pennsylvania turnpike commission

Donald Kovac, a Pennsylvania Turnpike's manager of labor relations 2005 to 2008, did not make a case that he'd been improperly dismissed, Judge Terrence McVerry ruled in a US District Court ruling handed down in Pittsburgh today.

Former Pennsylvania Turnpike chairman Mitchell Rubin, 58 of Philadelphia pled guilty to an obstruction of justice charge in US District Court in Philadelphia today finalizing a plea bargain. He admitted to misleading investigators about his no-work contracts arranged by his close friend Senator Vincent Fumo and his relationships with Fumo - now serving a 5 year jail term.

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: