Bayonne Man & Franklin Lakes Man Sentenced For 2017 Violent Home Invasion Robbery
Sunday, January 12, 2025, 4:00 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
FREEHOLD, NJ.- On Friday, January 10, 2025, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago reported that a 57-year-old Bayonne, New Jersey man, and a 59-year-old Franklin Lakes, New Jersey man were sentenced to New Jersey State Prison for their roles in a home invasion robbery that occurred in the evening hours of May 13, 2017, in Holmdel, New Jersey.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, on October 23, 2024, Thomas F. Manzo, 59, of Franklin Lakes, who is the ex-husband of Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dina Cantina, appeared in Monmouth County Superior Court and pleaded guilty to two counts of fourth-degree Stalking for his repeated harassment in stalking two victims over four years, beginning in 2015 and lasting through 2019.
Previously, on May 12, 2023, James J. Mainello, 57, of Bayonne, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery for his role in robbing and assaulting two individuals inside their Holmdel, New Jersey home in May of 2017. As a condition of Mainello’s plea agreement, Manzo would have to plead guilty to his role in the case.
Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Sentences Both Men
On Wednesday, June 8, 2025, Manzo and Mainello appeared in Monmouth County Superior Court and were sentenced by Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley. Manzo was sentenced by Judge Oxley to 18 months in New Jersey State Prison on each count, which will run concurrently to a seven-year federal prison term he is currently serving in connection with a 2015 violent assault in aid of racketeering of one of the same Holmdel stalking victims.
Mainello was sentenced by Judge Oxley to seven years in New Jersey State Prison, subject to the No Early Release Act, which requires Mainello to serve 85% of his custodial term before becoming eligible for parole.
The guilty pleas and sentences stem from an investigation that began on Saturday, May 13, 2017, when shortly before 11:00 p.m., members of the Holmdel Police Department responded to a townhouse on Banyan Boulevard after receiving a 911 Emergency Call reporting a home-invasion robbery.
According To Initial Police Reports
According to police reports, upon arrival, Police Officers discovered two victims who had freed themselves from zip ties after having been assaulted multiple times with a baseball bat and robbed of the couple’s new engagement ring and $500 in cash.
Initial investigation and DNA evidence collected at the scene led to the arrest and charges being filed against Mainello in May 2019. During the continuing investigation, Detectives were able to link Manzo to the stalking of both victims and his knowledge of robbery and assault carried out by Mainello and another unidentified man.
