Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RICHARD JENKINS
Hurley — Two Kimball men were charged this week with the 2015 bombing of Mathy Construction’s asphalt plant in Kimball.
Robert “Barrel Bob” Gollubske, 82, and his son, Matthew Allen Gollubske, 38, are each charged with two counts of being a party to the crime of using explosives to damage property — a Class C felony with a potential maximum penalty of up to 40 years in prison or a fine of up to $100,000.
Both men have previously complained about the asphalt plant — also known as the Northwoods Paving asphalt plant as Northwoods Paving became a division of Mathy Construction in 1995 — and the impact its operations were having on the family and their property nearby. Robert previously filed a lawsuit in an attempt to get the asphalt plant shut down and was charged in 2013 with threatening to blow up the Iron County Courthouse because the sheriff’s department failed to act on his complaints about the blasting at the plant.
There were several reports from people in the Kimball area that heard several explosions between 4:15 and 6 a.m. on the morning of July 4, 2015, according to the criminal complaints unsealed Thursday.
First responders arriving at the asphalt plant located off U.S. 2 noted a Volvo Model 220H Wheel Loader on fire and a large asphalt tank that had suffered “significant blast damage.”
The investigation into the explosions determined two separate explosive devices were used at the site, according to the complaints.
“Among the evidence recovered were portions of yellow, green and blue plastic that employees of Mathy Construction stated did not relate to any items kept at the Mathy Construction Asphalt Plant,” the complaints read, adding that the plant foreman said explosives weren’t kept on site either.
An agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigating the explosions determined the yellow plastic found at the scene came from buckets of hydraulic fluid that were a different brand than the ones the company used on site.
A July 6 search of the Gollubskes’ residence allegedly turned up three containers of hydraulic fluid that were in similar containers and the same brand as the ones allegedly used in the blasts.
The criminal complaints also shed light on the explosive devices authorities say were used in the blasts.
“The ATF laboratory was able to determine the devices used in the two explosion events at the Mathy Construction Plant were plastic containers containing a mixture of flattened double ball smokeless powder, ammonium nitrate, urea, aluminum and perchlorate ions (ANFO explosive device),” the complaints read.
According to the complaints, laboratory testing allegedly found additional connections between materials found at the site of the explosions and items seized during the execution of the search warrant.
Following the July 6 search, Robert Gollubske denied any involvement in the blast in an interview, telling the Daily Globe he was gone the weekend of the explosions and that he learned of them when his son, Matthew, read about it in a Daily Globe story online earlier in the day the search warrant was executed.
According to the criminal complaints, both defendants denied being home on the morning of July 4 when they were interviewed by police, saying they were visiting a relative in Marathon County and fishing in the Laona area.
Along with the relative and two defendants allegedly providing inconsistent statements regarding their alibis, the complaint alleges Matthew’s cell phone used a cell tower near Phillips, Wis., at 7:07 a.m. on July 4. The complaint claims the tower couldn’t have been used if Matthew was in Marathon County.
“It would, however, be consistent with a tower that could be utilized if Matthew and Robert were coming from the explosion scene and going to the Laona area after setting off the explosive devices used to damage the property of Mathy Construction,” the complaints read.
The complaints also refer to witnesses who said the two defendants were planning something or were told by the defendants that something would happen at the asphalt plant.
These charges are the latest legal troubles in Iron County for Robert Gollubske. He is also facing two counts of making threats to commit injury and one count of making terroristic threats in one of the cases. In that case, the charges stemming from Gollubske’s alleged threats to blow up the Iron County Courthouse in 2013 were refiled after originally being dismissed. He is also accused of threatening the Mathy Construction asphalt plant in 2016 on the one-year anniversary of the blasts. A competency exam has been ordered in this case. It was unclear Thursday how the issue of competency would impact the newest charges.
In a separate case, Robert is charged with making terroristic threats and disorderly conduct. These charges stem from a August 2018 incident at the Marshfield Clinic in Mercer. In this case, he allegedly said, “I can blow this place up and get away with it,” after getting upset at being denied an appointment, according to a probable cause statement in the case.
Both Robert and Matthew are being held in the Iron County Jail on $250,000 cash bonds.
Iron County District Attorney Matt Tingstad and Richard Dufour, an assistant attorney general with the Wisconsin Department of Justice are handling the case.
