A West Tisbury police lieutenant who was passed over for a promotion is claiming he was retaliated against for his union activities and wasn’t offered the chief’s position because he wouldn’t accept a quid pro quo agreement.
Lawyers for Lieut. Matthew Gebo made the allegations in a lawsuit filed in Dukes County Superior Court last week. The 16-year veteran of the West Tisbury police department is asking a judge to award damages for lost wages, benefits, pension value and emotional distress in the case — which he estimated should total $2.7 million.
“Lt. Gebo brings this action to hold the Town and its officials accountable, to recover his lost earnings and benefits, and to restore the integrity of the public employment process in West Tisbury,” the lawyers wrote in the Feb. 3 lawsuit.
The prospect of a lawsuit has been hanging over the heads of town officials since September, when Mr. Gebo’s attorneys made similar accusations in a letter to the select board.
The town started to search for a new police chief last year after Chief Matthew Mincone announced in May that he planned to retire. The town formed a selection committee to go through the applications, and the committee narrowed the field to three finalists: Lieutenant Gebo, Sgt. Jeremie Rogers and Sgt. Bradley Cortez.
The select board interviewed the three men, and unanimously voted in July to appoint Mr. Cortez as the next chief.
Mr. Gebo claims that historically the sitting lieutenant was expected to resume the police chief duties and “[b]y all accounts, including statements from his own chief, he was the natural successor to become the next Chief of Police,” according to the suit. But that expectation was derailed in response to the police officers unionizing in 2024, Mr. Gebo’s attorneys say.
According to the eight-page complaint, the working environment in the department deteriorated under Chief Mincone’s leadership, and the chief took retaliatory action against officers he perceived as supporting the unionization.
Mr. Gebo contends that Chief Mincone barred him from attending previously approved trainings, disparaged him in front of other staff and undermined his candidacy for chief.
Both town administrator Jennifer Rand and Chief Mincone, who is now retired, declined to comment on the case on Monday.
The suit also says that job qualifications for the chief position were changed during the selection process in order to promote Mr. Cortez’s candidacy. The original job posting required five years of supervisory experience, something the would-be chief lacked. The select board later adopted a revised job description requiring only three years.
The selection committee included former police chief Dan Rossi, who officiated Mr. Cortez’s wedding, according to the lawsuit.
Mr. Gebo’s lawyers allege that in late July, Chief Mincone called Mr. Gebo and stated he would endorse Mr. Gebo for the chief’s position, essentially guaranteeing that he would be picked for the leadership role. For the endorsement though, Mr. Gebo had to agree to promote Mr. Cortez to lieutenant over Mr. Rogers, according to the lawsuit.
“Believing the proposal to be unethical, against policies and procedures, and possibly criminal, Lt. Gebo refused to participate and informed Mincone of his refusal in person later that afternoon at Mincone’s home,” attorneys Ryan Kenny and Brian Benestad wrote.
The next day, the select board voted in Mr. Cortez as the chief, and he resumed leadership of the department later in 2025.
Mr. Gebo’s damages calculation included an estimated $25,000 in wage losses to date, an anticipated $1.4 million in the future and $1.2 million loss in pension, according to court documents.
The lawsuit names both the town of West Tisbury and Mr. Mincone as defendants. The town has not yet formally responded in court and no initial hearing date has been set.
Town officials did not comment on the merit of the claims when they were raised in September. At the time, Ms. Rand only noted that if the town’s insurance company didn’t provide a lawyer, the town would need to retain a labor counsel of some sort.
The claims in the suit contrasted with the tenor of Mr. Gebo’s comments to the Gazette about Mr. Mincone when the chief was retiring.
“His ability to teach and mold officers and gentlemen at the high school and the number of officers that have come through West Tisbury and have gone to have successful careers elsewhere… it’s really started with Chief Mincone,” Mr. Gebo said during the July interview.
Mr. Gebo’s attorneys did not return a request for comment this week.
This article appears in February 13, 2026.