Barnegat Man Pleads Guilty To Reckless Manslaughter In Death Of Marine Veteran

A Barnegat man who was slated to stand trial next week for the murder of a man outside the Lighthouse Tavern in Waretown today pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter, according to app.com.

Michael Lombardo, 41, admitted to Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels that he beat Robert Bethanis unconscious outside the Route 9 restaurant and bar on the night of St. Patrick's day in 2012, Executive Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Michel A. Paulus said.

Lombardo told Daniels that he punched Bethanis - a Marine veteran - in the head several times and also kicked him in the torso while the victim was unresponsive.

Bethanis died more than two years later, on Sept. 19, 2014, at 46, of complications from an emergency tracheotomy performed on him to save his life on the night he was beaten, Paulhus said.

Bethanis’ life was saved by paramedics who drove by the tavern that night, Paulhus said. They were flagged down by police who were already on the scene, he said.

Bethanis was not breathing and was drowning in his own blood before the paramedics created an airway for him to breathe, Paulhus said.

Bethanis, who had been employed as a mechanic for Stafford Township, was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. He underwent a tracheotomy and remained hospitalized there until June 5, 2012, Paulhus said.

He was brain-damaged and unable to breathe without a ventilator, Bethanis spent more time in a rehabilitation facility, and was hospitalized several more times because of complications from the tracheotomy. He was receiving care at home when he died, Paulhus said.

Lombardo would have faced life in prison if convicted of murder. Paulhus said he would recommend a seven-year term in prison under the state's No Early Release Act.

Lombardo is free on $200,000 bail until the sentencing.

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Photo credit: Legacy.com