SUNBURY — One day after former Northumberland County Chief Clerk Kymberley Best filed a federal lawsuit and a state complaint alleging that Commissioner Vinny Clausi threatened and sexually harassed her, District Attorney Anthony Rosini announced that no criminal charges would be filed against Clausi.

Best’s claim that Clausi made a death threat against her during a March 11 meeting prompted state police at Milton to launch an investigation, which included summoning Commissioner Merle Phillips, 83, to the barracks for an interview.

The state attorney general’s office was asked to review the evidence and determined it did not support criminal charges being filed against Clausi, agency spokesman Nils Fredericksen said.

The announcement that no charges would be filed came only after The Daily Item asked both Rosini and the attorney general’s office about the status of the investigation Thursday.

Best, 40, would say only that she expected the investigation would yield no criminal charges.

Clausi, 57, said he had expected to be absolved of any wrongdoing.

“I never did anything to her. I’m just glad justice prevailed,” he said.

He still faces allegations in a federal lawsuit and with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission that he threatened and sexually harassed Best, who was fired from the $70,762-a-year job in March.

But Clausi said he’s buoyed by the lack of criminal charges and anticipates her other claims will also be proven to lack substance.

Several people who worked with Clausi and Best in the past year said they witnessed none of the abusive behavior Best claims in the complaints.

He’s a gentleman

Retired Northumberland County Chief Clerk Rose Marquardt says she’s been harassed in the workplace, but not by Clausi whom she described as a gentleman.

“We didn’t always agree. We would argue, but Vinny’s bark is bigger than his bite and we had a good working relationship,” she said.

Marquardt, who became the county’s first female chief clerk when she was hired in 2008, said she was surprised by Best’s claims and said she did not observe Clausi mistreat Best in the few months they worked together in late 2009 and early 2010.

Best came on the job as the county’s first female assistant solicitor in September 2009, a few months before she took on dual duties as chief clerk and assistant solicitor.

“Kym was always kind to me. I never saw anything out of the ordinary,” Marquardt said.

Before joining the county staff, Marquardt was employed for 35 years with the state, ending her career as director of unemployment compensation disbursements in the Treasury Department.

In the 1980s while working for the state, Marquardt claims she was the target of gender bias and was harassed by a male colleague.

She met Clausi for the first time when she joined the county as chief clerk in 2008 at Chairman Frank Sawicki’s invitation.

Asked recently about her experiences working for two years with Clausi, Sawicki and former Commissioner Kurt Masser, Marquardt described all three as gentlemen.

Masser, who was elected to the state Legislature last fall, said he never witnessed abusive behavior by Clausi toward Best or anyone else.

“I can’t say I was ever privy to it,” he said, describing himself as a friend of Best’s.

One of two female secretaries in the commissioners’ office told The Daily Item that she’d never observed Best express fear or Clausi being harassing.

Mum’s the word

After being interviewed, the secretary called the newspaper to say she had been told by Sawicki that she was not allowed to speak publicly.

Contacted about the order, Sawicki declined to say if the secretary would be in trouble if her comments were used.

Clausi said he’s being targeted by Best because he challenged her when she made mistakes on the job.

He disputes her claims that she feared him, saying the day before the meeting when he allegedly threatened her she ate lunch with him at a local restaurant.

Also named in the federal lawsuit filed by Best is Phillips, who voted along with Clausi to fire her on March 18 after she filed the criminal complaint, refused to work directly with Clausi and then publicly proposed the board adopt a code of civility.

In the last 21 years of Phillips’ service as a state representative, Lynda Schlegel Culver was his office secretary and said he never made rash decisions. She was elected to succeed him last year when he retired.

Declining to comment on the specifics of Best’s lawsuit, Culver said she has known Phillips, 83, as a boss who “expects an honest day’s work,” treats men and women alike with respect and isn’t quick to make a decision.

“He’s always been a big believer that people make mistakes and can learn from them,” she said.

Phillips was supportive of Culver during a high-risk pregnancy 11 years ago and was equally supportive of two other female office workers, she said.

“It wasn’t an easy time for any of us,” she said.