Dina Manzo’s Ex-Husband Tommy Manzo’s Indictment Dismissed
Dina Manzo’s Ex-Husband Tommy Manzo’s Indictment Dismissed
The three-count indictment against Tommy Manzo has been dismissed by a federal judge. The indictment was dismissed without prejudice, which means that a new indictment must be obtained if the government decides to prosecute a second time.
The indictment against the ex-husband of former Real Housewives of New Jersey star, Dina Manzo, was dropped due to a violation of the Speedy Trial Act, per court documents.
The indictment alleged that Manzo, co-owner of The Brownstone, enlisted John Perna to plot an assault on Dina and her current husband, David Cantin, using Perna’s connections to the Lucchese crime family. As payment, Manzo would allow Perna to use the venue for his daughter’s wedding at a deep discount.
Federal prosecutors claimed that Perna and an accomplice assaulted Cantin with a slapjack on July 18, 2015.
Manzo hosted a wedding bash for 330 guests, one month after the incident. Prosectors claimed that members of the New York based crime family attended the event.
In December 2020, Perna admitted that he attacked Cantin, Dina’s boyfriend at the time, outside a New Jersey strip mall. He was later convicted and sentenced to 30 months behind bars.
Manzo’s lawyers argued that the feds failed to begin his trial within the required Speedy Trial Act timeframe. They pointed out that Manzo was indicted by a grand jury in 2020, but dozens of delays pushed back the trial. The trial was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, case and discovery issues and the termination of several of Manzo’s defense lawyers.
U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton explained that she did not dismiss the indictment with prejudice because the “charged offenses are unquestionably serious.” She added that the numerous delays did not “suggest bad faith or a pattern of neglect by the government. Nor does defendant point to any. Instead, defendant’s sole — and conclusory — argument is that the delay was substantial and, thus, inherently prejudicial. This Court is not persuaded.”
Judge Wigenton wrote — “While the delay was certainly substantial, defendant expressly requested it; he asked the government to hold off on prosecuting this action until he resolved his criminal case in state court.”
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Avigail is an Entertainment blogger at All About The Tea, who specializes in The Real Housewives of Atlanta and The Real Housewives of Potomac. Avigail has a background in marketing. She’s a Brooklynite living in the Bahamas, with a passion for travel, writing, reality TV watching, pop culture and spoken word.