A former director at the Department of Revenue Services lost her legal bid to reverse her termination after a judge determined there was “substantial evidence” supporting her dismissal and that she acted out of personal animus when she pushed for legislation that would have removed the position of First Assistant Commissioner (FAC) from classified service.

Marilee Corr Clark was quickly placed on leave by then Acting Commissioner of DRS John Biello in February of 2020 and then terminated eight months later after she altered legislative bill language against Biello’s wishes. The bill language would have removed the position of First Assistant Commissioner from classified service and put it under the purview of the Attorney General’s Office. 

The change resulted in Biello having to testify against a bill put forward by his own department. Clark argued that she was merely resubmitting a bill that had been put forward in previous years to eliminate the succession tax – a now defunct tax that the position of First Assistant Commissioner was created to oversee.

The position of FAC is held by Louis Bucari, against whom Clark had filed complaints in the past, resulting in an investigation and, eventually, a court settlement with Clark; but the two continued to have difficulty working together. Bucari is also General Counsel for DRS, overseeing the tax department’s legal division.

Clark, who was not a member of a union, initially appealed her termination to the Employee Review Board (ERB), but it was upheld. She then filed suit in Connecticut court to overturn the ERB’s decision. Clark, an attorney, was representing herself in court but had an attorney during her ERB hearing.

Clark argued that the ERB did not follow procedure or act fairly in upholding her termination from the agency, that she was not given direct orders to review all legislative proposals with Biello, that other employees had not been terminated for more egregious incidents, and that she believed she was acting in the department’s best interest.

“The court finds that there is substantial evidence in the record to sustain the ERB’s decision finding just and reasonable cause for Ms. Clark’s termination on the basis of insubordination and Ms. Clark’s proposing legislation for the purpose of furthering her own interests, rather than DRS’ or the state’s,” wrote Superior Court Judge Matthew Budzik in his decision to uphold Clark’s termination.

According to a memorandum in the court record, Clark disputed that her personal motivations were the impetus for those proposed legislative changes and, instead, argued that Biello was acting with personal animus toward her.

The bad blood between Clark and Bucari dates back to 2017 in which Clark claimed Bucari was showing favoritism to a female subordinate he had romantically propositioned. DRS investigated and determined that Bucari had acted inappropriately, but there was never any reconciliation between the two and, according to court documents, they could not work together. Clark received a nearly $40,000 settlement as a result of her lawsuit against DRS in 2018, which alleged a hostile work environment at DRS.

Biello is now deputy commissioner under Mark Boughton and Bucari remains FAC and General Counsel. According to court records, Clark is considering whether to appeal Judge Budzik’s ruling and is consulting with counsel.

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