A Brookfield Republican candidate for Town Clerk and chairman of the town’s zoning commission has been sued in state court over his alleged participation in a beat down of a man outside a Brookfield pub in August of 2022.
According to the lawsuit Gary Goetz, who is currently running for town clerk in the upcoming election, began staring, “making kissing gestures,” and “lewd gestures,” toward Kathleen Jowdy, who was at the restaurant on Federal Road with her husband Mark Mansa the evening of August 31, 2022. He was asked to stop but did not, according to the court complaint.
When Mark Mansa went outside to make a cell phone call, Goetz and Michael Biolsi, who was with Goetz that night, also exited the bar. According to the lawsuit, Mansa called Goetz a “creep” whereupon Biolsi allegedly grabbed him in a chokehold, they fell to the ground and Goetz allegedly began striking Mansa “with a wooden umbrella pole.”
“As a result of the defendants’ negligence and carelessness as aforesaid, the plaintiff Mark Mansa suffered injuries including a dislocated jaw, a minimally displaced left superior public ramus fracture, and multiple hematomas, lacerations and contusions to his head, left ear, nose face, chest, left shoulder and left hand,” the court complaint says.
A witness called the police who arrived on the scene and made a report but there were no arrests. The Brookfield Police Department’s list of calls for service shows a call for a disturbance and fight on Federal Road that night with transportation to Danbury Hospital. It is the only fight listed for that date.
Goetz is running as a Republican candidate for Town Clerk beside incumbent First Selectwoman Tara Carr, who is seeking another term. According to emails received by Inside Investigator, Mansa’s wife, Kathleen Jowdy, alerted Republican Town Committee (RTC) members about this incident in a July 18, 2023, email as candidates were heading toward a July 20 caucus vote.
In the email, Jowdy described the situation in the bar and the fight outside and indicated that her husband was transported to Danbury Hospital via ambulance. She wrote there were no arrests made due to conflicting stories. She said in the email that her husband sustained numerous injuries, including bite marks. Jowdy also indicated in the email that her attorney was involved.
Goetz went on to win his Republican primary race against Mary Borges by 150 votes and is running against Democrat Andrea DiStephan, who has been town clerk since 2017.
Goetz is also at the center of another lawsuit and a federal investigation by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division after the town issued a cease-and-desist letter to White Star Properties, LLC because they were renting a commercial property to K-Church as an office and event space. The cease-and-desist letter issued by the zoning enforcement officer said they were prohibited from using the property as a church.
The lawsuit seeks monetary and punitive damages in excess of $15,000, along with attorney’s fees and costs and any other relief the court deems appropriate. Mansa’s attorney, Philip F. von Kuhn would not offer comment regarding the case, only to say they stand by what is outlined in the court complaint.
A message left for Goetz requesting comment was not returned. An email to the Brookfield Republican Town Committee and phone call to the RTC chair seeking comment were likewise not returned.
Was this article helpful?
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
As a tax payer in Brookfield for over 45yrs the amount of corruption that is going on in and around this community is disturbing and should be brought to everyone attention and not hidden by the cover up in jounalism. I want to see what has to be done and get those responsible out of service!
WOW, no mention of the criminal record of the man Mr. Goetz “beat up”?? The man, Mark Mansa was under Federal investigation for running a drug ring that allegedly distributed steroids to high school athletes and others in the Danbury area. He also also headed a separate ring that allegedly sold more than 220 pounds of marijuana in the Danbury area over a four-year period. He has ties to the Bonnano crime family and the Hells Angels as well. Look him up! I think it’s wrong for this newspaper to post a smear campaign against Mr. Goetz (probably because he’s a Republican) and fail to mention the other man who was involved in this fight. Oh and by the way, the Brookfield Police Department didn’t make any arrests, so clearly they didn’t believe that Mr. Goetz was dangerous.