The stars of The Real Housewives of New Jersey have gotten brief updates on the deep-rooted family drama that led sisters Caroline Manzo and Dina Cantin to stop speaking. While they appeared thick as thieves in season one, by season two, Dina had already made her exit and was no longer speaking to Caroline. At the time, Caroline blamed Teresa Giudice for adding fuel to the fire. But since their separate departures, Dina has only gotten closer to Teresa while completely removing herself from the Manzo family.
The scarred history between the two biological sisters stems from Dina's previous marriage. Dina was married to Tommy Manzo, the younger brother of Caroline's husband, Albert Manzo. The Manzos, aside from Tommy, have all appeared on the show with Caroline, even enjoying her short-lived spin-off Manzo'd With Children. While Caroline remained pretty tight-lipped about the truth behind her family drama, once she left and Dina returned, it was clear there was something serious going on behind the scenes. During the sister's only season together, they spoke out against fans who questioned their ties to the mob.
But in recent years, the Manzo's shady activity was be revealed after Dina and her husband, David Cantin, were attacked during a 2015 home invasion. At the time, many were shocked by the news and wondered who could be behind such a vicious attack. But five years later, Dina's ex-husband was arrested and charged for allegedly hiring a hitman to attack her and David, People reports. Tommy Manzo was accused of hiring the hitman in exchange for having a discounted wedding at a New Jersey event space he owns. Many of the guests invited to the wedding were allegedly members of the Lucchese Crime Family, the indictment said.
The indictment accused Tommy of ordering out the hit due to his upset that David "had an ongoing relationship with" his ex-wife, Dina, and "planned to have a violent assault committed on" her fiancé "that would leave a permanent facial scar." While Tommy fights the charges and claims his innocence, he reportedly received some assistance from his sister-in-law, and Dina's sister, Caroline Manzo. Recent reports claim Caroline wrote a letter in Tommy's defense. Once a fan page caught wind of the allegations and shared them on Twitter, Dina was seen liking the post, All About The Tea reports.
With the Manzo family name being dragged in the press, Caroline's nephew, Albie Manzo, took to social media to issue out a response. "I’ve had just about enough of this bullsh*t and you’ll be hearing from me soon, don’t you worry," he said in screenshots captured by Love Andy C. But after his Aunt Dina saw his response, she blasted her nephew for speaking on "his podcast for the downloads." She claimed it would be another "storyline’ to profit from. What a shame,” It's clear the Manzo family drama is far from over and this time around, Teresa has nothing to do with it.
Source: People, All About The Tea, Love Andy C