Blowup at Penn Pike - COO #2 Kevin Longenbach goes

Kevin Longenbach Penn Pike website this morning Penn Pike website this afternoon

Kevin Longenbach, chief operating officer (COO) and number two has left the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission after a falling out with CEO Joseph Brimmeier. Longenbach departed his office at the Turnpike about two weeks ago according to a source at the Turnpike, but the Turnpike website showed him as in position as COO as recently as this morning. By this afternoon his name and photograph had been removed and the name of George M. Hatalowich substituted as Chief Operating Officer.

Hatalowich was taken from the engineering department by Brimmeier to be in charge of contracting in 2003. Longenbach is a longtime Turnpike employee going back to 1981.

A Turnpike source says the two were never close though they appeared to have a reasonable working relationship until about the end of January when it became obvious there had been a major personal break.

"They wouldn't sit near one another or look one another in the face. They were uncomfortable in each other's presence, it was obvious," said a Commission source.

The two had traveled together overseas so had the opportunity for heart to heart discussions - which apparently led to the rift.

Fumo fallout?

The timing suggests it may have been related to the US Government's indictment of Vincent Fumo and the wife of Turnpike chairman Mitchell Rubin and the shadow cast over the Turnpike by the federal indictment's detailing of $10k/month payments by the Turnpike to Mike Palermo, a Fumo buddy previously on Fumo's senate payroll.

The federal indictment says the Turnpike has no records of any work done by Palermo in return for the $220k paid between April 2003 and the end of 2004.

Privatization response angered the governor

Brimmeier has also been the subject of criticism within the Turnpike for his handling of Gov Rendell's privatization moves.

Our source says: "He (Brimmeier) got the governor really mad by going out there and saying the Turnpike could match anything the private sector could put up, that we should toll I-80, hiring lobbyists, and all the rest. Most people around here didn't think it was very smart. He's managed to get the governor completely against us."

He speculates that Longenbach may have given vent to that sentiment, but doesn't know.

Longenbach ran the Turnpike

Brimmeier's practice was to work at the Turnpike about three days a week and most of the day to day decisions were taken by Longenbach, insiders say.

Longenbach was a senior attorney in the Turnpike between 1981 and 2003. He was appointed to number two position and COO at the same time Brimmeier was brought in from Pittsburgh county government to be CEO. Longenbach has been active in toll industry conferences and committees and is an avid reader of the history of toll roads and road financing. He is a 1997 honors graduate from the Dickinson school of law at Syracuse University.

The Turnpike's announcement of the appointments on Feb 21 2003 quoted chairman Mitchell Rubin: "I have the utmost confidence in Mr. Brimmeier and Mr. Longenbach."

Hatalowich, the new COO is described as having been manager for contracts administration at the Turnpike between 2003 and now. Before that he was in the Turnpike's engineering department.

There has been no official announcement of Longenbach's departure or Hatalowich's elevation. A Turnpike spokesman says the changes were approved at a commission meeting around Feb 6. He said he doesn't know the terms on which Longenbach departed. He said they only put out announcements of CEO level changes.

TOLLROADSnews 2007-02-19

UPDATE

A Turnpike spokesman says today there are "some inaccuracies" in the account we have been given of Brimmeier-Longenbach relations, and which is reported above, but declines to specify any of the errors or to elaborate. He said he would elaborate in return for us identifying the source, but we think that was said in jest. 2007-02-20