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A disgraced former New York State Trooper who staged his own shooting and triggered a massive manhunt by concocting a parkway ambush last year pleaded guilty Wednesday to a series of criminal charges in Nassau County Court.
Thomas Mascia, 27, of West Hempstead admitted to tampering with physical evidence, falsely reporting an incident, and official misconduct after deceptively claiming he was shot by a masked motorist Oct. 30 during a traffic stop on the Southern State Parkway near Exit 17 in West Hempstead.
Investigators later revealed Mascia had shot himself in the leg, planted shell casings, and developed a fake narrative that sent police departments across the tri-state area scrambling for a phantom gunman who never existed.
Mascia is expected to be sentenced on Aug. 20 to six months in jail and five years of probation. His sentence will also require mental health treatment and includes a civil judgment of $289,511.
“Mascia’s pathetic stunt put the public on edge and sent law enforcement in the tri-state area reeling,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. “The reality, however, was that the entire incident was the work of Mascia alone and the phantom motorist just another lie he told to cover his tracks.
“Mascia’s self-motivated ego boost cost several departments time and resources and put communities and law enforcement officers in fear for no reason,” Donnelly continued. “Now, he will face the consequences for his fabrications and for tarnishing the oath he took to serve and protect New Yorkers.”
In his drummed up report, Mascia claimed he had approached a disabled black Dodge Charger with tinted windows and New Jersey plates, when the driver, wearing a ski mask, opened fire. Mascia told authorities he was struck in the leg, prompting a full-scale law enforcement response and a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) alert for the suspect’s vehicle.
But an investigation by state police and district attorney’s office revealed a staged scene. Records from Mascia’s patrol car indicted he had driven to his home, Hempstead Lake State Park and the parkway in the hours leading up to his hoax.
Three days after the parkway incident, police investigators recovered the .22 caliber rifle used in the self-inflicted shooting during a search of Mascia’s home. Additionally, no projectiles or tire marks were found at the scene and there were no eyewitnesses or video to corroborated Mascia’s story, Donnelly said.
Authorities said Mascia returned to the parkway where he previously dropped shell casings and called in the false report about shots being fired.
Fallout from the false report quickly extended to Mascia’s parents.
During the Nov. 2 search of his home, police found an illegal firearm at the foot of his parents’ bed.
On Wednesday, Thomas A. Mascia, the former trooper’s father, pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a firearm, a felony, and is expected to receive five years’ probation when he is due back in court in August, the district attorney said.
Mascia’s mother, Dorothy Mascia, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor, and is expected to receive a conditional discharge.
“This was a deliberate betrayal of the public’s trust,” said New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James. “His false report not only endangered the safety of responding officers and the public but also undermined the credibility of every trooper who serves with honor and integrity.”
Mascia resigned from the state police on Jan. 24, three days before he and his parents were arrested.
Top photo: Former New York state trooper Thomas Mascia leaves Nassau County court in Mineola, N.Y. on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, after pleading guilty to charges that he shot himself and lied about it. (AP Photo/Philip Marcelo)
