The scandal that wasn't

Published Mar 27 2006, 05:11 PM by Adam Reilly

Granted, I'm no media critic. But was yesterday's Globe story on Tom Reilly and the Big Dig baffling, or what?

At the beginning of the piece--provocatively titled "Questions shadow Reilly's Big Dig cost recovery"-- we learn that, soon after the Marie St. Fleur debacle, Reilly upped his demand for a refund from contractor Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff by $20 million. The implication, obviously, is that Reilly asked for more money to help himself recover politically. The smoking gun? Lawyers for Bechtel said so!

Um, no offense, but Bechtel's lawyers aren't exactly impartial observers here. In fact, since Bechtel and Reilly have an inherently adversarial relationship, I'd say they have close to zero credibility when it comes to parsing Reilly's motivations.

The story also asks if Reilly should have gotten involved with Big Dig cost recovery earlier, should have worked harder, etc. But the people raising these questions either seem to know nothing about the details of the case (David Luberoff, director of Harvard's Rappaport Institute, is "not familiar with the specifics of Reilly's decision") or to have as little credibility as Bechtel's lawyers (this means you, Christy Mihos!).

Weird stuff.

Happy birthday to him

Romney and O'Malley BFF?

1 Comments

David said:

One weirdness about the article was that Bechtel's lawyers are now flatly denying that they ever raised politics in discussions with the AG's office. From the article:

"Two sources in direct contact with Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff lawyers said the lawyers blamed politics for disrupting the closing days of the process, suggesting Reilly wanted a higher number to help him rebound from the St. Fleur debacle. A Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff spokesman last week denied its lawyers raised politics when presented with the $108 million demand, calling such an assertion 'bizarre.'"

Curiouser and curiouser!

By the way, your link to the article is broken.

March 27, 2006 7:20 PM

Follow the Boston Phoenix

All Blogs

On The Download (2,176)
Dont Quote Me (527)
Laser Orgy (36)
Phlog (1,432)
Talking Politics (1,529)
Outside The Frame (307)

more by Adam Reilly

Goal rush! | December 04, 2009

Greg Epstein, Atheist Superstar | November 27, 2009

Unmaking a bad federal law | November 27, 2009

Collateral damage? | November 13, 2009

Holy terror? | November 13, 2009

See all articles by: Adam Reilly

Latest Comments

GodHatesFags.com Invades Greater Boston - So sad and scary. Ppl must get a life that doesn't thrive on ppls differences. Why live in the USA? You...

By Patty on 12-05-2009 in Phlog

Kenmore cat can't be caught - I wonder if it escaped from the Kenmore cat hospital..

By Ari on 12-05-2009 in Phlog

Boston Public Health Commission's Top 10 Bad Romance Songs of 2009: Is pop music unhealthy? - Wow. Thank you for taking the time to express your very biased opinion. However, I think you need to...

By Jim T on 12-05-2009 in On The Download

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: exclusive Cave In DVD preview - mike you fail'd hard. Please end your life quickly.

By shane on 12-05-2009 in On The Download

RIP, Mike Penner / Christine Daniels - offal, you help make my point. Thanks. Women suffering from depression are now recognized for having...

By O-FISH-L on 12-05-2009 in Dont Quote Me

Latest Comments from Talking Politics

The scandal that wasn't

1 Comments

David said:

Leave a Comment