Frank Catania is speaking his truth about why son Frankie lost his job at Luis “Louie” Ruelas’ company.
In a never-before-seen clip that aired during part two of Tuesday’s “Real Housewives of New Jersey” reunion, Dolores Catania’s ex-husband claimed Ruelas suddenly “closed down” his business and ghosted without an explanation.
“He didn’t tell Frankie,” Frank told Joe Gorga. “Frankie was reaching out and called me and said, ‘Dad, what do I do? I’ve been calling Louie and he won’t respond.'”
Gorga then asked why Ruelas didn’t give Frankie a warning, to which Frank responded, “That’s the only thing I got a problem with.”
Frank also addressed his own drama with Ruelas in real time at the reunion before the husbands joined the “RHONJ” ladies onstage with host Andy Cohen.
“Normally, I keep my mouth shut. Not today,” he told Gorga, Joe Benigno and John Fuda in the dressing room.
“Guys, you know as well as I do, I would never chime in. I’d never jump in on the bandwagon, but the fact that he f–cked me this year for no reason, and I did nothing but try to help him.”
Additionally, Frank blamed Ruelas for changing the dynamic in Season 13 for the worse, saying, “There have been such angry, angry arguments in this show, and it has never, ever gotten to the point it has gotten to right now. And the only thing different is Luis.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time Ruelas — who married Teresa Giudice in August 2022 — has faced scrutiny for his business practices.
Last month, his company Digital Media Solutions was named in a harassment lawsuit for allegedly passing on a woman’s phone number as a potential sales lead.
The firm has also been hit with at least three prior complaints filed in 2021 that accused DMS of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), according to copies obtained by Page Six.
And in a March episode of “RHONJ,” Gorga alleged Ruelas “screwed” him out of $250,000 in a failed pizza oven venture.
“It got very ugly,” he said, adding, “You can do business with anyone if you go in with the trust and you’re not looking to cheat somebody.”
However, Giudice defended her husband’s involvement in the deal and claimed her brother wanted to receive 50 percent of the profits even though Ruelas put up “all the money.”
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