The sentencing of former Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron, who pleaded guilty to state charges 18 months after being arraigned and has been waiting more than a year to hear his sentence, has been delayed for a fourth time.
On March 17, 2023, Byron and then co-defendants Steve Mikulski and Ernest Troiano Jr. were arraigned on charges of making use of the State Health Benefits Plan, which the state said they were not entitled to.
Byron was facing as many as 16.5 years in prison on charges of theft by unlawful taking, falsifying or tampering with records, failure to pay tax and filing a false tax return.
Byron, then 69, accepted a plea deal on Sept. 27, 2024, to plead guilty to those charges; in return, the state agreed not to pursue other charges, including misuse of office to participate in the State Health Benefits Plan and not reporting income on his state tax returns from a city vendor who employed him.
The plea deal reduced his potential prison time from 16.5 years down to three years in state prison.
Under the deal, Byron acknowledged that he received benefits from the health plan over the course of about 10 years while serving as an elected official, more than $600,000 to which the state said he was not entitled.
The plea agreement calls for Byron to serve three years in prison and pay back $310,000 to the health plan. His sentencing has been scheduled and rescheduled four times:
- On Jan. 13, 2025, the sentencing, scheduled for Jan. 17, was postponed until April 25.
- On April 24, sentencing was postponed until September.
- On Sept. 19, sentencing was postponed until Friday, Oct. 3.
- On Oct. 2, the sentencing was postponed until Friday, Dec. 5.
The Cape May County Public Defender’s Office has been representing Byron in the case. His public defender, Eric Shenkus, did not immediately return a Herald call for more information about the delays.
Part of Byron’s plea deal includes his cooperation with the state Office of the Attorney General in the cases against his former co-defendants, Mikulski and Troiano. Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have opted to take their cases to trial.
They are charged with official misconduct, theft by unlawful taking, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records.
Mikulski’s trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, Dec. 1, and Troiano is scheduled to go to trial on Monday, Jan. 5. Each is represented by a private attorney.
In a reply to a Herald query, the Attorney General’s Public Information Office said: “Under the plea agreement he reached with OPIA [the Office of Public Integrity & Accountability], Peter Byron agreed to testify at the trials of his codefendants in the case if necessary before he would be sentenced.
“The trials of Ernest Troiano Jr. and Steve Mikulski are pending for various reasons, including pretrial motions filed by their defense attorneys. Byron’s attorney has never objected to any adjournment.”
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
