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A former New York state trooper was sentenced on Wednesday to six months behind bars after he shot himself in the leg and falsely claimed that he was wounded by an unknown gunman.
Thomas Mascia pleaded guilty in May to falsely reporting an incident, tampering with physical evidence and official misconduct. Mascia, who had been a trooper since 2019, resigned in January after he was suspended without pay while state police conducted a criminal investigation into the shooting.
In addition to prison time, Mascia was 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.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly criticized Mascia for his “disgraceful” actions that wasted police resources, including a manhunt that lasted several days.
EX-NY STATE TROOPER SHOT HIMSELF, FALSELY CLAIMED HE WAS WOUNDED BY UNKNOWN GUNMAN: PROSECUTORS
Former New York state trooper Thomas Mascia leaves Nassau County court in Mineola, New York, on May 21, 2025. (AP)
“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 said in a statement after the sentencing.
Mascia reported that he was shot in the leg on Oct. 30, 2024, by a driver parked on the shoulder of the Southern State Parkway on Long Island, about a mile from the trooper’s home. He described the fictitious driver as a “dark-skinned” man who drove away in a black sedan with temporary New Jersey plates heading toward New York City.
He had shot himself at Hempstead Lake State Park before stashing the .22-caliber rifle and driving to the highway to call for help.
Prosecutors said Mascia also planted shell casings at the scene where he shot himself.
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Former New York State Trooper, Thomas Mascia, center, leaves Nassau County District Court after his arraignment, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Hempstead, New York. (Howard Schnapp for Newsday via AP)
There was no video footage of the incident because Mascia’s body camera was not activated at the time.
Mascia is “mortified by his actions and happy to finally get on with his life,” lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman, who represents the former trooper and his parents, said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Prosecutors said Mascia shot himself in an apparent attempt to receive attention and sympathy.
Lichtman previously said Mascia was suffering from an undiagnosed mental health problem at the time of the shooting and that the former trooper has been undergoing treatment.
“There are many less severe and less dangerous ways to garner sympathy that don’t include shooting oneself,” he said in January. “And now an entire family is suffering for it as they usually do in such situations.”
A New York State Police logo is shown on a state police officer’s car near Dannemora, New York, Friday, June 12, 2015. (AP)
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Mascia’s parents, Dorothy and Thomas, were also each charged with criminal possession of a firearm after the gun used in the shooting was found in their West Hempstead bedroom during a search of the home.
The disgraced trooper’s father was sentenced to five years of probation on Wednesday while his mother was given a one-year conditional discharge.
Mascia’s father was dismissed from the New York Police Department in 1993 after pleading guilty to cocaine distribution charges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.