The Boston Globe had an editorial this morning on Tom Reilly’s efforts to recover damages from the Big Dig. Christy Mihos contested the amount of the $108 million claim. Even Deval Patrick , who obviously knows nothing about the background of the case ,couldn’t resist joining Mihos….”the 108 million seemed “more like a small down payment” than a full amount according to Patrick”
Seems to me like its a “NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED” story for Tom.
Todays Globe editorial:
WHEN Attorney General Thomas Reilly came up with a figure of $108 million for supposedly faulty design, engineering, and management of the Big Dig, there were the usual cries that this figure was too low, that surely more mistakes were made on a $14.6 billion project. But Reilly wanted to include only matters on which he had a reasonable chance to succeed in court. He and attorneys for the companies involved in the work need to agree on a settlement so that the state can focus on the more important task — making sure the completed Big Dig tunnels are properly maintained.
Stephanie Lovell, Reilly’s top deputy, has spent more than a year working on the complaint. With the help of outside legal and engineering consultants, her team at the attorney general’s office has compiled a comprehensive list of complaints against project managers Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff and engineers who designed the many complex sections of the project.
But those who think the state should demand much more have forgotten that Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff told the Weld administration in late 1994 that the project would cost nearly $14 billion. The administration kept that estimate secret, and it wasn’t revealed until the state inspector general included it in a report in 2001. The final cost is in line with that earlier figure. How many costly mistakes could there have been?
The worst management error Bechtel/Parsons made is not included in the Reilly letter. Bechtel/Parsons has acknowledged that it failed to adequately monitor work on the I-93 tunnel that resulted in a massive leak in September 2004. It is paying to seal it off and to repair thousands of other small leaks. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which maintains the highway, is overseeing the work. Chairman Matthew Amorello, in a telephone interview, said yesterday that total leakage is now at 25 percent of the federal limit. Pumps are easily handling this load.
Bechtel/Parsons and the other companies cited by Reilly ought to look honestly at their past performance. If failings in their work might contribute to future maintenance problems, they need to contribute to a fund for ongoing repairs as part of the settlement.
When Reilly took on cost recovery last year, as he prepared to run for governor, this page criticized him for taking campaign contributions worth $35,000 from people having business connections with the project. ”Since we took over cost recovery, we have not taken contributions from Bechtel, any subcontractors or section design consultant and that includes anyone in the demand letter,” said Corey Welford, Reilly’s campaign spokesman.
The conclusion is that the attorney general is doing this thankless task competently and above politics.
