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Thomas Manzo, a Franklin Lakes resident and the ex-husband of Dina Manzo, one of the former cast members on the hit Bravo reality show, was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday, Oct. 15, after being convicted of hiring a mobster to assault Dave Cantin, Dina's now current husband, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said.
In the spring of 2015, Manzo, 59 and a co-owner of The Brownstone, a Paterson catering hall, hired Lucchese Crime Family member John Perna to assault Cantin, Dina's then-boyfriend, paying for the assault with a free wedding reception, Sellinger said.
Perna, a “made man” with his own crew, worked with them to carry out the assault in July 2015, Sellinger said. The Perna wedding, held the next month at the Brownstone, was attended by approximately 330 people, many of whom also were members of the Lucchese Crime Family, Sellinger said.
Four years later, Manzo concealed and falsified documents related to the Perna wedding in response to a grand jury subpoena, Sellinger said.
Manzo was convicted in June following a two-week trial of one count of committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit a violent crime in aid of racketeering, and one count of falsifying and concealing documents related to a federal investigation, Sellinger said. Pena had previously taken a plea deal and was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.
Thomas Manzo and Dina Manzo were previously married from 1996 to 2012, with their divorce finalized in 2016. They have one daughter. Dina Manzo married Cantin in 2017.
Dina appeared on the first two seasons of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" and then appeared in the 6th season. She also hosted her own show on HGTV.
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