Gov.-elect Deval Patrick said he would be “crazy” not to consider longtime Big Dig insider Jim Aloisi for transportation secretary, even though Patrick demonized the project’s political culture during the campaign for governor.
“He is a very strong and well-respected expert in transportation,“ Patrick said of Aloisi during a press conference yesterday. “And I think anybody would be crazy not to consider him.”
Sources told the Herald that Aloisi, who has billed the state more than $3 million for legal work on the Big Dig, is among the finalists for the top transportation job in Patrick’s administration.
While many said they do not expect him to be named, the fact that he is under consideration came as a shock given his experience with the Big Dig. The troubled road project hit a new low last July when a woman was killed by a falling ceiling panel.
During the gubernatorial campaign, Patrick repeatedly invoked the $14.6 billion project as an example of all that is wrong with Massachusetts politics. Aloisi was a close legal adviser to former Big Dig leaders Matthew Amorello and James Kerasiotes, both of whom were forced to step down amid allegations of secrecy.
“I don’t know anybody who would be more a part of the Big Dig culture than Jim Aloisi,” said Christy Mihos, a former Turnpike Authority board member who ran against Patrick for governor. “Jim Aloisi is the Big Dig personified.” Attempts to reach Aloisi for comment yesterday were unsuccessful.
Aloisi has deep roots in state government, having served in the state Department of Revenue and as an undersecretary of transportation. He is also a current member of a special commission examining the financial needs of the state’s transportation infrastructure.
Aloisi’s work on the Big Dig reaches back to its conceptual stages in the mid 1980s. As the project moved forward - swelling from a $2.3 billion project to $8 billion and then $10 billion - Aloisi authored legislation that helped transfer operational power to the Turnpike Authority and create more financial leeway to ensure its completion.
He also defended Kerasiotes against an SEC probe into allegations that he concealed huge cost overruns on the project. The SEC investigators concluded Kerasiotes fraudulently understated the project’s true costs by more than $1 billion, but he never faced fines or other penalties.
cross@bostonherald.com.
Posted by: dcs2244
Deval Patrick: More Dukakis, more political ass-sucking.
Together we can further corrupt state government.
Posted by: Bullock
Why am I not surprised Patrick is starting this nonsense already? First he hammers home the big dig as the most obvious need for change, now he wants to promote one of the biggest players in the big dig. Yah this one makes alot of sense, keep up the good work deval
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