Massachusetts Common Cause Head Pam Wilmot Must Resign from Governor Deval Patrick's So Called Stacked Public Integrity Task Force To Maintain Her credibility As The Process Already Appears Tainted By Closed Door Meeting

November 19, 2008

The head of Common Cause of Massachusetts Pam Wilmot should immediately resign from Governor Deval Patrick’s self appoiunted so called Public Integrity Ethics Taskforce in which he also selected the chairperson. The Task Force being appointed at this time especially in light of the current Beacon Hill Scandals does appear as damage control. Chastising the Governor or that panel for holding its first meeting behind closed doors is an insult to Ms. Wimot’s membership, organization, and supporters. The failure will be apparent is if she continues to participate or be used with the so called recommendations that may come forward amount to only window dressing.

Look at the some names on this so called task force Charles Baker Jr., Scott Harshbarger, and Representative James Fagan! All had a part in the Big Dig fiasco that went from$2.3 Billion to $23+ Billion that was riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse. This project was the largest construction cost construction project in history. Does more need to be said about their watch and responsibilities?

Ms. Wilmot from Common Cause of Massachusetts, do not give yourself and your organization a not proud moment. Resign now and submit recommendations that you have done over the years that were never taken seriously by so called decision makers.

The time has come for an independent government reform organization that should be installed and more independent than the WARD Commission that was formed during the Government Center Scandal.

Ms. Wilmot could lead a credible reform movement and not be used as she has and not have to publicly scold Governor Patrick.

MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATORS MOVING TO INCREASE GAS TAX,,,NEED A TIME OUT...LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST THAT DID NOT FIX OUR ROADS AND BRIDGES

November 18, 2008

Gas Taxes, Turnpike and Tunnel Tolls expansions should be taken off the table and not even be considered upfront.

The time has come for Massachusetts to establish a new WARD Type Commission such as established during the Boston Government Scandal that forced the legislature to implement many government contracting reforms that seem to have eroded in recent years.

Government and the media should inform the Citizens and Taxpayers where previous gas tax increases that were previously promised to fix and repair all the dysfunctional roads and bridges. The guilty and enablers who got Massachusetts into this mess must be exposed and held accountable first. The failure to prosecute in criminal and Civil Courts the truly guilty is deplorable and an insult to all Massachusetts citizens.

To do any increases to the taxpayer without insuring again independent proper government oversight and accountability that is truly independent and staffed to stand up to bad construction practices and the many special interests of contractors, bankers, bonding companies, insurers, consultants, out of touch labor bosses, and campaign contributions take Massachusetts citizens for a ride again is wrong and will lead to a further disaster to Taxpayers and Citizens.

The Massachusdetts Legislature Is Alseep Again By Allowing Governor Patrick And The Turnpike Gang To Cover Further Waste, Fraud and Abuse with New Toll Increases.

November 14, 2008

When will the Massachusetts legislature wakes up from a deep sleep to finally addressing phony turnpike toll increases that we were told in May 1990 that no tolls would be used to pay for the Big Dig? The project was to cost only $2.3 Billion and now will go to $23+ billion. The project is a national and international monument for the world’s most expensive road and bridge project that is riddled with poor engineering, construction, lack of oversight and accountability with little or no financial or jail punishment of the guilty and enablers.

Not a penny more for the Big Dig and all roads and bridges until first there is a determination that all Massachusetts citizens and taxpayers know the real unvarnished facts, a non special interest economic analysis is done, and all the dastards that got us into this mess are truly exposed and held accountable.

There must be a true non-partisan state government structure dedicated to independent oversight and accountability. The total reliance on private no bid for profit oversight by Bechtel and others of tax expenditures has been a failure. Only then, can we discuss and prioritize and objectively analyze what needs to be done.

We must know where the transportation monies went before any dastardly consideration of digging deeper into taxpayer pockets.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is talking Massachusetts Turnpike transfer of the agency and Big DIG issues in Boston Globe Op-ed.....Enclosed is a previously written history of the BIG DIG Guilty, Enablers, and Heroes he should look at before he acts like another admistration or boldly decides to act like a statesman....

November 13, 2008

1977, began the history of the so called Massachusetts Ward Commission chaired and named after a former president of Amherst College who led a citizen panel outraged at the public construction contract scandal that occurred with the building of the infamous Boston Government Center. Their report two years later caused the halls of the Massachusetts Statehouse to loudly shake and so called reforms took place in Massachusetts state government including the advent of the office of Inspector General.

