Disgraced former police chief James Burke, 58, who some blame for botching the original Gilgo Beach murders investigation, has been arrested after allegedly attempting to solicit sex.
A former New York police chief who some blame for botching the original investigation into the Gilgo Beach murders is being accused of soliciting sex.
James Burke, 58, was arrested by park rangers at the Suffolk County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park, a few miles away from Gilgo Beach in Long Island. Prosecutors say Burke tried to solicit a sex act from a male undercover officer.
Burke is said to have pleaded with officers to spare him from the humiliation of an arrest.
The former police chief was charged with public lewdness and indecent exposure.
The arrest of Rex A. Heuermann in July in connection to three of the Gilgo Beach murders, 13 years after the first body was found, has refocused attention on Burke’s handling of the case.
Burke blocked his officers from cooperating with the FBI, resulting in a vital clue not being followed up on: a description of the killer.
“A towering, Frankenstein like figure with an empty gaze. An ogre,” the description said.
Former New York state Senator Phil Boyle tells Inside Edition there was only one person that matched that description.
“If Burke had not kicked the FBI outta the investigation, I think it would’ve been solved on day one,” Boyle says.
One reason Burke allegedly pushed the FBI off the case is because Burke feared they would unearth his own secret life and his relationships with sex workers.
“I have no doubt that Jim Burke being police chief at the time caused the delay in the arrest of Mr. Heuermann for 13 years,” Boyle says.
Heuermann denies being the Gilgo Beach serial killer and has pled not guilty.
