Barnegat Man Who Brutally Beat Man Outside Of Waretown Bar Gets 7 Years In State Prison

TOMS RIVER – A Barnegat man who admitted beating a Marine veteran brutally outside the Lighthouse Tavern on St. Patrick's Day 2012 will spend the next seven years in state prison, according to app.com.

Ocean County Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels sentenced Michael Lombardo, 41, to the prison term for manslaughter in connection with the death of Robert Bethanis, who died more than two years after the assault.
Bethanis was left brain damaged and unable to breath of his own as a result of the assault, executive assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Michel A. Paulus said.

Lombardo beat Bethanis even after he was unconscious and punched him in the face a number of times before he kicked him. Bethanis' head had swollen to two to three times its normal size after the beating, the judge said.

Bethanis lived more than two more years before he died on Sept. 14, 2014 at 46. He required constant care from his family when he came home and was on a ventilator, his family members said.
Lombardo pleaded guilty to manslaughter in July.

“I’m sorry for the whole thing,’’ Lombardo said. “It should have never happened. “My family suffered a lot of hardship, as did the other family, and I just want to get through this.’’

But the lukewarm apology meant little to Bethanis' relatives.

“He’s had almost five years to simply mail a letter that simply says, ‘I’m sorry,’ and he has not,’’ said Caitlin Bethanis, the victim’s daughter. “I have memories of my father that no daughter should ever have. …He is the man who beat my father beyond recognition, and he has never said he’s sorry.’’

Lombardo will have to serve 85 percent of the prison term before he can be considered for release on parole, Daniels said. He will be under parole supervision for three years after he is released, the judge said.
Daniels also ordered Lombardo to pay $6,256 in restitution to the victim’s family.

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