A New York bodybuilder is in custody after he allegedly shot his parents on Christmas morning at their Long Island mansion before fleeing in a Cadillac Escalade his dad gave him, the New York Post reports. Dino Tomassetti, 29, a personal trainer living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, opened fire on his 64-year-old mother and 65-year-old father early on Saturday Morning before attempting to make a getaway but his motivations for the attack have not yet been revealed.
Brooklyn personal trainer and bodybuilder Dino Tomassetti allegedly shot his parents on Christmas Day https://t.co/BqboFenK1T
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) December 28, 2021
- State Police were able to track the Cadillac thanks to GPS. They contacted the Mahwah Police Department when Tomassetti reached the area, the Daily Voice says, and the 235-pound man was arrested just after 2 p.m. on Christmas day. He was booked into Bergen County Jail and was still there on Monday pending an extradition hearing to Nassau County.
- His parents are actually expected to live. While Vincenza Marsicano-Tomassetti was shot in the head and Rocco Tomassetti was shot in the back, both were said to have been conscious when paramedics reached them at their home. They underwent surgery and both are expected to survive, though Rocco is said to still be in serious condition.
- Dino’s friends were shocked to hear of what happened. Cody Olsen, a former teammate of Dino’s on Hofstra University’s baseball team, described him as a “gentle, harmless giant” and “the nicest, sweetest person.” Olsen added: “He never took real aggression towards anyone, he kept to himself, was super loyal. …You could trust him with things. I would never know aggressive like that. He would be the one to break up fights at bars. … He was never the aggressor.” It seems like you can never truly know someone!
- The family allegedly has ties to the mob. While the reason for Dino’s actions hasn’t been revealed or even speculated on, the press has made a point of focusing on the Tomassetti family’s ties to organized crime. Dino’s late grandfather, Dino Tomassetti Sr., is said to have been not only the head of infamous construction company Laquila Group but also part of the mob. A 2006 report in the New York Times claimed that the then-79-year-old Tomassetti Sr. was indicted for allegedly making thousands of dollars in illegal payoffs to union officials over the period of 10 years. Nearly a decade earlier, in 1997, Tomassetti Sr. and Dino’s father Rocco were arrested for allegedly operating an illegal waste transfer station. All of the charges against the family were ultimately dropped as part of a $25,000 civil settlement.
Dino Tomassetti, 29, allegedly shot his 64-year-old mom in the head and his 65-year-old dad in the back at their Long Island mansion on Christmas.
Both victims survived. The son was busted in New Jersey. https://t.co/RKh7ZZJkjt
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) December 27, 2021
