Levittown man pleads not guilty to murdering wife in August 

A Levittown man who prosecutors say shot his wife in the face in a deadly domestic dispute before opening fire on a relative who fought to disarm him pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a murder indictment.

Acting State Supreme Court Justice Tammy S. Robbins ordered during a virtual arraignment that Thomas DiNapoli, 68, continue to be held at Nassau’s jail without bail.

The indictment also charged DiNapoli with attempted murder and assault in connection with the Aug. 13 violence at the Cord Lane home he shared with his wife, Cheryl DiNapoli, 61, and her brother, Robert Rischman.

Nassau police said previously that officers found Cheryl DiNapoli dead of multiple gunshot wounds after answering a call about a disturbance at the residence at 11:45 p.m.

The wife suffered a gunshot wound to an eye and another to her neck, prosecutors said Tuesday.

When police arrived, Rischman was grappling with Thomas DiNapoli on the front lawn in a fight "essentially for his life," prosecutor Stefanie Palma said during the arraignment.

Rischman, 60, wrestled away the 9 mm rifle that DiNapoli used to shoot his wife in the couple’s bedroom before Rischman reached out to other family members and told them to call police, she said.

But DiNapoli went to the home’s garage and armed himself with a shotgun before shooting Rischman in the arm — through a kitchen door — as Rischman tried to lock DiNapoli outside, according to Palma.

The two men wrestled again, both inside and outside the home, before Rischman was able to get the shotgun away from DiNapoli as police arrived and then arrested DiNapoli, the prosecutor also said.

First responders took Rischman to a hospital, where he was later listed in stable condition, police said previously.

On Tuesday, DiNapoli’s attorney, Joseph Amsel, told the judge while appealing unsuccessfully for monetary bail to be set for his client that there were flaws in the prosecution’s case.

"Your honor, upon information and belief, there are some issues with the people’s case," the Manhattan lawyer said.

He declined to comment after the arraignment.

The Nassau district attorney’s office said DiNapoli is facing up to 50 years to life in prison if convicted.

"The allegations in this case represent the worst form of intimate partner violence," Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a statement Tuesday that added that the defendant would be "aggressively prosecuted."

The judge Tuesday signed a protective order that prohibits DiNapoli from having contact with Rischman — explaining its terms to DiNapoli a second time after he seemed confused about it.

"I can talk to the lawyer about this," he first told the judge, appearing via video conference from Nassau’s jail in an orange inmate uniform.

The case will be back in court next month.