COURT HOUSE – The sentencing of former Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron by Cape May County Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury that was scheduled for Jan. 17 has been put off until April 25.
Byron, 69, accepted a plea deal in September on charges related to receiving benefits from the State Health Benefits Plan. Over the course of about 10 years, while serving as an elected official, Byron got more than $600,000 in health benefits to which the state said he was not entitled.
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. He agreed 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 agreement calls for Byron to serve three years in prison and pay back $310,000 to the health plan.
He was arraigned on March 17, 2023, along with current Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Deputy Mayor Steve Mikulski. Troiano and Mikulski are charged with official misconduct, theft by unlawful taking, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records; their cases are pending.
The charges stem from the state requirement, under legislation passed in 2010, that an employee work at least 35 hours per week to be eligible for health benefits. The state charges that records were falsified to make it appear the elected officials were working the required hours.
Troiano and Mikulski maintain they are innocent, and that they worked the requisite number of hours to qualify for benefits. The three originally were charged together, but their cases later were separated by DeLury.
As part of Byron’s plea arrangement, he must cooperate with the Attorney General’s Office in the prosecution of Troiano and Mikulski. The two are scheduled to appear in court again on March 3.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
