An Indian man named Ganesh Shenoy was arraigned on September 26 (US time), before Judge Helene Gugerty on a felony charge – Manslaughter in the Second Degree, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s press release issued on Monday.
The 54-year-old Indian citizen named as a suspect in a 20-year-old car crash in America, which killed 44-year-old Philip Mastropolo on April 11, 2005. The deceased individual was a husband and father of two.
Merely two weeks after the tragedy, Shenoy fled on a plane to Mumbai. Over two decades later, he’s brought back to the US in what marks the first official extradition from Indian to America since 2017.
“After decades of evading law enforcement and dodging prosecution, my office finally returned this defendant to the United States to answer for the tragic death of a husband and father of two more than 20 years ago,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne T Donnelly.
Indian man behind 20-year-old Long Island car crash? What happened
As per the DA’s recollection of the fatal events of 2005, Ganesh Shenoy was allegedly behind the wheel of another vehicle that slammed into Mastropolo’s Cadillac after speeding through a red light.
The 44-year-old man was headed to work when the accident eventually killed him at the scene. “The impact of the crash was so violent that it launched Philip’s car 65 feet into the front of a freightliner box truck,” Donnelly reminded.
Before fleeing to India, Shenoy is said to have lied to investigators at the time about the signal showing a green light. However, his ultimate escape depicted a different story altogether. “He wanted a quick getaway and in the days that followed, it became clear why,” the Nassau County DA added.
The April 11, 2005, incident happened at approximately 6 am local time, with Shenoy reportedly driving through a red signal at the intersection of Levittown Parkway and Old Country Road in Hicksville.
Now that the Indian national is back in the US, Donnelly said that there was no way he was getting away from them again.
“For decades, Philip’s family has lived with the pain of his loss and the knowledge that the man responsible for his death was half a world away,” she continued, noting that Ganesh would be held responsible for his alleged actions.
Ganesh Shenoy’s Indian passport was seized
The Indian suspect boarded the plane at John F Kennedy International Airport 14 days after the crash despite his New York State Driver’s License and Indian passport having been confiscated by authorities. He eventually landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, India, and never went back to the US.
He was initially charged with second-degree manslaughter on August 8, 2005. Subsequently, an arrest warrant and Interpol Red Notice were also issued. Following his extradition to the US this month, he is now set to appear in court next on October 14, 2025.
Ganesh Shenoy pleaded not guilty and was remanded. He faces up to 5-15 years in prison if convicted.