Guns, drugs, cash found in home of NY trooper under investigation: sources

Editor's note: This video was published on Nov. 4.

NEW YORK (PIX11) – A cache of drugs and cash were found in the home of a New York State trooper amid an investigation into his claim that he was shot during a traffic stop on the Southern State Parkway, PIX11 news learned exclusively on Thursday.

Trooper Thomas Mascia, 27, has been suspended without pay amid the investigation into “inconsistencies” in his story, the Nassau County District Attorney said.

Authorities are probing whether he lied about the incident and are trying to determine if his wounds were self-inflicted, sources said. As part of the investigation, police conducted a 19-hour search of the West Hempstead home Mascia shares with his parents. 

Police found nearly $1 million in cash and steroids, a source told PIX11 News. Several guns were also confiscated from the home, a source said.

The weapons are undergoing ballistic tests to determine if one was used in the shooting, the source said.

Mascia was initially hailed as a hero after he said he saw a car pulled over on the highway, thinking it was a disabled motorist, and was shot while approaching the vehicle.

The search for the driver has since been called off and questions were raised about the veracity of the troopers story.

Mascia was given a hero’s reception by other troopers when he was released from Nassau University Medical Center where he was treated for his leg wound. 

As part of his subsequent suspension without pay, his service revolver and badge were taken. The investigation is described as “very large-scale and far-reaching.”

The trooper is the son of Thomas Mascia Sr., the former partner of NYPD officer Michael Dowd, who spent 12 years in prison for selling drugs and shaking down drug dealers.

The younger Mascia has retained attorney Jeffrey Lichtman who commented, “For five days he was beloved, and now there are all sorts of leaks and lies” about his client, which he called a disgrace.