'RHONJ': Dina Cantin's Ex-Husband Thomas Manzo Found Guilty in Assault Case

In a situation straight out of The Sopranos, Thomas Manzo, the ex-husband of former Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dina Cantin, was found guilty of hiring an alleged mobster to assault Dina's then-boyfriend (and current husband) David Cantin back in 2015.

Dina and Thomas married in 2006 and share a daughter together, Lexi Manzo. They officially separated in 2012 after alleged infidelity on Tommy's part. Their divorce became official in 2016, allowing Dina and David to get married the following year. While Dina sought out new love, it appears that Tommy only cared about getting revenge on the couple — and found himself in hot water as a result.

So, what was Thomas charged with, and what happens next? Read on for details.

Prosecutors said Thomas hired a "soldier" from the Lucchese crime family, John Perna, to attack David Cantin in 2015 near a New Jersey strip mall; in exchange, Perna was offered a free wedding reception at Thomas's catering hall.

Thomas then "concealed and falsified documents related to the Perna wedding in response to a grand jury subpoena," the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey said in its press release.

In the end, Thomas was found guilty "on one count of committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity, one count of conspiracy to commit a violent crime in aid of racketeering resulting in serious bodily injury, and one count of falsifying and concealing documents related to a federal investigation," per the press release.

Thomas faces up to 43 years in prison and will be sentenced in October 2024.

In a separate incident, Thomas was indicted on charges of hiring another man, James Mainello, to break into the home that Dina and David shared in 2017. When the couple arrived home, they were allegedly attacked by Mainello, who wielded a baseball bat to attack them. He then allegedly zip-tied the couple and proceeded to ransack their house. Thomas was indicted in 2021, while Mainello was indicted in 2019. Their charges included stalking, multiple assaults, burglary, and a weapons charge.

Thomas's father, Albert "Tiny" Manzo Sr., was found murdered after allegedly stealing money from the infamous Gambino family. But Tiny's other son Albert shared once that he believed his father was innocent. He told the New York Post in 2020, “My Father was no gangster. He was a wonderful, hardworking man. He was never accused of anything else pertaining to being a gangster. The shame of it is that our family were the victims of a murder which was never solved, and it was spun as a mob hit.”