‘RHONJ’ star Dina Manzo's ex-husband Tommy Manzo convicted of hiring mobster to assault her current spouse

FRANKLIN LAKES, NEW JERSEY: ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ star Dina Manzo’s ex-husband is convicted of hiring a mobster to physically assault his former wife’s new lover. The assault happened in 2015. Dina went on to marry her then lover and now husband, David Cantin.

In a verdict given on Tuesday, June 4, Dina’s ex-husband Tommy Manzo has been convicted and he is facing more than four decades in prison.

'RHONJ' star Dina Manzo’s ex-husband is convicted

According to federal prosecutors, Tommy Manzo - a prominent New Jersey restaurateur and a resident of Franklin Lakes - planned the attack on Dina’s then-lover and now-husband David Cantin in 2015. 

To pull off the stunt, Tommy recruited an alleged mafioso from the Lucchese crime family and offered his hire a free wedding at his catering hall, The Brownstone in Paterson, New Jersey.

Manzo's trial took place in Newark federal court, where he was convicted of committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit a violent crime in aid of racketeering resulting in serious bodily injury, and concealing documents related to a federal investigation.

James E Dennehy, head of FBI’s Newark field office, released a statement, saying, “The facts and circumstances in this case read like something from a bad TV crime drama, but the evidence and testimony presented in court prove it was reality.”

Dennehy said, “We truly hope the victims in this investigation are able to move on with their lives and forget about Manzo and his criminal mafia bedfellows.”

Per the New York Post, Manzo faces his sentencing on October 15 and may be fined up to $500,000.

Following his 2015 assault on Cantin in 2015, the prosecutors indicted him in 2020 for the incident that took place five years earlier. 

The prosecutors wrote in the court documents, “Manzo was outraged that his former wife became romantically involved with another man.”

“Rather than accept that, as law-abiding individuals do, Manzo wanted to extract physical revenge. Unwilling or incapable of doing so directly, he leveraged his catering hall,” said the prosecutors. 

Manzo offered his catering hall The Brownstone to mobster John Perna of Cedar Grove, New Jersey, in exchange for Perna to intimidate Cantin. 

In July 2015, Cantin was viciously attacked with a slapjack by Perna and one of his minions in the parking lot of a Passaic County strip mall. The vicious attack left Cantin scarred.

Perna previously pleaded guilty to committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity and was sentenced to nearly three years in prison. After his jail stint, he was released from prison in last August. 

Though Manzo didn’t face a jail sentence previously, his trial finally started on May 20. 

US Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a statement, “As a unanimous jury found, Manzo committed multiple offenses by providing a free wedding in exchange for the assault and then concealing documents relating to that wedding.”

“He will now face just punishment for his crimes,” said someone else. 

'RHONJ' star Dina Manzo and Tommy Manzo's relationship timeline

Manzo and Dina tied the knot at a lavish wedding in 2005. Their nuptials were shown on the VH1 reality series ‘My Big Fabulous Wedding’. 

However, the couple separated in 2012 for his alleged infidelity but they didn’t finalize their divorce until 2016. 

Dina married David Cantin in June 2017 after moving to California.