Former NY state trooper sentenced to 6 months in jail for faking his own shooting

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A former New York state trooper who shot himself, then falsely claimed he was wounded by an unknown gunman on a Long Island highway, sparking a regionwide search, was sentenced to six months in jail on Wednesday.

Thomas Mascia was also given five years of probation and ordered to undergo mental health treatment and pay nearly $290,000 in restitution in Nassau County court in Mineola.

Mascia pleaded guilty in May to falsely reporting an incident, tampering with physical evidence and official misconduct. He resigned in January after being suspended without pay while state police launched a criminal investigation into the shooting.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly called the former officer’s actions “disgraceful.”

“His lies wasted hundreds of hours of law enforcement manpower, deeply cost taxpayers in Nassau County, and betrayed the public’s trust of those in uniform,” she said in a statement after the sentencing.

Mascia claimed he was shot in the leg on Oct. 30, 2024, by a driver while parked on the shoulder of the Southern State Parkway, about a mile from his home. He described the fictitious driver as a “dark-skinned” man who fled in a car bearing temporary New Jersey plates heading toward New York City.

Instead, prosecutors say, Mascia staged the scene of the alleged shooting by scattering shell casings, then shot himself at a park, stashed the .22-caliber rifle, drove back to the highway and called for backup.

Jeffrey Lichtman, who represents Mascia and his parents, said in an email that the former trooper is “mortified by his actions and happy to finally get on with his life.”

He’s previously said Mascia, who became a trooper in 2019, was suffering from an undiagnosed mental health problem at the time of the shooting and has been undergoing treatment.

Mascia’s parents had also pleaded guilty to possessing an illegal firearm, which was found during a search of the family’s home.

Thomas A. Mascia, the defendant’s father, was sentenced to five years of probation Wednesday. Dorothy Mascia was given a one-year conditional discharge.