Charges Dropped for Wildwood Mayor, Commissioner

WILDWOOD, N.J. — Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano, Jr. and Commissioner Steve Mikulski are no longer facing criminal charges. The state has dismissed its indictment against the two local officials, bringing an end to a legal fight that began in 2022 and hung over their service in office for years.

The case centered on allegations that the pair improperly obtained taxpayer-funded health benefits. Prosecutors argued they did not meet New Jersey's rule that elected officials must put in a minimum of 35 hours of work each week to qualify for coverage. A first indictment was thrown out in 2023, but prosecutors went back and secured a new one.

The charges were originally filed by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), the unit Attorney General Jennifer Davenport shut down earlier this year. OPIA had spent years under fire over claims of prosecutorial misconduct, losses in court, and cases that seemed to go nowhere.

Charles H. Nugent, Jr., who represents Troiano, described the toll the case took on his client and his family. "The poor guy and his family have been literally tortured for ten years," Nugent told New Jersey Globe.

According to Nugent, a court ruling stripped away the heart of the state's case, and an appellate panel upheld that decision. Without the evidence, he said, prosecutors had no path forward. "The state finally realized they don't have the evidence," Nugent told New Jersey Globe.

Nugent also pointed to new leadership at the Attorney General's Office as a turning point for a case he believes had become politically charged. "I give them a lot of credit. They finally realized it has been a political issue. A fresh set of eyes looked at it," Nugent told New Jersey Globe, adding, "It's about time."

Chris St. John, the attorney for Mikulski, characterized the matter as one of "selective prosecution," according to New Jersey Globe.

Through it all, Wildwood voters never turned away from the two officials. Both Troiano and Mikulski kept winning elections even as the charges and the headlines followed them. "The people of Wildwood keep voting him in," Nugent told New Jersey Globe. "Ernie Troiano is one of the hardest working elected officials in the state."

The dismissals mark another blow to OPIA, which was formed in 2018 by then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal with a mission of investigating public corruption and holding officials accountable. Over time, defense lawyers, judges and lawmakers grew increasingly critical of how the office handled its cases, raising concerns about withheld evidence, grand jury presentations and indictments that critics called questionable.

Several of OPIA's highest-profile prosecutions turned into drawn-out courtroom battles. Even when the cases fell apart, the people charged had already spent years and significant sums on legal fees, along with damage to their reputations. New Jersey Globe reported on many of those concerns, including questions about the office's evidence practices and its record in court.

By dismantling OPIA and moving public corruption prosecutions back to the Division of Criminal Justice, Davenport delivered a clear rebuke of the office's legacy. For Wildwood, the dismissal means two of its elected leaders can put a long legal chapter behind them — and their supporters say the community's faith in them was justified all along.