Thomas Manzo, the ex-husband of former Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dina Manzo, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, June 30 to charges that he allegedly hired a hitman to attack her then-boyfriend, now-husband David Cantin.
Thomas who is known as Tommy appeared via Zoom before a federal court for allegedly hiring Lucchese crime family soldier John Perna to carry out an attack on Cantin in exchange for a discount wedding reception at the Manzo family catering hall in Paterson, N.J., according to a report by Page Six.
The 55-year-old, who was given $100,000 bail by federal Judge Cathy L. Waldor, was hit charges of committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering, assault with a dangerous weapon and falsifying records, each of which carries a 20-year maximum sentence and $250,000 fine.
If he makes bail, he will be under supervision and must surrender his passports and travel documents.
Perna was arraigned Tuesday on the same charges and also pleaded not guilty. He also was hit with a count of insurance fraud for falsely reporting his Mercedes Benz was destroyed in 2016 after setting it on fire with other Lucchese mobsters.
He was given the same bail conditions as Manzo, except he will also be under 24-hour supervision and home incarceration with electronic monitoring.
Federal officials said that 330 people, including “many members” of the Lucchese crime family, attended Perna’s August 2015 ceremony and prosecutors alleged in their indictment that Tommy falsified and hid records related to the federal investigation of the assault when federal grand jury subpoenas were sent to the Brownstone, reports the publication.
In November 2019, agents with the FBI executed a search warrant at the Brownstone Restaurant and seized invoices for the August 2015 Perna wedding reception and other relevant documents that were not previously turned over.
Manzo’s lawyer, Michael Critchley, released a statement via Page Six saying his client is “absolutely innocent, and the allegations more resemble a fictionalized plot of a reality TV show and will be proven to be nothing more than that.”
Photo Credit: Instagram
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