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Dr. William Spencer, a Centerport resident and former Long Island legislator for Suffolk County’s 18th District, pleaded guilty to patronizing a prostitute and tampering with public records Friday, Oct. 7, in Suffolk County Supreme Court.
Spencer, a Democrat, was arrested in October 2020 in an Elwood parking lot for attempting to exchange oxycodone for sexual favors, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
He first caught the attention of investigators in July 2020, when he filed a complaint with the Suffolk County Police Department alleging that he had been the victim of an extortion scheme involving a prostitute.
At the time, he gave a sworn written statement to detectives stating that he had never sought the services of prostitutes or call girls, investigators said.
Spencer later contacted a woman he had previously patronized for prostitution, not knowing that he was actually talking to an undercover officer.
Over text message, he agreed to meet the officer with oxycodone pills in exchange for sexual conduct.
“Today we trade,” Spencer wrote in one message, according to the DEA.
After arriving at the arranged meeting location, a parking lot behind a shopping center on Jericho Turnpike in Elwood, Spencer was arrested.
At the time, he was in an official Suffolk County vehicle, police said.
Spencer was also found to be in possession of two 30-milligram oxycodone pills, which he did not have a prescription for, according to investigators.
Police determined that Spencer had a history of patronizing sex workers, therefore revealing his earlier written statement to the contrary as false.
“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.
"My Office is committed to the evenhanded administration of justice, and this guilty plea demonstrates that holding a political office is not a license to break the law.”
Following his guilty plea, Spencer was sentenced to six months in jail and 420 hours of community service. He must also complete one year of interim probation.
If he successfully completes the interim probation period, the felony charge will be dismissed and he will serve an additional two years of probation for the patronizing charge.
Spencer also agreed to never re-apply for registration as a physician with the DEA to prescribe controlled substances.
Spencer served as a Suffolk County legislator from January 2012 to December 2021. He also owned a private medical practice located in Huntington.
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