‘RHONJ’ Dina Manzo’s Ex Tommy Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison

Dina Manzo’s ex-husband was sentenced to seven years in prison Tuesday after he was convicted of hiring a mobster to attack the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” alum’s new husband.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced in a press release that Thomas “Tommy” Manzo was sentenced to “84 months in prison for recruiting and then helping to attack the current wife of his ex-wife. husband.”

A jury convicted Tommy, 59, on June 4 of one count of committing a crime of violence in aid of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit a crime of violence in aid of racketeering and one count of falsifying and concealing documents containing regarding a federal investigation.

In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Susan D. Wigenton sentenced Tommy to three years of supervised release.

“Whether you are actually in the Mafia or not, hiring the Mafia to attack someone because of your marital problems is abhorrent,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said in a statement Tuesday. “Glossing over the role you played only makes things worse. The jury’s verdict and today’s sentence make it clear that this office will spare no resources in holding accountable anyone who commits such crimes.”

Dina, 52, has not publicly responded to her ex’s conviction, but she did post a cryptic quote to her Instagram Story on Tuesday.

“Because at the end of the day, the right people are fighting for you. The right people show up. The right people take care of you not only when life turns out great, but also when it’s hard and messy and it hurts all over,” the quote said.

Tommy was accused of hiring Lucchese crime family member John Perna to physically assault Cantin, Dina’s boyfriend at the time, in a New Jersey strip mall parking lot in 2015.

Prosecutors alleged that Tommy hired Perna because he was “outraged that his ex-wife became involved with another man.”

Perna was also convicted after pleading guilty in 2020 to committing a violent crime in furtherance of racketeering activities. He was released from prison in 2023.

“The facts and circumstances of this case resemble something out of a bad TV crime drama, but the evidence and testimony presented in court prove it was reality,” said James E. Dennehy, chief of the FBI field office in Newark, in a statement in June after Tommy’s guilty verdict.

Dina, who hasn’t starred on “RHONJ” since 2014, married Cantin in 2017. They recently moved to Montecito, California.