Once-jailed Long Island corruption watchdog now preps convicted white-collar criminals for prison: ‘Books don’t teach you that’

nypostPublished on 2025-12-08Last updated on 2025-12-08

Abstract

Christopher McPartland, a former top corruption prosecutor sentenced to five years in federal prison for obstruction of justice, now operates a consulting firm preparing white-collar criminals for incarceration. His services, offered through McPartland Federal Prison Strategies, cover prison life, safety, hygiene, and early release strategies—knowledge he gained firsthand. An attorney who uses his services defended McPartland, stating that his experience provides crucial, real-world insight that "books don’t teach." McPartland was convicted in 2019 for covering up a police chief's assault on a handcuffed inmate. After serving two years, he was released in 2023 and began his consulting career. His fees are not publicly disclosed.

A disgraced Long Island ex-prosecutor is using his own experiences in the big house to peddle consultancy services to white-collar criminals headed to federal prison.

Christopher McPartland, once Suffolk County’s top corruption watchdog — ironically sentenced to five years in federal prison on corruption charges — is now a high-priced consultant for mostly affluent convicts through his self-founded firm, McPartland Federal Prison Strategies, according to his LinkedIn and Newsday.

“I was a prosecutor in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in New York for 26 years,” McPartland’s LinkedIn bio reads, boasting his accomplishments such as prosecuting organized crime cases.

Christopher McPartland, Suffolk County’s former top corruption watchdog, is now a consultant for convicted criminals. NYP

“I was also convicted of Obstruction of Justice and sentenced to 5 years in federal prison — I became fully familiar with the workings of the Federal Bureau of Prisons from first hand exposure,” his bio continued.

McPartland, 58, offers clients a crash-course that goes over everything from how to get jobs and staying hygienic within jail walls to “prison politics,” “how to interact with inmates,” and even lessons on securing early releases.

“We help educate you on life in prison, including healthcare issues, hygiene, safety, dealing with inmates and staff, commissary, chow hall and TV room practices, work assignments — and many other aspects of how to conduct yourself in prison,” McPartland’s website reads.

Attorney Randy Zelin, who often uses McPartland’s services for his convicted white-collar clients to prepare for prison, defended the ex-prosecutor’s new post-conviction career path and called it a necessary service that couldn’t be run by a better candidate.

“They’re worried — they want to be prepared going into their sentence,” Zelin said about his convicted clients.

“They don’t know what it’s going to be like or what is going to happen in the showers, in the cafeteria, or how to maneuver throughout the system — and books don’t teach you that.”

Disgraced Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota was sentenced to five years in prison alongside McPartland in 2019. AP

Zelin called McPartland’s pricing “very fair” compared to competing firms that charge anywhere from $800 an hour to upwards of $10,000 to $15,000.

The disbarred attorney’s firm doesn’t publicly disclose their fees, instead requiring a private consultation with prospective clients to determine cost, according to the website.

Once the top deputy to the now-also-disgraced ex-Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota, McPartland helped Spota cover-up the brutal beating of a handcuffed inmate by the county’s former scandal-plagued police chief, James Burke, in 2012.

The pair were both convicted in 2019 of pressuring witnesses, interfering with the investigation, and helping hide Burke’s assault on the prisoner — which included threatening to give the helpless victim a lethal dose of heroin while handcuffed.

Spota is now working as a part-time paper pusher for a Long Island law firm.

McPartland and Spota were convicted of helping cover-up the beating of a handcuffed inmate by former police chief James Burke. New York Post

After serving two years of his five-year sentence, McPartland was released from a federal prison in Beaumont, Texas, in 2023 and started working in Virginia with The Justice Advocacy Group, another prison consulting firm — before starting his own firm in October of last year, his LinkedIn and company website showed.

“Not only does [McPartland] deserve a second chance, he should be able to show the world that he can provide an opportunity that’s worthwhile and is a benefit to society,” Zelin told The Post.

“We have the most people in prisons in the world — what are we supposed to do with these people and how are they going to have any shot in life if they can’t get a break or have a second chance?”

McPartland declined The Post’s request for comment.

Related Reads

Trading

Spot
Futures
活动图片