History of Police Chases Sends Former Rochester Man to Prison

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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A man with a history of convictions for fleeing from police and other crimes has been sentenced to just over two years in prison for a police chase that occurred just outside of Rochester several years ago.

56-year-old Anthony Masso is from the Faribault area but was living in Rochester in February 2019 when a state trooper pulled him over on northbound Highway 52 at 75th Street because the license plate on the pickup he was driving was entirely covered by snow. The criminal complaint says Masso initially pulled over, but as the trooper was getting out of his squad car, he sped away at speeds approaching 80 mph before he finally stopped near Oronoco and was arrested.

It was his fifth conviction for fleeing from police. Court records also show Masso has numerous alcohol-related driving and drug-related convictions. His lengthy criminal record dates back to 1988 when he was convicted of a felony charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Masso's 25-month sentence for the police chase near Rochester will run concurrently with a 75-month prison sentence he recently received for a felony DWI conviction in 2017. That sentence was originally stayed by a Rice County Judge, but Masso was ordered to prison in May following his conviction in the Olmsted County case and his conviction last month in Rice County for leading authorities on a chase last year at speeds approaching 110 mph.