Those construction reforms seem to have failed and been forgotten and a reverse in integrity and ethics has once again surfaced in Massachusetts with school construction, highway, consultant, and vendor repeated scandals being revealed almost weekly. And finally the scandals of Boston’s Central Artery almost $20 billion dollar failure no longer is being able to be covered up by both State and Federal Managers and elected legislators from both parties.

US Attorneys, Attorney Generals, Inspector Generals and their colleagues all now are acting piecemeal toothless and ineffective despite warnings for decades by whistleblowers, some journalists, citizens, and a minor cadre of courageous officials.

The time has come for a new Ward Commission to clean up the current mess. State and Federal Taxpayers once again must be exasperated and disgusted at the latest Boston’s Central Artery Project-Big Dig tragedy that is pushing the media. When enough is is enough? No more cover-ups are needed. Time for the truth to least not repeat all the mistakes of the past even now when so much state and federal dollars has been wasted, shoddy construction, and a death that should have been avoided. Billions of Dollars have been wasted in Boston.

Outrageous for Massachusetts Senators Kennedy and Kerry who are now calling for better highway tunnel inspections and so called “Value Engineering”! In addition, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is hinting at doing a cash settlement of $1billion to forgive Bechtel Corporation and potentially others to remove criminal liability! The recent settlement by the Boston US Attorney to settle for $50 million and relieve civil and criminal liability for faulty loads of Big Dig Concrete at this late date of the almost completed 20 year project is another further despicable outrage.

This incompetent damage control cover-up after the fact by those who should have been the watchdogs is a further nadir of disgrace of public trust oversight again fostered on State and National Taxpayers.

Senators Kennedy and Kerry advocating for enhanced tunnel inspections and for “Value Engineering” is a moral and ethical outrage. Value engineering calls for an additional set of engineers and others to be called in evaluating as to quality, cost, and need for major construction projects.

When there were outcries for Big Dig Oversight by those good intentioned citizen and government advocates documented precisely in 1994 and years before by the Massacusetts Inspector general, the Massachusetts House Post Audit and Oversight Committee for Value Engineering and accountability both Senator Kennedy and Kerry were unheard and were part of the enablers that did nothing.

Additionally, I cannot recall at anytime either Kennedy or Kerry leading any charge for accountability or oversight of the project when citizen and government advocates were pleading for assistance for expenditure and construction sanity on the project. Senator Kerry even made the impression that all was well and monies were there joining the Big Dig Bechtel Public relations Specialists to mute outcries for accountability.

The bottom line is Democratic Governor Michael Dukakis and his Secretary of Transportation Fred Salvucci and then highway commissioner Jane Garvey were the forefathers and birth mother laying the foundation for the Big Dig scheme that brought the “no bid, cost plus and little oversight of “ Bechtel with the many other contractors and consultants. Their legacy was continued and enhanced to an art form by the succeeding Republican Governors of Massachusetts, Weld, Cellucci, Swift, and Romney along with their minions of Peter Nessen, Jim Kerasiotis, James Carlin, and Charlie Baker.

The Massachusetts Legislature at almost every inch of the way has shown a lack of oversight and accountability fostered and responsible by the former long term Chairs of the Joint Committee on Transportation Robert Havern and Steven Karol. State Senator Mark Pacheco who heads the Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee is now making pronunciations on the Big Dig! His so called landmark contract legislation of accountability and oversight called the Pacheco Bill of a decade and a half ago specifically exempts engineering and design from proper fiscal analysis that allowed the Big Dig calamity. Pacheco’s exemption paved the way with impunity for the failures of Bechtel and others to ply their runaway costs.

Boston CBS 4 reporter Jon Keller stated recently on a station’s talk show when asked why all the failures of the original $2.3 Billion contract now reaching $18-$20 Billion project was not reported by the media. Keller the former Boston Globe Editorial writer and columnist stated that both Editorial Boards of the Boston Newspapers (Globe and Boston Herald) were in the “tank”. He even outed a former Globe colleague David Warsh as a long time enabler. There are so many other names of journalists and media types that participated or turned a blind eye.

Next, we had the revolving door of Massachusetts State Attorney Generals L. Scxott Harshbarger and Tom Reilly. Massachusetts also had Democrat and Republican US Attorneys of Wayne Budd, Donald Stern, and Michael Sullivan who served Democratic and Republican Presidents as well as Congresses adding to the record of little or no pleas for oversight. Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone formerly top criminal prosecutor for the state Attorney General who went on to work for the US Attorney has a record of toothless probes on the Big Dig during his tenures.

