WILDWOOD – Three current or former city officials continue to wait for a trial on state charges of using state health benefits to which they were not entitled.
Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr., Deputy Mayor Steve Mikulski and former Mayor Pete Byron were in court Thursday, Aug. 22, in Mays Landing. Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury set a new pretrial conference date for the three, who will appear on Oct. 18 in Cape May Court House.
All three have denied any wrongdoing and have rejected plea offers.
Byron has an additional court date Sept. 27 related to separate state charges on tax issues. He pleaded guilty last year to federal charges of not paying income tax on wages from 2017 and 2018 and received three years’ probation. Following the federal case, the state filed its own charges related to the same issue.
Troiano and Mikulski are charged with using health benefits prior to their current terms, which began in January. In 2010, the law on using state health benefits was changed to say only employees who worked a minimum of 35 hours per week are eligible for coverage. The three had been submitting timecards saying they had worked at least 35 hours.
On July 12, DeLury agreed to have the cases tried separately, granting a request by Mikulski, who believes his case is different from the others’.
The three men are charged with four counts, for official misconduct, theft by unlawful taking, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
