If you drove or walked along the Arborway last December, you couldn't help but notice the mansion of Dominic Luberto, festooned with half a million Christmas lights.

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue noticed, too. They noticed that Luberto is the same guy who walked away from his wife and three kids in 1985, leaving them in poverty. The DOR is now hitting him up for $123,833.37 in back child support.

Conveniently, that Arborway mansion is owned by his current wife, not by him.

Miss von Schtoop informs us that Dominic Luberto, the Jamaica Plain guy who lights the way for returning spacecraft during the Christmas season, has put the Castle up for sale:

Single Family Property, Area: Jamaica Plain, Approximately 0.7 acre(s), Lot is 30927 sq. ft., Year Built: 1897, Parking space(s): 4, Swimming pool(s), Basement, Dining room, Laundry room, Hardwood floors

All yours for just $2.2 million.

The Castle in more sedate colors:

WBUR reported this morning that City Councilor John Tobin will ask Gov. Patrick to require the guy with the 500,000 lights to hire a police detail.

The station quoted Tobin as saying it would be just terrible if somebody were hit by a fast-moving car on the Jamaicaway/Arborway while stopped to gawk at the brighter-by-the-year Castle. Tobin said he asked Dominic Luberto to hire a detail, but that Luberto refused, saying he's already given the city its largest Christmas display. Because the road is a state parkway, it would be up to Patrick or State Police to force the issue.

Lyss files a report from the Jamaicaway, where she visited Domenic Luberto's brighter than bright Castle and yard tonight.

Earlier:
The man with the 500,000 Christmas lights.

In which Dominic Luberto discusses his light-related charity effort for Children's Hospital; what he does with his lights after Christmas and the bogus story about him and the fireworks. Oh, yes, and he shows off the 10-foot Star of David he's putting up this year.

You'll probably find this exceedingly hard to believe, but Nancy, Greta and I spent some time tonight with Dominic Luberto, the guy who lights up the Jamaicaway between Halloween and January. No, really: He even showed us around his home, a.k.a. the Castle - he's done an amazing job renovating what had been a decaying 8,500-square-foot stone hulk into a showpiece home you'd expect to see on HGTV or something.

Yesterday, Luberto e-mailed me; he wanted to talk.

The Jamaicaway guy (you know which one), turned on the lights he has up this week.

In Somerville, Kathleen Powers videos all the wreaths the city DPW was putting up on light poles today.

So, of course, that means the Mad Lighter of the Jamaicaway is already hard at work on his annual neighborhood-brownout project. After all, he has 500,000 or so lights to install.

As we drove up the Jamaicaway today, we noticed that Dominic Luberto has already put up, not one, but two giant fake Christmas trees in the side yard of his castle. And instead of a puny Santa sleigh on his roof, this year he's turned the entire roof into a giant gold crown, no doubt to remind disbeliever heathen Grinches that Jesus Chris Our Lord and Savior has His eye on them.

We didn't see any metal tubes on his lawn, so we can only assume the city denied his request to shoot off fireworks every night.

Wonder what Dominic Luberto will do for St. Patrick's Day?

Can't somebody do something before the guy who owns the Arborway Castle does some real damage?

In case you missed it, the Globe reported today that NStar has had to put in a new electrical main to support those 250,000 lights he has on between 4:30 and 1 a.m. - although it says it's not sure all those lights are what's causing brownouts in the neighborhood. Luberto told the paper he plans on putting up 500,000 lights next year (will NStar be giving him his own electric plant?), he wants to write a book about his lights and, best of all:

HE WANTS TO SHOOT FIREWORKS FROM HIS FRONT LAWN EVERY DAY DURING THE SEASON.

On the Jamaicaway.

And wouldn't that be lovely? You're driving home from dinner downtown and all of a sudden a surface-to-air missile (because you know Luberto won't be satisfied with some sparklers) comes shooting through your window, exits out the rear and then blows up a fuel-oil truck on the other side of the road in a blinding fireball that sends all the gawkers who've come to see the show into a frenzy of applause, and isn't it a pity when some of them, blinded by the light, stumble onto the Jamaicaway only to get run over by some guy from Rozzie in an SUV?

If Tom Menino can crush the last vestiges of life out of the harmless Enchanted Village, the least he can do is keep this increasingly out of control Christmas extremist from blowing up half the neighborhood.

Report from the scene - Steve and Carol give us a video tour of the lights.

Thanks to Joye, I rushed over to JP as soon as it got dark tonight. Sure enough, the Castle was all lit up for Christmas. On the one hand, cool! Certainly makes the drive down the Jamaicaway more interesting. On the other hand, um, has anybody looked at the calendar yet?