At a board meeting at the Des Moines Country Club shortly after Mark returned from the gala, Mr. Noga referred to the event as “you and your fag friends who like Trump” and allegedly called Miami, where Mark often traveled for business, “gay country.”
A couple of weeks later, during a client dinner at Flemings Steak House with Mr. Noga, Ms. Snyder, Ms. Glasl, and their spouses, Mr. Noga allegedly railed against Mark, telling him that his sexuality and morals were not aligned with the company’s founding principles and that his “gay shit” would not be tolerated any longer.
During this tirade, which was witnessed by Rick Snyder, Jessica Snyder’s husband, among others, Mr. Noga allegedly became physically aggressive, at one point grabbing Mark’s arm, and called him a “faggot”.
One week later, Mark was notified that he was being placed under investigation. It’s alleged that the investigation was run entirely by Mr. Noga, not HR, which typically has always been responsible for employee investigations in the past. It’s alleged that Mark was never told explicitly what the charges against him were or who made them, although through conversations with Ms. Snyder he came to understand that he had been accused by two subordinates, Nick Batten and Adam Berger, of exceeding his Letter of Authority, failing to secure reinsurance on certain accounts, and submitting improper expenses.
