Father of Corbett's Chief of Staff to head PA Turnpike Commission

[Divernan]

To paraphrase an old song, "Nice work if you can get it, and you can get it if you have a political connection to Corbett." Note that this guy spent his working life in New Jersey, and now resides in Vero Beach, Florida. Guess he'll jet up monthly for Commission meetings. Or maybe he'll just phone it in! I'd say this goes in the - OUTSOURCE A PENNSYLVANIAN JOB column.

Road masters: Political connections still surface at the turnpike
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Here we go again, a trip down memory lane at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, where the top job traditionally has been held by a political crony of the governor.

The five-member turnpike commission on Tuesday unanimously appointed the father of Gov. Tom Corbett's chief political strategist as its new chief executive officer.

To his credit, Roger E. Nutt, 70, of Vero Beach, Fla., -- father of Mr. Corbett's former chief of staff Brian Nutt -- brings a background in transportation to the job, something that hasn't always been the case. Mr. Nutt, who will earn $196,700 a year, for three decades held various executive positions in New Jersey including serving as head of the state's turnpike authority and its highway authority and project director for design, construction and opening of the Atlantic City-Brigantine Connector, a $330 million public-private partnership.

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The turnpike long has been a bastion of patronage, so it probably was too much to hope that Mr. Corbett might attempt to change its culture. It looks like he's going in the wrong direction with the appointment of Mr. Nutt. Let's hope he proves us wrong.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11079/1133001-192.stm#ixzz1H8xQd8z6

[Divernan]

1. He's never voted in PA, never paid taxes in PA & he won't spend his salary in PA

Gee, thanks Governor. With a governor like you, Pennsylvania doesn't need any enemies!

I think this is the most egregious example of cronyism I've ever seen.

[old mark]

2. K&R- Corbett has not yet done a single thing for the good of the people in PA...

except for friends, family or heavy cash contributers to his campaign. Many people here supported him because they thought he was against strict gun control laws as opposed to Onorato, but I have a feeling they will be disapointed by Corbett in that, too. I don't see where he will do ANYTHING positive for PA no matter what your politics are...he is out to grab as much as he can, and is off to a great start at that.

mark

[Divernan]

3. The labyrinth ways of the secret society known as the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission

http://www.paturnpike.com/geninfo/comm/meetcomm2.aspx
This is the official Turnpike webpage, where you can see a photo of the new executive director, and as a special added treat, a delightful photo of the Lieutenant Governor, looking like he was separated at birth from Howdy Doody. The Lt. Gov. is a really important person you know. His sole previous job history was as chief of staff for a single state senator - that means the guy who picks up the Senator's dry cleaning, yells at the secretary if she adds 5 minutes to her lunch break and gets coffee for visiting lobbyists.

I couldn't find any bios for members of the Commission. Can anyone else? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Next, check out the following link to see how secretive this Commission, which hands out BILLIONS of dollars in patronage jobs and contracts, actually is.

http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/3591

The politics and governance of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission are extraordinary.Appointments to the Turnpike Commission are almost a secret. We've searched the archives of official announcements and press releases of both the Turnpike Commission and Governor Rendell's office. Neither has ever announced an appointment to the Commission of any of the present commissioners, nor provided a biography of a Turnpike Commissioner. Nothing.

It's as if the Turnpike Commission is some kind of secret society, rather than an agency of a democratically elected state.

By state law the Governor appoints four members of the commission. Appointments are for four years and overlap by two years, so two commissioners are appointed/reappointed every two years. By law they must be approved by the Senate, along the lines of the advice and consent clause common to executive office appointments.

There's an unwritten rule respected by governors of both parties since the beginning of the Turnpike Commission seventy years ago that the appointed commissioners are always two Democrats and two Republicans. A Democrat is replaced by a Democrat and a Republican by a Republican.

(My comment: although there are many, many independent voters, and a few registered members of other parties in the state, they have been summarily excluded from representation on the Turnpike Commission.)

