Franklin Lakes man pleads guilty to stalking in Holmdel home invasion

FREEHOLD, NJ — A Bergen County man has admitted stalking two victims in connection with a 2017 violent home invasion in Holmdel, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office announced. Thomas F. Manzo, 59, pleaded guilty to two counts of fourth-degree stalking Wednesday, Oct. 23, in Monmouth County Superior Court.

The plea deal calls for a three-year sentence in a New Jersey state prison to run concurrently with the seven-year federal sentence Manzo is already serving for a 2015 aggravated assault for aiding and abetting a racket involving a from the same victims.

The investigation began in May 2017 when Holmdel police responded to a 911 call from a Banyan Boulevard townhouse where the perpetrators stole an engagement ring and $500 in cash after attacking two victims and restraining them with zip ties. The victims managed to free themselves and contact the police. DNA evidence from the crime scene eventually led to the arrest of co-defendant James Mainello in May 2019.

Further investigation revealed Manzo’s involvement in stalking the victims between 2015 and 2019, as well as his knowledge of the robbery and assault committed by Mainello and an unidentified accomplice.

Mainello pleaded guilty in May 2023 to one count of second-degree conspiracy to commit armed robbery in the first degree, and Manzo must also plead guilty to his charges if convicted. Mainello faces up to seven years in state prison under New Jersey’s No Parole Act, which requires serving 85 percent of a sentence before parole.

Both Manzo and Mainello are scheduled to be sentenced on December 13, 2024, before Judge Joseph W. Oxley.