Former County Prosecutor Guilty of Malicious Prosecution; Taylor: State AG’s Office Oversaw Case

WILDWOOD – Following a decade of controversy and litigation, an Atlantic County jury found retired Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor guilty of the malicious prosecution of former Wildwood Mayor Gary DeMarzo and Solicitor Samuel Lashman. 
An undisclosed settlement with respect to damages was reached in the case.
According to current County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland, damages would not be a direct liability of county taxpayers. Since Taylor was defended by the Attorney General’s Office, the state had control of any settlement reached, and the obligations resulting from the settlement.
The case began in 2007 when DeMarzo was elected to serve as one of Wildwood’s three commissioners. At the time DeMarzo was serving as an officer in the city’s police department.
Desiring to keep his position in the department while he served on the governing body, DeMarzo took a leave of absence from the department. The city went to court in an attempt to force DeMarzo to relinquish one of the two roles.
The trial court allowed DeMarzo to hold both positions under his leave of absence arrangement provided he observed certain restrictions on what he could be involved in as a commissioner.
A later Appellate Court ruling reversed that decision setting a time frame for DeMarzo to relinquish one or the other position. Lashman served as DeMarzo’s attorney.
DeMarzo sought an order from the court to have the city pay his legal fees. The court did not issue such an order. Tied up in this issue was a disagreement about whether or not the court merely failed to compel the payment of fees or whether it denied the city’s right to making the payment.
In March 2010, Lashman submitted two vouchers to the city for expenses related to the court cases totaling $348.75. DeMarzo, in his position of oversight over city finance offices, authorized the reimbursement. 
Three separate indictments followed. 
Prosecutor Taylor contended that DeMarzo had committed official misconduct when he authorized the reimbursements. The first indictment included a claim that $6,000 was involved rather than $348. The indictments were not sustained by the court.
The first was dropped and two subsequent ones were dismissed. As the dispute progressed, DeMarzo filed a malicious prosecution case against Taylor. A counter-suit was also filed by Taylor.
Soon after the first indictment, DeMarzo ran for reelection in 2011. The indictment played a role in the political contest.
DeMarzo lost his bid to keep his seat on the commission.
Reached for comment, Taylor said he had nothing to say at this time. He did note that the state Attorney General’s Office had control of the case throughout and thus made decisions on how to defend the charges.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.