Joseph Scalafani, of Mastic Beach, pleads guilty in fatal shooting of childhood friend Alex Smith

A Mastic Beach man shot and killed his childhood friend last year because the friend had begun a romantic relationship with the mother of his children, he admitted in court Tuesday.

Joseph Scalafani, 34, will be sentenced to 20 years to life in state prison as part of an agreement that saw him plead guilty to second-degree murder before Suffolk Supreme Court Justice John Collins in Riverhead.

Scalafani, dressed in a black shirt and slacks, admitted that he waited outside Linsa Torr's Place, a bar on Neighborhood Road in Mastic Beach, in the early morning hours of May 20, 2023, for victim Alex Smith to exit with Scalafani's former girlfriend.

Prosecutors have said Scalafani shot Smith three times in the torso shortly after 2 a.m., knocking him to the ground before shooting him twice more in the head at close range.

"Did you shoot him multiple times in the head and body with the intention of killing him?" Assistant District Attorney Elena Tomaro asked Scalafani during Tuesday's plea hearing.

"Yes," a soft-spoken Scalafani responded.

The proceeding took place in a tense courtroom filled with members of the Smith and Scalafani families.

Before being escorted from the courtroom, Collins gave Scalafani, who he noted has "conducted himself appropriately" in court, an opportunity to turn and look at his parents in the audience.

As he did, Scalafani also looked in the direction of Smith's family members.

"I'm sorry, guys," he said.

Neither family spoke with reporters outside the courtroom.

Defense attorney Anthony La Pinta, of Hauppauge, told Collins his client agreed to change his plea following more than 20 meetings in jail since February. He said his client has expressed "sadness" about the shooting, which he described as an "awful tragedy."

"Joey is deeply sorry and resentful for causing the death of his childhood friend, Alex Smith," La Pinta said in a statement afterward. "This was a crime of passion resulting from heartbreak, anger, and alcohol and drug use. Today is the first step in moving forward and putting this monumental loss behind for both families."

Scalafani was charged more than two weeks after the killing, when he was arrested in Florida by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department near St. Pete Beach, a county park in St. Petersburg, Suffolk police said at the time. Police had held a news conference seeking the public's help locating Scalafani.

Scalfafani’s brother Daniel Scalafani and friend Jeffrey Mercury were also charged with hindering a prosecution for helping Scalafani flee New York State, prosecutors previously said. Both men have pleaded not guilty and are due back in court later this month.

Following his indictment in July 2023, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Scalafani had confronted his former girlfriend, with whom he shares two children, one week before the shooting seeking a meeting with Smith.

Prosecutors said he pulled a gun from his pocket and threatened the woman during that earlier meeting, saying that if she ran, he would hit her in the back. Scalafani was in violation of an order of protection issued in family court at the time of both incidents, Tierney said at the time.

Scalafani had also faced weapons and criminal-contempt charges, which Collins said will be covered under the murder plea.

Scalafani will be sentenced on Jan. 25.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.