Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini has announced the indictment of a Suffolk County Legislator for allegedly offering to illegally supply narcotics to a prostitute in exchange for a sex act.
Dr. William “Doc” Spencer, 54, of Centerport, is charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony; Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony; Tampering with Public Records in the First Degree, a class D felony; Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony; Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a class E felony; Perjury in the Second Degree, a class E felony; Making an Apparently Sworn False Statement in the First Degree, a class E felony; Patronizing a Person for Prostitution in the Third Degree, a class A misdemeanor; and Attempted Patronizing a Person for Prostitution in the Third Degree, a class B misdemeanor.
“Following his arrest, my Office conducted an extensive, thorough investigation in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, which resulted in this Grand Jury indictment,” District Attorney Sini said. “Investigators found that multiple women had allegedly been paid in either cash or drugs for sex acts with the defendant over the course of several years, as corroborated by text message exchanges and other evidence.”
Spencer has served as a Suffolk County Legislator since January 2012 and represents Suffolk County’s 18th Legislative District. He previously operated a private medical practice located at 25 East Carver Street in Huntington as a physician; however, he agreed to a suspension of his medical license during the pendency of the case.
Pursuant to an investigation by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (“DEA”) Long Island Heroin Task Force, Spencer was contacted by an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute on Oct. 20, 2020. Spencer allegedly agreed via text message to unlawfully provide the undercover police officer with oxycodone pills. Spencer was arrested at the arranged meeting location, which was in a parking lot behind the Elwood Shopping Center on Jericho Turnpike in Elwood, in his County-issued vehicle and was found in possession of two oxycodone pills.
In July 2020, Spencer filed a complaint with the Suffolk County Police Department that he had allegedly been the victim of an extortion scheme involving prostitution. Spencer gave a written statement to detectives, in which he stated “I have not sought the services of prostitutes or call girls.” Following his arrest in October 2020, the investigation revealed that he had allegedly previously solicited sex workers, therefore revealing the statement to be false.
Spencer was arraigned today by Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins and was released on his own recognizance. He is due back in court on Dec. 8 and is being represented by Anthony LaPinta. If convicted of the top count, Spencer faces a maximum sentence of up to nine years in prison.
The DEA’s Long Island Heroin Task Force comprises law enforcement agents from the DEA, New York State Police, Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, Nassau County Police Department and Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.
District Attorney Sini also thanked the Suffolk County Police Department’s Human Trafficking Investigations Unit for their invaluable assistance with the investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Laura de Oliveira and Kevin Ward, of the Public Integrity Bureau.
A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.