Mercer Times

Former Wildwood Mayor Peter J. Byron has pleaded guilty to charges related to fraudulently participating in the State Health Benefits Program and failing to disclose outside employment and income. This announcement was made by Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA).

Byron, 68, who resigned from his municipal office in September 2023, admitted to the crimes during a hearing on September 27, 2024, before New Jersey Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury Jr., presiding in Cape May County.

He pleaded guilty to one count of theft by unlawful taking (2nd degree) related to health-benefits fraud. Additionally, he pleaded guilty to falsifying or tampering with records (4th degree) and filing a fraudulent tax return (3rd degree) concerning undisclosed employment.

The plea agreement with OPIA's Corruption Bureau resolves both indictments against Byron. Prosecutors have agreed to recommend an aggregate sentence of three years in New Jersey state prison. Byron is also required to pay restitution and enter a consent order that includes a lifetime ban on public office and employment.

“Illegally obtaining benefits is not what holding public office should be about. Rather, it should be about honorably serving the people you represent,” said Attorney General Platkin. “This was a self-serving, nearly decade-long betrayal of the public’s trust that saddled New Jersey residents with a six-figure bill for the defendant’s personal gain.”

“As this case demonstrates, the career prosecutors in OPIA’s Corruption Bureau will relentlessly pursue those who abuse public resources and public office and will hold them accountable,” stated OPIA Executive Director Drew Skinner.

In July 2023, a state grand jury indicted Byron along with Wildwood Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr. and City Commissioner Steve Mikulski on charges including official misconduct and theft by unlawful taking related to alleged health-benefits fraud.

According to court proceedings:

Byron, Troiano, and Mikulski were not eligible for participation in the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP) because they were never full-time employees as required by SHBP rules. Despite this, all three allegedly enrolled in SHBP fraudulently and received taxpayer-funded health benefits.

As a result of this fraudulent enrollment, Wildwood and SHBP paid nearly $609,000 in premiums and health-benefits claims for Byron from July 2011 through October 2021.

In April 2024, another indictment accused Byron of using his official position unlawfully to obtain employment from an attorney associated with Wildwood city government without disclosing this job or paying taxes on its earnings.

Byron used his position as city commissioner before becoming mayor to secure employment from an attorney who had contracts with Wildwood City government positions.

Additionally, he failed to report this job as a source of income on annual financial disclosure statements submitted to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs for 2017 and 2018. The investigation revealed he did not pay state income tax on earnings from these years either.

The case was investigated by the Official Corruption South unit of the New Jersey State Police. It was prosecuted by OPIA Corruption Bureau Deputy Attorneys General Brian Uzdavinis and Niccole Sandora under supervision from OPIA Corruption Bureau Chief Jeffrey J. Manis, Deputy Bureau Chief Marian Galietta, and Executive Director Skinner.

The cases against defendants Troiano and Mikulski are ongoing; they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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