Writer William Keisling: "The two political parties for all practical purposes own the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission... To help facilitate the awarding of jobs each party since 1985 has employed a patronage boss, officially known as assistant executive directors for the western (currently a Republican) and eastern (currently Democrat) regions. Their job has been to help the party bosses... dole out jobs to the party faithful. The booty is not just jobs. Billions of dollars in all sorts of contracts are awarded..." ("Helping Hands: Illegal Political Patronage in Pennsylvania and at the Pennsylvania Turnpike" Yardbird Books 1995, p2)

[Divernan]

4. Be afraid! Be very afraid! to blog about the PA Turnpike Commissioners, that is.

In checking out the present members of the commission, I googled one Republican member, Pasquale T. Deon, Sr. and found he sued his Democratic hometown supervisor for alledgedly libelous comments made on the supervisor's blog website:

http://www.medialaw.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Member_Resources/Litigation_Resources/Materials_by_Issue/Lawsuits_Against_Bloggers/Lawsuits_Against_Bloggers.htm
Pennsylvania: Deon v. McMonagle, No. 2005-08774 (Pa. C.P., Bucks County filed Dec. 8, 2005).
Status: Pending
Pasquale T. Deon Sr., who serves as chairman of the Philadelphia transit agency SEPTA and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, filed suit against Middletown, Pa. Supervisor Robert McMonagle for comments on his blog website middletown-news.net.


http://middletown-news.net/news/20051210DeonLibel.html
Libel Suit Filed Against Supervisor By Harry Yanoshak, Bucks County Courier Times

"SEPTA board chairman and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commissioner, Pasquale T. Deon Sr. has filed a libel lawsuit against Middletown Supervisor Robert McMonagle. Deon, a contributor to the Bucks County Republican Party, seeks unspecified damages from McMonagle, a Democrat who opposes plans for a restaurant by Deon's parents, Pasquale and Anna Mae Deon.

Democratic supervisor elect Diane Marseglia, one of McMonagle's supporters, said comments about the restaurant were directed toward Deon's father. The lawsuit, however, makes no reference to Deon's parents as the developers of the restaurant. "This suit is another example of why our courts are backlogged," Marseglia said Friday.

Several residents have opposed the plan (to build the restaurant) because it is near the township-owned Styer property and the owners want to serve alcohol.

(Note: See, the GOP hypocrites hate trial lawyers, util they want to sue someone.)

[Divernan]

5. +90% of $24 million of failed I-80 project paid to GOP Commissioner Schoch's firm

Yes, fellow DUers, the Pennsylvania Turnpike's very own Commissioner, Barry J. Schoch was the Project Manager on the failed I-80 project, and the private company of which he was vice-president received TWENTY TWO MILLION DOLLARS of the total $24 million dollars thrown down the corporate toilet on this project. That's PENNSYLVANIA TAXPAYERS' DOLLARS!
You probably recognized Schoch's name - Corbett picked the guy who screwed up and cost PA taxpayers $22 Millon to be secretary of PennDOT.

www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/01/gov-elect_tom_corbett_chooses.html

"The PennDOT secretary nominee will be Barry J. Schoch of Camp Hill, a vice president at McCormick Taylor Inc. who serves as transportation engineering manager of its Harrisburg office. He played a top role in developing the state's failed proposal to add tolls to Interstate 80."

http://paindependent.com/2010/05/turnpike-spent-24-million-on-failed-i-80-tolling-project/

May 28, 2010 | By Eric Boehm | Posted in Investigations
Turnpike Spent $24 Million on Failed I-80 Tolling Project

According to a list of expenses obtained from the Turnpike Commission, the vast majority of the I-80 project’s price tag was paid to McCormick Taylor, a Harrisburg-based engineering and planning firm which has worked with the Turnpike on numerous projects.
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Barry J. Schoch, vice president of McCormick Taylor and the I-80 project manager said the federal government’s request for more information on the tolling plan required “substantial engineering work,” and questioned why the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) had not stopped the process earlier, if the concept of rental payments was the real problem all along.
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How was the money spent?

McCormick Taylor completed more than $22 million worth of engineering and planning work on I-80 for the Turnpike Commission, including engineering work, traffic studies, and environmental impact assessments. Other firms were contracted for aerial mapping of I-80, and for specific studies on toll booth locations.