A former New York State trooper who shot himself in the leg and falsely said he had been injured in the line of duty by a masked assailant on the Southern State Parkway last year was sentenced to 6 months behind bars on Wednesday in Mineola.

Thomas J. Mascia, of West Hempstead, faked the Oct. 30, 2024, attack to get sympathy and attention from the public and a former girlfriend, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said after the disgraced ex-trooper was sentenced by acting Supreme Court Justice Robert G. Bogle. Mascia’s false story about being shot by a "dark-skinned" masked assailant sparked a manhunt for an alleged cop shooter that diverted manpower and resources from law enforcement in the metro area.

"Mascia shot himself in the leg, scattered shell casings at the scene, t

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