The Federal Highway Administration and Federal Offices of Inspector General along with the politically appointed non career managers of the Massachusetts State Highway Department and toll road Turnpike Authority required little or no accountability of Federal, State tax dollars, and Toll Fees. Their inactions insured shoddy workmanship and cost escalations despite outcries from construction workers and government engineers. This resulted in diversion of needed State and Federal Tax dollars from other Massachusetts roads and bridges resulting in their serious current disrepair status.

I suggest those seeking the truth on the Big Dig look at the State House Post Audit and Oversight Committee and past reports on the Big Dig under former chairs Cerasoli, Kennedy, and especially the era of William Nagle and staff director Thomas Hammond to determine the facts against what Kennedy, Kerry and others after decades are trying to do to appear as crusaders. That legislative committee of integrity was the sole sanctuary to bring financial sanity and oversight to the project despite the Big Dig juggernaut of attacks. Their efforts were stopped when Representative James Fagan became chair and the departure of then crusading Staff Director Thomas Hammond.

Additionally, talk to the real heroes of good government that sounded the alarms who were dismissed, demeaned, intimidated, or called “gadflys” by the Big Dig propaganda machine. They include reporters Peter Howe, Tim Sandler,Wendell Woodman, John Coughlin, Charles Sennott, Joe bergantino Ron Gallobin, Jon Wells, David Kassel, John Vanscoyoc, John Strahinch, and Joe Bergantino to name a few to the list. Also, note people such as legislators, the late Fran Doris, Marie Parente, Bill Constantino, Tom Norton, William Keating, and Richard Moore, Warren Tolman, and Vincent Mannering. Even Speaker Dimasi when a rank and file legislator and Emmanuel Serra were also dismissed. Special mention should go to the late Jerry Williams, Fred Langone, Chris Ianella, Joe Baresi, Steve Cotton, Joe Dinucci as well as Howie Carr, Larry Overlan, K. Dunn Gifford, Auditor DeNucci, and Scott Amey of the Washington based whistleblower group Project on Government Oversight for all their time and efforts that went unheeded by Kennedy-Kerry and others.
The Kerry and Kennedy new attempts at revisionism and attempting to act like whistleblowers in seeking Highway Tunnel Inspections and so called “ Value engineering” is short of nothing too late. Both senators at this stage of their careers have the distinction of promoting with no oversight the largest and most costly flawed government construction project ever undertaken in the United States. Their continued repetitive actions of coverup is ensuring Boston’s Big Dig to be the largest international construction monument for waste, fraud, and abuse. Massachusetts new Governor Deval Patrick should not let all the enablers and the Big Dig guilty get Pardons and Freedoms for so called minor “Chump Change” that will allow again State and Federal Taxpayers and the infinity Toll Road Toll Payers to continue and be victimized.

Massachuestts needs a new WARD Commission to get needed reforms and be the model for the federal government to follow.

Mitt Romney Media Guy Eric Fehrnstrom Again Under Assault. A former dynamic Investigative Reporter Like Many who Lacked Career Opportunities In The Declining Media Being Forced Into Public Relations

November 11, 2008

The Boston Globe recently published a guest column from Eric Fehrnstrom former Massachusetts Governor and Republican candidate for President Mitt Romney that detailed his views of unfair attacks on Youtube and internet use by bloggers. The Boston Phoenix and the Blue Mass Group took exception to the column and writer that has raised a reflection about this one time promising investigative journalist whose lack of career job opportunities in the declining media apparently forced him to become a public relations spokesperson.

I spent well over a decade as an advocate at the statehouse. I recall Eric as a your reporter working at the statehouse for the Boston Herald. He was an excellent young at the time inquisitive investigative reporter working under fellow reporters Jon Wells, Bob Connolly, and Peter Lucas Wells and Fehrnstrom as a team worked above and beyond sccoping the Globe and plying their trades through hard work.

Eric was always fair and objective as well as helpful. When other reporters would only listen to the establishment elected politicos to always gain stories and access, both Eric and Jon Wells would listen to those of us seeking a reporter to exposen improprieties. These two would even report our accurate views even in contradiction to the Herald Editorial Board.

Unfortunately for Eric, the career path in the media was not there and the wage scale quite low. Journalism then lost a bright competent investigative reporter.

Supporting a family, he stunned me when he accepted a job with State Treasurer Joe Malone and later Governor Mitt Romney.

With Malone when I and others stood up to the waste, fraud, and abuse in the State Treasurers Office, Eric was a hard hitting adversary.We had several confrontations during legisltive hearings before the Public Service committee and at times quite caustic.
The same also when working later for Mitt Romney.

