Both men were arrested Tuesday and made their initial court appearances later in the day via video conferencing.<\/p>\n
Thomas Manzo hired Perna in the spring of 2015 to assault his ex-wife’s then-boyfriend in exchange for a deeply-discounted wedding reception at a Paterson restaurant where Thomas Manzo is an owner, prosecutors said. The alleged assault occurred in July 2015.<\/p>\n
The following month, Perna held a “lavish” wedding reception at the restaurant for a fraction of the price, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
More than 330 people attended, including many members of the Lucchese Crime Family, authorities said.<\/p>\n
Manzo’s attorney, Michael Critchley, said his client is “absolutely innocent, and the allegations more resemble a fictionalised plot of a reality TV show, and will be proven to be nothing more than that.”<\/p>\n
An attorney representing Perna didn’t return an email message Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Contact Information:<\/b>
AP<\/p>\n
Tags:<\/b> AP<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
<\/a>, Wire<\/a>, United States<\/a>, English<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Contact Information:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/icrowdnewswire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/4218-logo.png\"){kind=logo}
The ex-husband of a Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member hired a reputed mobster to carry out an assault of the woman’s current husband in exchange for a lavish wedding reception, federal prosecutors in New Jersey said Tuesday. Thomas Manzo, 55, of Franklin Lakes, and John Perna, 43, of Cedar Grove, were each charged with conspiracy … Continue reading Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dina Manzo’s ex-husband charged in assault<\/span><\/a> Continue Reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,22,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english","category-united-states","category-wire"],"yoast_head":"\n