WILDWOOD – Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron, Commissioner Steve Mikulski, and former Mayor ErnieTroiano were criminally charged for fraudulent participation in the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP) June 24.
Each of the three was charged with theft and tampering with public records or information, according to a state Attorney General’s Office release.
Wildwood and the SHBP paid nearly $1 million in premiums and claims on behalf of the three officials between July 2011 and October 2021.
Troiano, Byron, and then-Commissioner Anthony Leonetti passed a June 2011 resolution, declaring themselves full-time employees, a move that ensured they would qualify for the state’s health insurance.
The resolution’s passage immediately followed a May election that put then-Mayor Troiano back in power. Troiano had previously served in city government from 1999 through 2009, when a recall effort led by Gary DeMarzo successfully unseated him.
Byron and Leonetti first won elected office in May 2011.
Leonetti told NJ.com in 2019 that he, along with Troiano and Byron, was told by the city’s solicitor in 2016 that participation in the state health plan was not lawful. He reportedly unenrolled at the time.
Troiano received the benefits from July 2011 through December 2019, billing a total of $286,500 to the city and SHBP. Byron was covered for $608,900 in premiums and claims from July 2011 through October 2021.
Although Mikulski did not join the city government until 2020, over $103,000 in premiums and claims were paid on his behalf between January 2020 and October 2021.
Since 2010, New Jersey law has required elected officials to be full-time employees “whose hours of work are fixed at 35 or more per week” in their elected positions to be eligible to participate in the SHBP and receive employer-provided health care.
The state claims the trio of Wildwood officials were never eligible for the SHBP, as they did not receive vacation, sick or personal days and maintained no regular schedule. They allegedly signed and submitted false timesheets to the city, indicating they worked full days Monday through Friday.
William Hughes Jr., Byron’s attorney, pulled no punches in responding to the announced charges.
“This is beyond the pale. The state is attempting to criminalize something that should have been handled administratively and that they kind of knew about,” Hughes told the Herald.
News of the investigation underway was first broken in October 2019, weeks before a municipal election in which Byron, Mikulski, and Commissioner Krista Fitzsimons bested then-Mayor Troiano.
A person with knowledge of the situation reported that rival campaigns anticipated the fraud charges before that fall’s election. Over two and a half years later, the charges were announced.
Mikulski is represented by John Tumelty, who represented former Cape May City Councilman Chris Bezaire in a stalking case.It is unclear who is representing Troiano.
The charges are the result of an investigation that originated with a referral from the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits.
Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, while third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
“I think that the state came in here looking to charge somebody with a crime. They got their headline. Congratulations. At the end of the day, Pete Byron is going to be vindicated,” said Hughes.
Any charges are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless they are proven guilty.
To contact Alec Hansen, email ahansen@cmcherald.com.
