Fraud charges for Wildwood, NJ officials dismissed but their case isn’t over

👨‍⚖️ Three Wildwood politicians are accused of health benefits fraud

👨‍⚖️ A judge dismissed the charges against the officials on Friday

👨‍⚖️ The state says the charges were only dismissed because of a technicality

WILDWOOD — A judge has dismissed fraud charges against three local politicians accused of defrauding the state of nearly $1 million in health benefits but the Attorney General's Office says the officials aren't out of the woods just yet.

Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron, Commissioner Steve Mikulski, and former Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr. were indicted on 12 counts by a state grand jury back in March, though charges were first announced by Attorney General Matthew Platkin in June 2022. The three officials are accused of enrolling in the State Health Benefits Program when they were not eligible.

Authorities said that Byron, a Democrat, and Troiano, a Republican passed a resolution in 2011 declaring themselves full-time employees so that they would be eligible for the program. However, the state said they did not work the minimum 35 hours per week to enroll but applied anyway. Mikulski is accused of enrolling in the program when he took office in 2020.

The indictment included the same four counts for each official including second-degree official misconduct, second-degree theft by unlawful taking, third-degree tampering with public records, and fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records.

But now a superior court has thrown out the charges. The Press of Atlantic City reported that Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury Jr. made the decision on Friday, for which Byron called him a "pretty cool guy."

Byron's attorney Eric Shenkus, a public defender in Cape May County, on Friday told the Press that he hoped the state would not pursue the case any further. Shenkus did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

👨‍⚖️ State looking into continuing prosecution

“The Court’s decision to dismiss the indictment was made without prejudice and based on what the Court viewed as a technical deficiency due to grand juror absences during a portion of the State’s presentation," the OAG said in a statement reacting to the decision.

A case being dismissed without prejudice means that prosecutors are free to file new charges based on the same accusations. The OAG said it would continue to pursue the case.

"The Court did not dismiss the indictment based on the merits of the State’s case against the defendants. While the State is currently reviewing the Court’s opinion and assessing litigation options, the State has every intention of prosecuting this case to the fullest extent of the law.”

And with the state charges, Mayor Byron is also dealing with federal prosecutors. Days before he was indicted in March, he pleaded guilty to two counts of willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of fraudulent tax returns, according to U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger.

Officials said Byron did not report payments totaling over $40,000 on his tax returns for 2017 and 2018.

He faces up to three years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 at sentencing on Aug. 2.

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