
MANASQUAN — The borough paid a Farmingdale man $35,000 in March to settle a lawsuit in which the man alleged he was falsely accused of drunken driving after a borough police officer planted evidence, newly obtained court records say.
Michael G. Mylod said in court documents that on Oct. 24, 2014, he was cleaning out the trash in his car when two Manasquan police officers, who were investigating a child luring incident, approached him.
One of the officers, Detective Adam Pharro, asked Mylod how many beers he had had that day and then claimed to smell alcohol, according to court documents.
Mylod dismissed the claim, telling the officer he was sober for 20 years. After some talk about the child luring incident, the documents say, Pharro walked over to the recycling bin near where Mylod was emptying trash and returned with a black bag containing a beer can. Pharro told Mylod he had a witness that saw him discard the beer can, the documents say.
But Mylod claims in the lawsuit that the can was not his and that it was never provided as evidence during discovery.
When Mylod did not consent to a search of his vehicle, Pharro allegedly threatened to impound the car, according to the documents. Mylod performed field sobriety tests and then was placed under arrest, the documents say.
At the police station, Mylod took a breathalyzer test and blew a .000 percent, the records state. Still, he was charged with DWI and other motor vehicle offenses.
At a court hearing in municipal court, Mylod said he was forced to plead guilty to less serious motor vehicle offenses in order to avoid the DWI charge, the documents say.
He had to pay legal fees, court costs and other fines of around $4,800.
According to a copy of the settlement, obtained and published online by open-public records advocate John Paff, Manasquan paid Mylod on March 13, 2017, $35,000 to settle a lawsuit against the borough.
The borough does not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
Source: http://www.nj.com