I do not agree with Eric on many issues. However, he was always available to have a discussion on issues that I diagreed with him on.

Journalism and the media has changed in the last 20 years and newspapers are becoming relics of the past. The free press that our citizens expect and taken for granted is in rapid. I just imagine what Eric Fehrnstrom could have been like so many other potential investigative reporters if newspapers and investigative reporting was not in such decline with little or no job opportunities and stable career path.

All OUT REPORTING IS NEEDED TO GAIN REFORMS AND STOP THE WAR OF WORDS BETWEEN CONSTRUCTION LABOR BOSSES AND NON UNION CONTRACTORS

November 7,2008

There is a constant daily all out media war being conducted in the construction industry by the labor bosses and non union contractors in Massachusetts that needs truth and investigative reporting to truly inform the citizenry. The media in some sort of continuous analysis must present the reality of the situation in order to be a catalyst for the required reforms.

The babble and phony statements continue relative to union and non union projects. The labor bosses on one side and so called non union contractors on the other side. The highly paid construction bosses out of touch with their members and taxpayers continue their show boating. The unions themselves squabble among themselves with various crafts raiding the others' work on job sites. The so called non union contractors keep on giving misinformation and working for goals of little or no oversight by maintaining a blind eye to the rampant fraud and abuse

The bottom line is prevailing wage laws on public works projects and their intention is good for the industry and taxpayers. The laws insure quality in construction be a union or non union contractor doing the work utilizing public taxpayer dollars.

The problem is the laws are not being properly enforced by state government to insure that a dollars work of public works construction for a dollar being paid. The labor bosses themselves are to be blamed since they destroyed the Secretariat of Labor. These same bosses continually cover up non enforcement, monitoring, and their destruction of proper enforcement. The Attorney General does not employ a system of systematic construction workplace inspections that continues to result in widespread cheating both in construction and employment laws. Workforce Development continues not to function properly with politically appointed managers who knowingly allow the crisis in former labor boss roles who now manage the agency.

Coupled with the labor bosses and so called open shop contractors war are the victimizing of union and nonunion workers and taxpayers. Bid ,Workers Compensation Employment, Wage and Hour, Tax, Safety, Development and Engineering laws, rules, and regulations are literally not being enforced in public and private construction works.

Even the BIG DIG with the original price tag going from two billion to twenty three billion has not awakened the Governor and Legislature. Honest employers and their employees be union or non union who maintain proper standards are being forced to compete against those unscrupulous contractors who cheat and rarely fear getting caught.

The time has come for another WARD type Commission which was implemented during the Government Center construction scandal be formed to deal with public and private construction Procurement and Bid Laws. However, this time there must be built in continuous monitoring and enforcement, to protect government funding, the taxpayers and citizens. The so called labor bosses, union and open shop contractors, engineers, architects, government officials must realize and address this reality. Public Interest and not self interest must come first.

MASSACHUSETTS ATTORNEY MARTHA COAKLEY MAY BE ENGAGING IN POLITICAL ROULETTE WITH TAUNTON DAM SUIT AND DISREGARDING OTHER NEGLECTED PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DAM SAFETY

Massachusetts Attorney General appears to be engaging in another publicity media sound bite to get publicity for future campaigns or gather fund raising dollars that elected politician be a member of either party typical engage with her latest alleged suit against two private Taunton Dam Owners?

Is this another public relations media hype coming the same day the Attorney general is being touted for another political office in the BOSTON HERALD?

Is this so called suit like the Big Dig prosecutions only to settle out of court later for little or nothing after the public and media forgets after getting a resume headline?

The whole issue of Dam Safety in Massachusetts has not been properly reported, covered and corrected for years. The state has literally dismantled its own staffing ability to insure, monitor, and prosecute for the public safety of both public and private dams.

This neglected area and dependency on the campaign contributing engineering consultants has drowned out the cries and calls for real reforms. When will our Governor and Legislature realize hiring consultants like the BIG DIG Boston Central Artery that blossomed from $2.3 billion to to $23 Billion most expensive public works in history lacking any real accountability and Oversight.

The reason for a major part of the debacle was that turning over accountabi;ity and monitoring to private for profit entities like Bechtel and Parsons who do not come under the State Ethics Commission, Open Meeting Laws does not work?

When will the Big Media listen and demand another independent Ward type Commission that was formed during the Government Center Scandal to do real reforms not listened to for all aspects of the current failed no bid system of contracts to vendors, consultants, and providers?