‘Real Housewives Of NJ’ Star’s Ex Sentenced For Stalking Her, Her Husband

HOLMDEL, NJ — The ex-husband of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Dina Manzo has been sentenced to prison for stalking his ex-wife and her husband in the violent invasion of the couple’s Holmdel home in 2017, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said.

Thomas Manzo, 59, of Franklin Lakes, previously pleaded guilty in October to two counts of stalking between 2015 and 2019.

During his hearing, Manzo provided a full account of stalking his ex-wife and her then-boyfriend (now husband) David Cantin. Dina Manzo has since changed her name to Dina Cantin.

Earlier that month, Manzo was also sentenced to seven years in prison for hiring a Lucchese crime family member to assault David Cantin in 2015.

Manzo was convicted of hiring the Lucchese family “soldier” to assault David Cantin in exchange for a wedding reception at Manzo’s banquet hall, according to federal officials.

On Wednesday, Manzo was sentenced to the maximum 18 months in state prison on each count of stalking, which will run concurrent to his seven-year federal sentence, Santiago said.

James Mainello, 57, of Bayonne, who helped Manzo in the attack on Dina and David Cantin, was sentenced to seven years in state prison for his role in the robbery and assault, prosecutors said.

Mainello pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit armed robbery in May 2023. A condition of his plea deal was that Manzo plead guilty to his charges as well, Santiago said.

Mainello’s seven-year sentence is subject to New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, which requires he serve 85 percent of the sentence before being eligible for parole.

Holmdel Police were called to a townhouse on Banyan Boulevard around 11 p.m. on May 13, 2017, and found the Cantins, who had been beaten with a baseball bat and zip-tied but had freed themselves before police arrived. According to prosecutors, the couple had also been robbed of their new engagement ring and $500 in cash.

DNA evidence linked Mainello to the incident and led to his arrest in May 2019, prosecutors said.

The investigation later uncovered Manzo’s role in stalking the Cantins and found that he was aware of the robbery and assault carried out by Mainello and another unidentified man.

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