Police were called to Middlebury’s town hall on January 8, 2025, after the town clerk transferred a phone call to town building official Mark Lubus, who then confronted the clerk and her assistant in their office and began yelling at them. The confrontation, which could be heard by many, sparked a request by the town clerk for a panic button to be installed in her office

According to the police report, Lubus was yelling so loudly at Marybeth Lukowski and Brigitte Besette that the responding officer received another phone call from an employee down the hall while he was en route to the disturbance.

“Lukowski explained that she took a call from a woman complaining about signage posted on utility poles and she thought that zoning could best help her and transferred the call to Lubus,” Officer Giovanni Guerrera wrote in his report. “Both said Lubus raised his voice loud enough for other employees to hear him. En route I received a phone call from employee Amy Vonculin who informed me that she was on the phone with the finance director and was able to hear the yelling. Lukowski said she exchanged words with Lubus and used a profanity one time after Lubus refused to leave.”

The officer then spoke with Lubus who said, “he gets calls sent to his office that do not pertain to his job and this call was one of those types of calls.” The officer informed Lubus that he could be subject to a ticket or arrest and, according to the report, Lubus “mentioned Lukowski using a profanity,” and the officer indicated enforcement action could be taken against them both.

Lukowski and Besette did not press charges and “just wanted this issue addressed without an arrest or infraction,” according to the report. 

Although Lubus said he intended to apologize to the women, he was informed he should not have any contact with them. “It was later determined by upper management that Lubus should avoid all contact with Lukowski and Besette,” the police report states.

The Assistant Director for the Dept. of Public Works then sent an email on January 16 requesting a panic button for the town clerk’s office “as soon as possible,” according to emails. The panic button was installed by the 17^th. 

Besette appeared pleased in the email exchange, and perhaps with good reason: This is not the first time Lubus has been involved in an altercation that resulted in a police report, nor the first time he has been involved in verbally accosting a female town official. And, according to federal court documents, Lubus attempted to justify one outburst by making false statements about his heritage.

According to records, Jennifer Mahr, a member of the Middlebury Board of Selectmen, filed a police report in July of 2023 saying that Lubus showed up in her back yard unannounced along with the town’s Zoning Enforcement Officer (ZEO), purportedly because a neighbor had complained about a retaining wall she was constructing.

“As the conversation proceeded, Mr. Lubus became more visibly more upset by me questioning his inaccurate statements about my project, and his voice got louder and more aggressive,” Mahr wrote. “Mr. Lubus’ face got very angry, he squared his shoulders, and took a quick step towards me in an aggressive manner. I was frightened by the realization that I thought he was going to try and hit me.”

Mahr’s attorney then sent an email to the town attorney Dana D’Angelo notifying her that Lubus and the ZEO had conducted a warrantless search and to not be on the property again “without a search warrant,” according to the report. Lubus denied ever becoming agitated during his confrontation with Mahr. The police report does not include an interview with the ZEO and the police officer indicated that he did not believe this was a criminal matter.

Lubus also filed a federal lawsuit against his previous employer, the Town of Redding, after he was terminated roughly a year after a confrontation with the First Selectwoman in 2019 over an emailed town bulletin that provided information about a “Lights for Liberty” vigil being held on the town green by the League of Women Voters. 

The Lights for Liberty notice contained in the town bulletin said, “Lights for Liberty will help to shine a light on the horrific conditions in human detention camps in the United States. The global vigil will bring thousands of people to locations worldwide as well as to concentration camps across the country, into the streets and into their own front yards, to protest the inhuman conditions faced by migrants.”

Lubus confronted First Selectwoman Julia Pemberton outside her office over the bulletin and was belligerent, according to a warning letter sent by the Town of Redding to Lubus following the incident.

“Your behavior at that time, including, raising your voice, behaving belligerently towards a supervisor (the First Selectman) both verbally and physically, and lastly, refusing to cease such behavior upon being told to do so, is insubordinate and is inconsistent with the conduct expected of an employee of the Town of Redding,” the September 26, 2019, letter states.

In his lawsuit, Lubus claims the town retaliated against him for exercising his free speech rights by terminating him; the Town claimed he was let go due to COVID-related staff reductions.

Although Lubus denied raising his voice to Pemberton, Lubus’s supervisor Shaun Donnelly, who witnessed the incident, said in a deposition that it was a “verbal altercation,” and Lubus was “clearly angry.” When Donnelly tried to talk to Lubus about the incident, Lubus told him it was none of his business and then took family and medical leave the follow day. 

In his court complaint, Lubus indicated he had “Jewish ancestors” and was angry about the vigil advertisement because he felt it was anti-Semitic and because his “ancestors had been personally subjected to Nazi concentration camps,” according to the Danbury News Times.

However, according to his court deposition, Lubus admitted that he is not Jewish, and the only member of his family who could possibly be Jewish was his aunt by marriage, whose father was Jewish. 

The lawsuit was dismissed in 2022 with prejudice with no monetary awards, fees, or anything else being awarded to either party.

Lubus did not return Inside Investigator’s email seeking comment.

“The Town of Middlebury is committed to maintaining a professional, respectful, and safe work environment for all employees,” Middlebury First Selectman Edward St. John said in a written statement. “Employee matters are handled swiftly and confidentially. The internal employee incident that occurred in Town Hall on January 8th, 2025, was thoroughly investigated. After careful consideration, the issue has been resolved.”

St. John did not indicate what is meant by “resolved,” and did not respond to Inside Investigator’s questions about any discipline for Lubus, nor did he respond to questions lobbed by Selectman Jennifer Mahr during the Board of Selectmen’s January 21 meeting.

According to emails obtained by Inside Investigator, on January 15 Selectwoman Jennifer Mahr proposed an executive session be added to the Board of Selectmen’s January 21 meeting agenda, writing to St. John’s executive assistant that she wanted a “full explanation and what the proposed next steps are.”

“The second problem that I am highly upset about is that I was not informed when the incident occurred, and had to find out when the town clerk requested a panic button in her office,” Mahr wrote. “This is completely unacceptable and I want to know who decided to leave me out and why.”

Despite Mahr’s request, the executive session was not added to the meeting agenda when it was posted on January 20, but Mahr broached the subject anyway saying that she had asked for information about what happened but has not received it, according to video of the meeting and meeting minutes. 

Town attorney Robert Smith and others said the matter should not be discussed publicly, that she has “no responsibility for getting involved,” and that the first selectman has “sole responsibility” in handling employee matters.

“I do have a responsibility to make sure that the environment here in town hall is not a toxic one for female employees and male employees,” Mahr said, questioning why her request for an executive session was ignored and asking to whom she should go if she has “concerns about how female employees are treated.”

“I don’t think there’s anything more to say about it,” St. John said to Mahr during the meeting. “It comes to the first selectman, it goes out our HR people, they concluded the whole investigation, police report included, and so be it – case closed.”

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