Penn Pike's CEO Brimmeier charged with serious misbehavior by colleagues

Timothy Carson vice-chair of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says that the Turnpike may have been a haven for patronage and boondoggles in the past but that's all history now. The Pittsburgh Tribune quotes him: "We're not your father's turnpike."

In truth the patronage and boondoggles are bigger and more blatant than ever.

Sources within the Turnpike for example accuse the current CEO Joseph Brimmeier of serious misbehavior.

They say that in his four years as CEO Brimmeier has engaged in the following nepotism:

* getting his son Joseph Jr a job as assistant maintenance manager, then maintenance manager, then assistant director of regional operations even though he has no prior experience or qualifications and only a high school education

* referring Turnpike legal cases through his sister Bonnie B to the Meyer-Darragh law firm

* creating a job at central office for his cousin Shawn Linder (they say Linder was later fired because he didn't show up)

* hiring another cousin Edward Schauer as a plumber in Turnpike's maintenance division

* hiring a nephew Kevin Shelleby a communications field technician at Western Regional Office

* providing work to his sister Jan, an architect, to design service plazas

They accuse Brimmeier of these acts of patronage:

* creating a new auditor position for daughter of Lawrence County Dem chairman Pete Vasella and placing her in the Fare Collections Office in New Castle

* directing Host Travel Plazas to use The Doggery as a sub-franchisee at the service plazas to benefit a longtime friend and associate Tom Geanopolaus

* giving legal work on the Host Travel Plaza franchise to a firm including the son of chairman Mitchell Rubin

The sources also say that Brimmeier consistently works less than full time - typically 3 to 3.5 days per week at the Turnpike - and is therefore not earning his salary which pays him to do a fulltime job.

We requested comment on these charges precisely as stated above from the Turnpike's public affairs office weeks ago and several times requested interviews with Brimmeier. Turnpike officers are always polite to us but we have gotten no response to any requests for comment.

These charges are in addition to Brimmeier arranging a monthly payment by the Turnpike of $10,000 for 22 months ($220,000 total) to Vince Fumo buddy Michael Palermo who worked in developing Fumo's get-away farm property north of Harrisburg. The US Government indictment says that the Pennsylvania Turnpike "has no records reflecting that any work was ever performed" on the contract. (US indictment Feb 6 p43 #83)

We have asked the Turnpike several times about this and they have not responded. We asked who arranged the contract. Is the indictment incorrect? No comment.

Chairman Mitchell Rubin engaged in misconduct or crime also

Brimmeier is not alone among senior officials at the Pennsylvania Turnpike engaged in serious misconduct or crime. In the grand jury indictment of Vincent Fumo Feb 6 on more than 100 counts of thievery, Ruth Arnao Rubin, wife of the chairman of the Turnpike Commission Mitchell Rubin was charged with 45 counts of thievery. In the body of that indictment Feb 6 Mitchell Rubin himself is accused, but not indicted for thievery in receiving $150,000 in return for no work for the state Senate between 1999 and 2004.

Rubin had a contract arranged by Fumo to provide "professional services to the (Senate) Democratic Appropriations Committee to include, but not be limited to research, analysis, and make recommendations on legislative matters, assist on constituent services." (p45 #90)

The indictment states: "Neither the Senate nor (Rubin's) firm possesses any documentary evidence, such as notes and reports, showing that he or his firm ever provided any 'research, analysis (or) recommendations on legislative matters' or anything related to constituent services...(Rubin) did little or no actual senate work at all." (p45 #91)

Brimmeier's reaction - we were told it was a "senior" official and guess by a process of elimination it was Brimmeier - to our publishing Feb 8 of this last item from the US Government indictment was to try to get an advertiser of ours who was also a consultant to the Turnpike to cease advertising here. He failed.

TOLLROADSnews 2007-04-05