A Long Island family still reeling from the loss of their husband, father and brother was in court as the man responsible for his death was sentenced, 20 years after the fact.
Philip Mastropolo was 44 years old when he was killed in a tragic car crash in April 2005. Prosecutors say Ganesh Shenoy ran through a red light at the intersection of Levittown Parkway and Old Country Road in Hicksville, pushing 80 mph in a 40 mph zone.
Prosecutors say he crashed into Mastropolo’s car, sending it 65 feet into a box truck. Mastropolo died on scene.
“He was not arrested the night the crime happened as we were still conducting our investigation,” explained Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “He went to the hospital and against medical advice checked himself out.”
Prosecutors say despite having his passport taken away, Shenoy managed to take a plane back to India. There the DA’s office tried to have him arrested but he made bail and eluded authorities for two decades, until the U.S. Marshals were able to bring him back to Nassau County in 2025.
“It took a long time to get here,” said Donnelly. “But we never gave up.”
In court, his daughter Krystina Marrone, who was 16 years old when her father died, said in part, “He wasn’t there on my wedding day. he wasn’t there for the birth of his two grandchildren. You killed a great man, one that lived his life with integrity, dignity and respect, all qualities we wish you would have possessed years ago.”
Marrone also said in court, “we were left with grief that doesn’t expire in an absence that can never be filled.”
In court Shenoy smiled at the judge at times and only made a brief statement saying “Sorry to the family that’s all I can say, thank you.”
“It’s sad that the family is going through this loss for 20 years and he’s living his best life in India free to come and go,” said Donnelly.
Shenoy was sentenced to 3.5-10 years in prison as part of his plea deal.