Caroline’s Worst Nightmare! Manzo’s Legacy Castle Turned Into Gruesome Death Scene
July 11 2017, Updated 11:43 a.m. ET
Caroline Manzo’s beautiful castle was built on deadly ground, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal!
The ex-RHONJ star and her husband Al are putting the finishing touches on The Legacy Castle catering venue in New Jersey, but the construction site was hit with a tragedy in November 2016.
Construction worker Michael A. Montero, 21, died at a local hospital after he fell ”approximately 40 feet” off of a forklift, according to the Pequannock police department investigation report obtained by RadarOnline.com.
The reporting officer reported that he responded to the castle after receiving a 911 call. But, he reported that the male who called wanted to take Montero to the hospital himself. When the police arrived, they escorted the construction workers to the local hospital without seeing the severity of Montero’s injuries.
“Once at the hospital I approached the black truck and observed a second male laying across the back seat when the door was opened,” the officer noted. “This male was unresponsive and was not breathing. He had several fresh marks on his head and arms but no obvious signs of bleeding.”
Medical staff and the construction worker’s friends attempted to perform CPR, but Montero was pronounced dead soon after.
One of Montero’s friends told police that he didn’t see the fall, but knew it was from a forklift “approximately 20 feet in the air” and noted that he was “sitting up talking after the fall.”
“He said as they entered the hospital parking lot he fell over in the set and stopped breathing,” the officer noted.
Another officer then went back to the castle to investigate, while the reporting officer stayed at the hospital to question the construction workers who took Montero to the hospital.
One of the men stated that “he was operating the four wheel CAT fork lift when the incident occurred. He stated he was lowering it with Mr. Montero on the platform when it gave way and fell. He stated he fell approximately twenty feet and stuck a ladder which was also being lowered down.” The worker also claimed that his colleague wanted to transport Montero to the hospital because he thought it would be quicker.
The police later learned there was video of the incident, showing it was “an equipment failure” where “the front forklift attachment detached off of the truck causing the ladder, Mr. Montero and a wooden pallet to fall approximately 40 feet.”
The police reported that the forklift was owned by Manzo Construction and was being borrowed by the on-site construction team.
No further legal action was taken by the prosecutor’s office.
The Manzos aren’t strangers to problems at their venues, as Al was slapped with a tax warrant in 2013 for failing to pay sales tax on behalf of the Brownstone. He was also hit with a $208,012.77 bill for state taxes in 2015.
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