‘RHONJ’s Tommy Manzo Allegedly Hired a Mobster to Assault Dina Manzo’s Boyfriend

By Claire Spellberg @c_spellberg
Published June 30, 2020, 2:45 p.m. ET

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Thomas Manzo, ex-husband of The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dina Cantin (formerly Manzo), has been indicted for allegedly hiring a mobster to assault her husband. According to NJ.com, prosecutors allege that in 2015, Manzo hired John Perna, a member of the Lucchese crime family, to assault Cantin’s then-boyfriend in exchange for a discounted wedding reception at a venue he owns. Manzo and Perna have been charged with committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity and conspiracy to commit a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity.

NJ.com’s Joe Atmonavage reports that Manzo was indicted this week for his alleged involvement in the assault-for-hire scheme. The U.S. Attorney’s Office claims that in the spring of 2015, Manzo — who was married to Dina Cantin from 2007 to 2016 — provided mobster John Perna personal details about Dave Cantin, Dina’s boyfriend at the time, in order to help Perna commit the assault. In exchange, Manzo allegedly offered Perna a heavily discounted wedding reception at his popular venue The Brownstone in Patterson, New Jersey.

In July 2015, Perna and another man with ties to the Lucchese crime family allegedly located Cantin’s boyfriend and attacked him at a strip mall. According to the indictment, Perna allegedly used a slap jack with “the intent to inflict serious permanent injury,” leaving the victim with a permanent facial scar.

Manzo and Perna’s indictment follows years of investigation into the alleged incident. NJ.com reports that authorities began looking into the alleged assault in August 2015, when they sent federal grand jury subpoenas to The Brownstone regarding Perna’s wedding reception that month. Despite the subpoena, Manzo did not provide the requested documents and “deliberately submitted a false document regarding the reception to the government, along with a false certification,” authorities claim.

Four years later, in November 2019, the documents were seized via a federal search warrant. As a result, Manzo has also been charged with falsifying and concealing records related to the federal investigation of the violent crime.

Manzo’s attorney, Michael Critchley, has denied all charges on his client’s behalf. “The allegations more resemble a fictional plot of a reality TV show and will be proven to be absolutely and totally false as it relates to Thomas Manzo,” he said.

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