hanging out with sex workers but also for indulging in drugs”.
As boss, he allegedly repurposed his office “into a makeshift bar that was open every night for ‘drinks.’ He also asked his staff to ‘watch’ his girlfriend and his ex, it is claimed.
He has also been accused of holding a grudge against colleagues and subordinates he disliked, punishing them with threats and demotions.
Former colleagues have described him as a ‘psychopath’ who was always ‘horny’ and thought he was ‘untouchable’.
