The former mayor of New Jersey’s third largest city – on parole for official misconduct – has asked taxpayers to foot the bill for his medical benefits, city officials said Tuesday.

Jose “Joey” Torres, 61, who was forced to resign as mayor of Paterson after his criminal conviction in 2017, has asked that his free health insurance, which was canceled, be reinstated, officials said.

Torres was given free insurance in 2014, shortly after he took office for his second term as mayor at a salary of $119,000.

At the time, Torres qualified for free healthcare coverage based on his state pension and retirement from his job as business administrator in Jackson Township, officials said.

The situation at the time led to questions on how a person can be considered a retiree and still work for the city at the same time.

In 2018, Paterson discontinued its self-insurance program for retirees and decided instead to join the state’s health benefits plan.

The state then eliminated Torres from its list of retirees eligible for free health insurance. In response, Torres filed a workers’ compensation claim that disputed his loss of benefits.

Torres did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. He told NorthJersey.com that he had no explanation as to “why (the state) dropped me.”

NorthJersey.com reported that the Paterson City Council plans to vote on a possible settlement with the former mayor next week. However, the Paterson clerk’s office on Tuesday said the item so far has not been placed on the agenda.

Attorneys for the city did not immediately respond to a request for comment and current Mayor Andre Sayegh did not respond to a call seeking comment.

Torres pleaded guilty in September 2017 to second-degree conspiracy to commit official misconduct for using city employees to work at a liquor distributorship his family planned to open.

The work at the warehouse on East 15th Street, leased by “Quality Beer,” included painting, carpentry and electrical, and was done between July 2014 and April 2015.

Torres’ daughter and nephew planned to run a wholesale liquor distribution business at the warehouse, but they failed to obtain the necessary permits and licenses from the state.

A judge in 2017 sentenced Torres to five years in prison for using the city workers, who were paid overtime for working on the warehouse.

State prison records show Torres was paroled in December 2018 after serving only 13 months of his five-year sentence.

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Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.