Mark Sebesta, poll worker from Baldwin, faces charges after altercation at Oceanside polling place

A poll worker in Oceanside was arrested and charged on Election Day after an argument with a "constituent" escalated into violence, according to the Nassau County Police Department.

The disturbance allegedly happened Tuesday afternoon at a polling station at Oaks Elementary School, on Fortesque Avenue.

That’s where the worker, Mark W. Sebesta, 54, of Baldwin "was involved in a verbal argument and threatened a male constituent, 25," the department wrote in a press release Wednesday. A polling coordinator told the police that Sebesta had been "acting very peculiar and strange throughout the day," including changing his clothes, a charging document said.

According to the release: "Officers attempted to diffuse the situation when the defendant, who falsely identified himself as a law enforcement agent, became aggressive. After a brief struggle, officers were able to place the defendant into custody."

He was brought to a hospital "for evaluation and treatment," the release said. 

Sebesta was charged with menacing, harassment, obstruction of governmental administration and criminal impersonation. He was freed without bail; the case is due back in court Nov. 20, according to Nicole Turso, a spokeswoman for the Nassau District Attorney’s office.

Sebesta denied the allegations to Newsday and said the encounter stemmed from a dispute during his lunch break outside with a man who accused him of singing profane lyrics in front of children, a claim Sebesta also denied. He said the man was the aggressor.

"He’s trying to egg me on to fight," said Sebesta, adding that Tuesday was his first time as a poll worker. He had been a Census taker in the past.

At one point Tuesday, the police were called, and when Sebesta saw a police officer approaching, he believed the officer was going to help him. 

"I thought he was coming over first as a gentleman," he said. The law enforcement shield he is accused of displaying is legitimately possessed, Sebesta said, having undergone training and formerly working as a bail bondsman. Sebasta said he never said, as alleged in the charging document, that he is a Secret Service or FBI agent, only that he's an informant. He said he'd been an auxiliary police officer in the past. That claim couldn't be immediately verified.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.