pennsylvania turnpike commission

The governing board of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the five member Commission, passed a resolution at their regular bimonthly meeting this week apparently requiring staff to open up professional services contract work for competition. This is intended to address one common criticism of the Turnpike: that it has a cosy - some say plainly 'corrupt' - relationship with a small bunch of favored companies, and there are surreptitious pay-to-play deals.

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission chairman Mitchell Rubin has been formally notified he is the "target" of an FBI investigation. Following notification Rubin wrote the state governor Ed Rendell saying that he wishes to take "leave" from the chairmanship. He said in the letter to the governor that this was to attend to "personal matters."

Shakeups are looming at toll authorities in Orlando FL and Pennsylvania.In Orlando the release of a grand jury paper about shenanigans inside the local toll expressway authority threaten the tenure of CEO Mike Snyder and longtime general contractor PBS&J, while in Harrisburg PA the Governor Ed Rendell has said he's investigating whether he has the leg

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's resignation from IBTTA has been quietly acknowledged by the trade association by removing its name from the official membership list. (see nearby)

However there has been no comment by IBTTA, and no other acknowledgement of the departure of one of the oldest and longest standing members of the established industry trade association.

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission chairman Mitchell Rubin is under pressure to resign - set to feature in US Court next month as a crony of the high profile defendant Vincent Fumo. Fumo a longtime state senator is about to go on trial accused by the feds of 139 counts of fraud, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and income tax evasion.

You wouldn't read it in a work of fiction, it would be too far-fetched. Nothing however is too absurd in Pennsylvanian government, it seems.

Vincent Fumo the most notoriously corrupt politician in the state who shortly will be spending his days in US Court facing no less than 139 charges of public corruption is - he claims - sponsoring ethics reform at the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

We aren't making this up.

Here it is on his website:

Here's an email from Timothy Carson, vice chair of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission:

Peter - My wife wonders if you would introduce her to the "young Philadelphia lawyer" cited in yesterday's posting. I'm afraid she might like to audition the referenced youngster as a replacement for the 59-year old that she has been sleeping with for the last 33 years... Tim

We emailed back:

We received this email from Timothy Carson, vice chairman of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission:

"Peter - The desperation of you and the corporate interests which clearly hold you hostage is palpable to all. With every new column, your strident advocacy for the "privatization at any cost" cause leaves in tatters any journalistic credibility you might otherwise retain. I continue to believe you are doing a grave disservice to the fledgling (and much needed) P3 movement. Tim."

Misrepresentation of Act 44 is contained in attachments to the First Quarterly Report of the Turnpike Commission sent to the state legislature Oct 30 2007 under the signature of Joseph Brimmeier, CEO. The vice chair of the Commission Timothy Carson claimed in a letter to TOLLROADSnews this week that neither he no anyone else at the Turnpike have claimed that the 25% toll increase in 2009 and 3% annually thereafter are the toll increases specified by law in Act 44.

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) vice-chairman Timothy Carson has written us a 2-page letter in response to our report of their misinformation on Act 44 specifying toll caps. He denies that he or anyone else at the PTC has said that Act 44 caps toll increases at 25% initially and 3% per year thereafter. His denial is ridiculous.

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission spokesmen have repeatedly claimed they are limited in the toll increases they can impose under last summer's Act 44, whereas, they say, the Governor's private concessionaire might double and triple tolls.