Former NY State Trooper Sentenced for Fabricating Shooting Incident
In a case that shocked Long Island communities, former New York state trooper Thomas Mascia received a six-month prison sentence after admitting to shooting himself and fabricating a story about being attacked by an unknown gunman. The 2024 incident, which sparked a massive law enforcement response and multi-day manhunt, resulted in Mascia pleading guilty to falsely reporting an incident, tampering with physical evidence, and official misconduct. Beyond his prison term, Mascia faces five years of probation, mandatory mental health treatment, and must pay nearly $290,000 in restitution – a stark fall for an officer who had served with the state police since 2019 before resigning in January amid the criminal investigation.
The elaborate deception began on October 30, 2024, when Mascia reported being shot in the leg by a “dark-skinned” driver in a black sedan with temporary New Jersey plates on the Southern State Parkway. The reality, as later discovered by investigators, was far different – Mascia had shot himself with a .22-caliber rifle at Hempstead Lake State Park, hidden the weapon, and then driven to the highway to call for help. He went so far as to plant shell casings at the scene to bolster his fictional account. The absence of body camera footage – his camera wasn’t activated – initially allowed the fabrication to go unchallenged, though the story eventually unraveled under investigation.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly didn’t mince words when addressing Mascia’s actions, calling them “disgraceful” and highlighting the extensive waste of police resources. “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,” Donnelly stated following the sentencing. Prosecutors suggested Mascia’s motivation was surprisingly mundane – an apparent attempt to receive attention and sympathy – though his attorney painted a more complex picture of a man struggling with undiagnosed mental health issues at the time of the incident.
Jeffrey Lichtman, the attorney representing both Mascia and his parents, indicated that his client was “mortified by his actions and happy to finally get on with his life.” While acknowledging that Mascia had been suffering from mental health problems and was undergoing treatment, Lichtman previously noted the extreme nature of the deception, stating, “There are many less severe and less dangerous ways to garner sympathy that don’t include shooting oneself.” The incident has had ripple effects beyond Mascia himself, with Lichtman adding, “And now an entire family is suffering for it as they usually do in such situations.”
Indeed, the case extended to Mascia’s parents, Dorothy and Thomas, who were charged with criminal possession of a firearm after the weapon used in the shooting was found in their West Hempstead bedroom during a search of their home. The elder Mascia received five years of probation at Wednesday’s sentencing, while Dorothy was given a one-year conditional discharge. Adding another layer to the family’s complicated history with law enforcement, it was revealed that Mascia’s father had been dismissed from the New York Police Department in 1993 after pleading guilty to cocaine distribution charges.
The case highlights troubling questions about mental health screening in law enforcement, the pressure officers face, and the breach of public trust that occurs when those sworn to uphold the law fabricate crimes. While Mascia’s actions appear irrational – creating a false perpetrator description that triggered a manhunt and significant public alarm – they’ve resulted in real consequences: his career is over, he faces incarceration and substantial financial penalties, and his family has been drawn into the legal system. As he begins serving his sentence, the community is left to rebuild trust in its law enforcement institutions while grappling with how an officer meant to protect the public could create such an elaborate deception that diverted critical resources and needlessly stoked public fear.
