A cache of drugs and cash were discovered in a New York State trooper’s home as part of an investigation into his allegation that he was shot during a traffic check on the Southern State Parkway, PIX11 News reported exclusively on Thursday.
The Nassau County District Attorney has suspended Trooper Thomas Mascia, 27, without pay while conducting an investigation into “inconsistencies” in his statement.
Authorities are looking into whether he lied about the incident and whether his wounds were self-inflicted, according to sources. Police searched Mascia and his parents’ West Hempstead home for 19 hours as part of the inquiry.
According to PIX11 News, police recovered nearly $1 million in cash and steroids. A source also reported the seizure of numerous guns from the property.
The source says the firearms are being ballistic tested to determine if they were used in the shooting.
Mascia was first lauded as a hero after claiming to have seen a car pulled over on the highway, mistaking it for a crippled motorist, and being shot while approaching it.
Since then, the troopers’ account has come under scrutiny, leading to the cancellation of the search for the driver.
When Mascia was released from Nassau University Medical Center, where he was treated for his leg wound, he was greeted as a hero by other troopers.
They seized his service handgun and badge as part of his subsequent unpaid suspension. People describe the probe as “very large-scale and far-reaching.”
Thomas Mascia Sr., the former partner of NYPD officer Michael Dowd, who served a 12-year prison sentence for distributing cocaine and shaking off dealers, is the father of the trooper.
The younger Mascia has retained attorney Jeffrey Lichtman, who stated, “For five days he was beloved, and now there are all sorts of leaks and lies” about his client, which he described as a disgrace.