Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota declined to prosecute a politically connected defense attorney on a slew of serious charges, even after a comprehensive investigation and wiretap probe provided enough evidence to do so, according to a report published in Newsday Thursday.

In 2008, Robert Macedonio pleaded guilty to a felony count of cocaine possession, but Newsday's report suggests that the DA's office declined to charge Macedonio with more serious crimes despite evidence that he engaged in drug trafficking, tipped off clients to law enforcement informants, and laundered campaign funds. 

Spota objected to the report's findings Thursday.

Spota said that prosecutors determined that there was not enough evidence to charge Macedonio with the more serious crimes. He also said he shared his office's findings with the federal government.

"I have sent to the United States attorney 53 boxes of what is contained in that Macedonio investigation," Spota said. "Every single shred of paper, the wiretaps."

"It's really overwhelming, and it kind of conveys the impression that Suffolk County of Long Island is really a cesspool of systemic corruption, which is very troubling," says Paul Sabatino, a former Suffolk County deputy executive who served as the county Legislature's general counsel for nearly two decades.