The ex-husband of Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dina Manzo has been released on bail after “hiring a mobster to beat up her new husband for a discounted wedding at her catering hall.”
According to federal court documents, New Jersey restaurateur Tommy Manzo posted $100,000 bail ahead of his trial on racketeering charges, which is scheduled to begin May 20.
As part of his bail agreement, Manzo surrendered his passport and is prohibited from traveling outside of New Jersey and New York until the case is decided.
Manzo was indicted on federal charges in 2020 for allegedly hiring a member of the notorious Lucchese crime family to beat David Cantin, 44, then boyfriend and now husband of Dina, 51, in 2015.
In exchange for carrying out the attack, Manzo allegedly offered alleged mobster John Perna, 44, a heavily discounted wedding reception at his catering hall, The Brownstone, in Paterson.
Dina Manzo’s ex-husband, 51, Tommy Manzo (seen with Dina) has been released on $100,000 bail after hiring mobster John Perna to beat up Dina’s new husband in 2015.
Dina photographed with her husband David Cantin, who was slapped by Perna and an ‘accomplice’ in the parking lot of a New Jersey shopping center in 2015.
Tommy Manzo offered the alleged mobster a huge discount on his banquet hall for his wedding, which was reportedly attended by several members of the infamous Lucchese crime family.
The court document says: “Perna was going to use his connections with the Lucchese crime family to organize and commit an assault against the boyfriend of Manzo’s ex-wife and in exchange, Manzo would allow Perna to use the wedding venue in a big discount’.
Perna, along with an “accomplice,” allegedly tracked the victim to the parking lot of a New Jersey shopping center.
Perna then used a slap, a favorite weapon of mobsters, to “inflict a permanent injury” on Cantin’s face in the savage attack, according to court documents.
After the attack, Manzo kept his end of the deal and provided Perna with the glamorous wedding venue at a much lower price.
“The reception was attended by more than 330 guests, many of whom were members of the Lucchese crime family,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig.
Five years later, Perna and his accomplice were charged with the crimes.
The gangster pleaded guilty to committing a violent crime in furtherance of extortion activities and was sentenced to almost three years in prison, before being released in August last year.
It is unclear if his partner was ever tried for his role in the attack.
However, a federal judge dismissed the charges against Manzo earlier this year because numerous delays in the case led to a violation of his right to a “speedy trial.”
‘The last day that Mr. Manzo could have been brought to trial by the Prosecution in compliance with the [law] it was December 10, 2022,” said an earlier federal court filing, filed on January 19.
“But no effective extension was signed until almost eleven months later,” he continues.
“There is no doubt that there has been a violation of the [Speedy Trial Act] In this case… the accusation against Mr. Manzo must be dismissed,’ the brief concluded.
Last month, Manzo was charged again with the same charges, including one count each of violent crime in furtherance of racketeering activity, conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon, and falsifying and concealing records related to a federal investigation. .
Manzo co-owns The Brownstone with his brother Albert. It is based in Paterson, New Jersey.
Mobster John Perna, 44, a member of the Lucchese crime family, was found guilty of the 2015 attack in 2021 and sentenced to two and a half years.
Dina and her second husband were allegedly beaten by her ex and another attacker in Holmdel in 2017.
In addition to organizing the assault, Manzo was also accused of falsifying and concealing records when federal authorities investigating the assault searched the location for documents related to the wedding.
Manzo failed to provide relevant documents in response to those subpoenas and deliberately submitted a false receipt document.
FBI agents then raided the venue in November last year and confiscated invoices from the wedding reception, as well as other relevant documents, which had not been previously turned over.
Manzo also has state charges pending in Monmouth County, alleging that he and another mystery man broke into Dina and Cantin’s home in Holmdel, before beating the husband with a bat, physically assaulting her and then robbing the couple in May. of 2017.
The next hearing in that case will be held on April 29, state prosecutors revealed to The New York Post.
Manzo and Dina married in 2005, in a grand Italian wedding, before separating in 2012 and divorcing in 2016, with their marriage on the verge of dissolving at the time of the assault.
Manzo is co-owner of the Brownstone location with his brother Albert. The place was featured on episodes of RHONJ when Dina was on the show.