Ex-Suffolk Pol Dr. William Spencer Admits Trading Pills for Sex
A former Suffolk County lawmaker who was also a doctor has admitted to trading prescription pills for sexual favors from a sex worker and lying to investigators in an attempted coverup.
Dr. William Spencer pleaded guilty Friday at Suffolk court to tampering with public records and patronizing a prostitute as a part of a deal in which Judge John Collins sentenced the ex-legislator to six months in jail, a year of probation, and 420 hours of community service.
“Dr. Spencer admitted to violating the laws he swore to uphold as an elected official and wasting police resources by lying in a sworn written statement,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “No one is above the law, including elected officials who engage in criminal conduct.”
Prosecutors said the 55-year-old former Democratic lawmaker from Centerport who lead the county’s opioid task force had filed a false sworn written statement with the Suffolk County Police Department in July 2020 in which he lied about never having previously patronized prostitutes when he filed a complaint alleging that he had been the victim of an extortion scheme involving prostitution.
But a joint investigation with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Long Island Heroin Task Force found that Spencer contacted a sex worker whose phone was in the possession of law enforcement. In October 2020, an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute contacted Spencer, who agreed via text message to provide the investigator with oxycodone pills in exchange for sex. He was arrested at the arranged meeting location—a parking lot behind a shopping center in Elwood—in his county-issued vehicle. Dr. Spencer was found in possession of two 30-milligram oxycodone pills that he possessed without a prescription. The investigation found that Spencer had previously patronized sex workers, revealing the statement he made to detectives months prior was false.
If Spencer successfully completes the interim probation period, a felony charge will be dismissed and he will serve an additional two-year term of probation on the patronizing charge. He also agreed never to re-apply for registration as a physician with the DEA to prescribe controlled substances. Spencer, who was a Suffolk County Legislator since January 2012, left office in December 2021.
