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A former New York state trooper shot himself, then falsely claimed he was wounded by an unknown gunman long Island Highway, which launched a search operation across the region, 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 approximately $290,000 in restitution. Nassau County Court in Mineola.
Mascia pleaded guilty in May to false reporting of 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 “outrageous.”
“His lies wasted hundreds of hours of law enforcement manpower, caused enormous harm to taxpayers in Nassau County and betrayed the public’s trust in those in uniform,” he said in a statement after the sentencing.
Mascia claimed he was shot in the leg by a driver while parked on the shoulder of the Southern State Parkway on October 30, 2024, about a mile from his home. He described the imaginary driver as a “dark-skinned” man who had fled with the makeshift vehicle. new Jersey the plates are moving towards new york city,
Instead, prosecutors say, Mascia staged the scene of the alleged shooting by scattering shell casings, then shot himself in a park, hid the .22-caliber rifle, drove back to the highway and called for backup.
Jeffrey Lichtman, representing Mascia and his parents, said in an email that the former soldier “is hurt by his actions and is happy to finally move on with his life.”
They previously said Mascia, who became a soldier in 2019, was suffering from an undiagnosed mental health problem at the time of the shooting and was undergoing treatment.
Mascia’s parents also pleaded guilty to illegal firearm possession, which was found during a search of the family home.
The defendant’s father, Thomas A. Mascia was sentenced Wednesday to five years of probation. Dorothy Mascia was given a one-year conditional discharge.