The US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey just announced the sentencing of the ex-husband of a “Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast member. Thomas Manzo, 59, is the ex-husband of Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dina (Manzo) Cantin. He was sentenced to 84 months in prison on numerous charges. The judge, Susan D. Wigenton, also sentenced Manzo to three years of supervised release.

Court documents state that Mr. Manzo, after a two-and-a-half-week trial last summer, was found guilty on June 4 in a Newark, New Jersey, federal court of setting up and then assisting a member of a crime family to commit a violent assault on Ms. Cantin’s current husband and then-boyfriend, David Cantin.

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said that Manzo was sentenced to 84 months in prison for “hiring, then assisting, a soldier in the Lucchese Crime Family to assault his ex-wife’s current husband.”

Mr. Manzo was found guilty by a jury 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.

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said that the actions of Mr. Manzo were “abhorrent.”

“Whether you’re actually in the Mafia or not, hiring the mob to assault someone because of your marital problems is abhorrent,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger. “Covering up the role you played only makes it worse. The jury’s verdict, and today’s sentence, make clear that this office will spare no resources to hold accountable anyone who commits such crimes.”

Court documents included a trail of evidence at the trial that led to Mr. Manzo’s conviction. Mr. Manzo is a co-owner of the famous, upscale catering hall The Brownstone, which has been featured in numerous Real Housewives of New Jersey episodes.

In 2015, the documents state, Mr. Manzo “hired Lucchese Crime Family soldier John Perna to assault his ex-wife’s then-boyfriend, paying for the assault with a free wedding reception.”

The legal documents say that Mr. Perna is a “made man” with “his own crew.” Mr. Manzo planned with Perna and his crew to assault his former wife’s husband on July 18, 2015.

Other evidence used in the case shows that Mr. Perna had his free wedding at The Brownstone in August 2015, where about 330 people were in attendance, many of whom were “members of the Lucchese Crime Family.” Evidence included in the court documents states that Mr. Perna’s free wedding was his payment for the planned assault on Ms. Cantin’s husband.

In 2019, the legal documents state, Mr. Manzo “concealed and falsified documents related to the Perna wedding in response to a grand jury subpoena.”

The original indictment avers that on or about July 18, 2015, Perna with an “accomplice” followed Mr. Cantin "to a strip mall in Passaic County, New Jersey.” At the strip mall, the two actors "attacked" Cantin in the parking lot. The indictment said the weapon used was “a dangerous weapon, namely a slap jack,” which is a very dangerous item, usually made with a heavy leather pouch that is filled with lead or even a steel rod.

In a separate attack against the Cantins in June 2017, about a month ago before the couple were married, they endured a violent home invasion. In that attack, the couple were bound and then seriously beaten in their New Jersey home. Ms. Cantin’s engagement ring, reportedly worth $60,000, plus other possessions, were stolen during the home invasion. The couple moved to the West Coast after that attack.

In the home invasion case, James Mainello, 51, of Bayonne, was charged with first-degree Robbery; second-degree Robbery; second-degree Burglary; second-degree Aggravated Assault; two counts of third-degree Aggravated Assault; third-degree Theft: third-degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose; fourth-degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon; and third degree Criminal Restraint.

In total, eight separate government agencies and police investigated the assault, including lead agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark, whose work was credited by the U.S. Attorney as leading to the conviction. Also involved in the investigation were special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, Officers with the Lyndhurst Police Department, Officers with the Totowa Police Department, Investigators with the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office, Investigators of the New Jersey State Police, and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, all of whom were thanked by Sellinger for their substantial assistance.