Penn Pike going straight? - firings credited as housecleaning

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) appears to be working to rid itself of its bad actors according to a couple of PTC watchers. Two people speaking off the record today independently said they think CEO Joe Brimmeier and the Turnpike Inspector General Anthony Maniscola are working to remove thieving employees, and generally to "clean up" the country's oldest public turnpike.  

A maintenance officer who is otherwise critical of the Turnpike leadership said he and others are amazed at the dismissal this week of the Turnpike director of maintenance Mike Haney, precisely because Haney was considered part of the inner circle and an "untouchable." The Turnpike Commission has via a spokesman confirmed that Haney was dismissed, but has not commented on the cause for dismissal.

We understood Haney was accused of "theft of services" in having separate Turnpike contractors do blacktop and roofing work at his private house. Haney hasn't commented on why he was suddenly terminated at the Turnpike.

There is usually cynicism about "house cleaning" some saying that it represents infighting, or is cosmetics designed purely to improve the Commission's image.

One of the skeptics we spoke to today said people were often fired for trivial offenses or even simply to make room for a newly favored person. But he said that CEO Joe Brimmeier now does seem to want to present himself as a reformer who is purging the bad guys. Political pressure for a cleanup of government agencies has grown considerably in the past year.

A huge furore has also broken over high salaries, cronyism, and perks at the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) which operates the four major toll bridges from Philadelphia to the southern New Jersey suburbs opposite (It has no port).  

DRPA is a bistate agency of the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

With media and opposition politicians highlighting corruption at public agencies, and major changes possible in government following the November elections a cleanup makes political sense.

Haney on about $130k/year plus expenses is the highest paid officer at the Turnpike to be dismissed in recent times. However earlier this year the Turnpike's 'top cop' Inspector General Anthony Maniscola said he had fired a total of 32 employees for different types of wrongdoing in the year to end-February.

Some of the cases are being prosecuted as crimes.

One of our informants said that the heat from Maniscola has intensified in  recent months. And they say there is an active grand jury investigation asking employees about wrongdoing.

TOLLROADSnews 2010-08-17