Before Rex Heuerman’s Thursday bombing of several Gilgo Beach murders, the case was marred by a series of scandals within the police department leading the investigation.
The disgraced former chief of the Suffolk County Police Department, James Burke, was at the center of the storm, which culminated in a 46-month prison sentence in 2016 for beating a thief who stole a bag from his police car containing porn and sex toys.
Shocking details have emerged about Burke’s alleged penchant for drugs and prostitutes. Colleagues also described him as a ‘psychopath’ who was always ‘horny’ and thought he was ‘untouchable’.
Burke is also accused of obstructing the Gilgo Beach case at an early stage by blocking the FBI’s role in the investigation.
He developed a ‘tough cop’ reputation throughout his career with questionable policing techniques and a penchant for cigars dipped in cherry brandy. Burke, who enjoyed a close relationship with several disgraced local officials, rose through the department’s ranks despite a scandal involving sleeping with a prostitute in his patrol car.
James Burke, the disgraced former chief of the Suffolk County Police Department, has been accused of obstructing the Gilgo Beach serial killer investigation by closing the case to the FBI in its early stages.
Burke is pictured outside an FBI office in New York in 2015 after he was arrested and charged with beating a burglar who took a bag of porn and sex toys from his police car, then tried to cover up the attack.
The thief is beaten and sent to prison for cover-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 containing sick footage of a bound and gagged woman being tortured.
Burke hit Christopher Loeb (pictured), who stole a bag containing porn and sex toys from the police chief’s car.
Burke was determined to catch the thief and save his career – knowing the contents of the duffel bag could land him in hot water. Loeb orchestrated a failed cover-up when he complained about the beatings and the FBI investigated Burke and his friends in Suffolk County.
Loeb entered Burke’s department-issued SUV in December 2012 and was later located and arrested.
Burke Loeb was taken to a police station and handcuffed to the floor of an interrogation room before being violently beaten. The police chief, who commanded a force of 2,200 officers, even threatened to kill Loeb before a junior cop pleaded with his boss to stop.
The episode ultimately exposes a culture of corruption at the highest levels of Suffolk County government. Former District Attorney Thomas Spota and Christopher McPartland, former head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, were also sentenced to five years in prison for their roles in the scandal.
The FBI spent two years undercover investigating Burke before arresting him after at least ten police offices agreed to cooperate in the case.
The judge who sent Burke to prison, charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and violating Loeb’s civil rights, said he had ‘corrupted a system’.
Burke removed the FBI from the Gilgo Beach probe
The story involving Loeb unfolded as the police department worked desperately to find the killer — or killers — of several women found dead in and around Gilgo Beach since 2010.
Burke was appointed police chief in late 2011, months after the initial discovery of the four women’s bodies. The deaths were connected and became known nationwide as the Gilgo Beach Massacre.
Due to the severity and scale of the case, the FBI joined the investigation. But Burke later removed the bureau from the case. He reportedly blocked their role because he knew the bureau was also investigating his attack on Loeb and the subsequent cover-up, a source told the 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 Gilgo Beach killings after an architect was charged with the deaths of three of the 11 people.
The source claimed that Burke ‘never wanted to involve us [the Gilgo Beach] Because he knew we were investigating him.
A former Suffolk County family judge claimed that Burke was able to block the FBI by doing something with ‘primary jurisdiction’ and other bureaucratic shenanigans. The judge, Greg Blass, wrote in the Riverhead Local: ‘That a police chief could remove the FBI from a murder investigation is mind-boggling in itself.’
The move was criticized for delaying progress in the case.
Burke’s ‘Reign of Terror’
Burke managed to become police chief – and enforce his so-called ‘reign of terror’ – despite a checkered career that included multiple scandals.
In 1993, he had sex with a prostitute and was reprimanded for having sex with the woman in his squad car. Burke was wearing his uniform at the time.
According to testimony from sex workers and former colleagues in various outlets, the incident allegedly did not stop Burke’s pursuit of sex workers or end his taste for sordid encounters.
A prostitute once suggested that Burke should be investigated for his involvement in the Gilgo Beach murders. Lee Ann, a prostitute, claimed the police chief would attend drug-fueled sex parties with escorts in the Long Beach area. He said he had ‘rough sex’ with Burke and saw him ‘drag a girl to the ground by her hair’.
A profile of Burke in the Daily Beast stated that he was ‘not only known to frequent sex workers, but also to indulge in drugs’.
As chief, he turned his office into ‘a makeshift bar that was open every night for ‘drinks’.” He would ask his staff to ‘conduct surveillance’ on his girlfriends and his exes, it is claimed.
He is also accused of holding grudges against colleagues and subordinates he dislikes, punishing them with threats and resignations.
Former colleagues described him as a ‘psychopath’ who was always ‘horny’ and thought he was ‘untouchable’.