1-Year-Old-Son of Ambushed State Trooper Receives 20k Education Pledge by Silver Shield Foundation to NYS Trooper’s Year-Old Son

NEW YORK - State Trooper Joseph Longobardo died tragically three days after being shot in an ambush attack allegedly by the escaped convict he was searching for in upstate New York. The Silver Shield Foundation is making certain that Louis Longobardo, the trooper’s year-old son, will have the opportunity to graduate college.

The Silver Shield Foundation, established in 1982 by New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to provide scholarships and other educational support to the children and spouses of police officers, firefighters and state troopers killed in the line of duty, announced its pledge of $20,000 to the Longobardo family to assist in the education of Louis Longobardo. The fund is earmarked for tuition, tutoring and other educational needs of the child.

This is the second family of a New York State Trooper to recently receive the Silver Shield Foundation’s pledge for educational funds. The Foundation pledged $40,000 to the 7-year-old stepson and 5-month-old daughter of New York State Trooper Craig Todeschini, who was tragically killed on April 23, 2006 after crashing into a tree during a high-speed chase in the hamlet of Pompey Hill in Onondaga County.

Joseph Longobardo, an 8-year veteran of the State Police force, died on September 3, 2006, of injuries he sustained on August 31st, when he was shot in the leg in an ambush attack while staking out the property of a former girlfriend of escaped convict Ralph “Bucky” Phillips, who had eluded authorities for several months. Phillips was later caught after authorities mounted one of the largest manhunts in New York State history.

“Trooper Longobardo’s death is a profound loss for his spouse, Teri, and their son, Louis. We want them to know they are not alone in this painful time, and hope that our pledge to assist in Louis’s education will provide a small measure of comfort,” said Silver Shield Foundation President Jim Fuchs.

“This tragic death puts into perspective the dangers that members of the law enforcement community face every time they put on their uniform. But they do it without hesitation for our safety and well-being. Trooper Longobardo made the supreme sacrifice; he will always be remembered as a hero.”

The Silver Shield Foundation assists in funding the education of children and spouses in the line of duty death of members of the New York Police Department, New York Fire Department, New York/New Jersey Port Authority Police Department, New York/New Jersey/Connecticut State Police, Nassau and Suffolk County Police Departments, local police departments in Connecticut, and law enforcement agencies in the tri-state metropolitan region within a 75-mile radius of Manhattan. The Silver Shield Foundation also sponsors programs that address emotional, psychological and health care needs of surviving children and spouses in partnership with New York University Child Study Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital.