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Bound with three sets of handcuffs because of his physique, Dino Tomassetti, 29, entered a not-guilty plea during his arraignment on Monday, Feb. 7, on attempted murder, assault, gun possession and child endangerment charges in Nassau County.
He looked intently at his father, Rocco Tomassetti, who sat with his mother, Vincenza Tomassetti, the New York Post reported. His father reportedly shook his head and glared at him as his son shed tears.
Also attending was the mother of Tomassetti's young son, who was at the center of a family dispute that turned to gunfire in their Hewlett Harbor mansion.
Tomassetti’s attorney, William Petrillo, later said both Rocco and Vincenza Tomassetti were supporting their son “100%.”
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said the couple has “made remarkable strides in their recovery" and are “lucky to be alive today."
Their son “entered his parents’ home on Christmas Day, began arguing with his family, and shot them both,” Donnelly said in a statement following the arraignment.
Things went sideways after the couple refused to let Tomassetti take their 2-year-old grandson with him that day, authorities have said.
Vencenza Tomassetti, 64, was shot in the head and Rocco Tomassetti, 65, in the back and wrist with a .22-caliber pistol, they said.
After running out of bullets, the 5-foot-9-inch, 240-pound bodybuilder then pistol-whipped his father before fleeing, authorities charged.
Both victims were taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital, where they were treated for gunshot wounds. Rocco Tomassetti was released on Dec. 27 and his wife the next day.
Neither the toddler nor his mother, ex-girlfriend Klarisa Perez, were harmed, authorities said.
Tomassetti, who worked as a personal trainer at Retro Fitness in Queens, drove off in a white 2017 Cadillac Escalade equipped with OnStar, law enforcement sources told Daily Voice at the time.
He eventually made his way to southbound Route 17 in Mahwah.
Mahwah police shut down the highway as New Jersey State troopers used the SUV's satellite system to slow it to a roll before disabling it at Ramapo Valley Road, they said.
Tomassetti got out and back-pedaled slowly toward his pursuers with his hands in the air, police said. He then knelt down and was handcuffed.
Tomassetti was later booked into the Bergen County Jail. He’s remained in the Nassau County Jail since waiving extradition in late December.
The nine-count indictment returned by a grand jury in Mineola charges Tomassetti with two counts of attempted murder, along with two counts each of assault on both of them, two of criminal possession of a weapon and one of child endangerment.
Tomasetti’s next scheduled court date is Feb. 23.
Dino Tomassetti's late grandfather -- for whom he was named -- was an Italian immigrant whose construction company helped form the Manhattan skyline. His projects included Goldman Sachs's headquarters near Ground Zero and the Bank of America headquarters. Federal authorities also linked him to organized crime.
Rocco Tomassetti operated Empire Transit Mix, which provided the concrete for the Freedom Tower, among other projects.
SEE: Bodybuilder charged with shooting LI parents cries in court — after dad’s glare (New York Post)
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