Prison for ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ ex and ‘mobster’ in home attack
🔷 Ex-husband of RHONJ star gets prison for stalking
🔷 Accomplice sentenced for violent home invasion
🔷 Reality star and new partner targeted in attack
The ex-spouse of a Bravo reality star and an accomplice have been sentenced for their respective roles in a stalking and violent home invasion in Holmdel.
Thomas Manzo, 59, is the ex-husband of Dina Manzo, who was with her then-fiance, David Cantin when they were attacked inside Cantin's townhouse in 2017.
James Mainello, of Bayonne, admitted in 2023 to being one of two violent intruders who assaulted the now-married couple with a bat, also stealing an engagement ring and cash.
SEE ALSO: ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ ex convicted of stalking couple
In October, Thomas Manzo pleaded guilty to two counts of stalking for his part in the Monmouth County ordeal. Manzo was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for plotting an earlier physical assault on Cantin in 2015.
In that case, the mobster who attacked Cantin was paid with a reception at a lavish New Jersey venue.
RELATED: ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ ex gets prison for violent crime
The 57-year-old Mainello has now been sentenced to seven years in state prison — more than six of which he must serve before being eligible for parole.
Manzo has been sentenced in Monmouth County Superior Court to three years, to run at the same time as his ongoing federal term.
Following Manzo's federal sentencing, Dina Cantin’s daughter, Lexi, wrote an essay about the family’s terrifying struggles, as a result of the stalking and plotted attacks on her now stepfather.
“The fallout from my mother’s marriage to Tommy is a complex tapestry of emotions and betrayals. While strangers often offer empathy upon hearing our story, I find myself at a perpetual loss to understand how the man who tormented my mother garnered the support of my own family,” Lexi Ioannou said in the online piece, titled “Don’t Poke the Bear.”
"The psychological warfare started when Tommy realized that my mother had begun to move on," Ioannou also said.
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