NJ Mobster Sentenced In ‘Real Housewives’ Husband Hit: Feds

HOLMDEL, NJ - A known member of the Lucchese crime family was sentenced Thursday to 30 months in prison for planning and carrying out an aggravated assault against the husband of a former “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” star in 2015, federal authorities said.

John Perna, 44, of Cedar Grove, was sentenced this week after he pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity last year.

The indictment also charges Thomas Manzo, 56, of Franklin Lakes, the former husband of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Dina Manzo. He was indicted in 2020 for allegedly hiring a hit on Manzo’s then-boyfriend David Cantin in exchange for a discounted wedding. Read more: Ex-Husband In Holmdel Home Invasion Case Released From Jail

According to statements made in court, Manzo - one of the owners of the Brownstone Restaurant in Paterson - hired Perna to assault Cantin in exchange for a deeply discounted wedding reception to be held at Manzo’s upscale Passaic County venue in 2015.

Perna planned and carried out the assault on July 18, 2015, with the help of a member of his crew, prosecutors said.

“In exchange for committing the assault, Perna held a lavish wedding reception at Manzo’s restaurant a month later for a fraction of the price he would otherwise have paid,” prosecutors said. “The reception was attended by over 330 guests, many of whom were members of the Lucchese crime family.”

In addition to the prison term, Perna was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $17,816 in restitution.

Manzo was indicted separately in May for his role as an accomplice to robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, theft and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in connection with a home invasion that left Cantin and the former reality television star zip-tied and beaten with a baseball bat, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Read more: Ex-Husband Indicted In Holmdel 'Real Housewives' Home Invasion

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark with the investigation leading to the sentencing.