Top staff is leaving Mass. Pike

As Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chairman Matthew J. Amorello relinquishes today the job he has held for four years, a group of highly paid staff members is preparing to follow him out the door, according to two people close to Amorello.

Among those who have left or are expected to leave are Amorello's chief of staff, Marie Hayman; deputy chief of staff Keith Shirley; communications director Mariellen Burns; and chief of operations Michael Swanson, who retired yesterday. At least three other top managers are also considering quitting, the sources said yesterday.

They are leaving rather than face the possibility of being fired by Secretary of Transportation John Cogliano, who will be named the new chairman of the Turnpike Authority tomorrow. Cogliano is already making waves: He plans to eliminate the free Fast Lane privileges given to Turnpike Authority employees.

Governor Mitt Romney, who finalizes his takeover of the Turnpike Authority board at a 9 a.m. meeting tomorrow, accused Amorello yesterday of complicating the transition by failing to meet with the administration or turn over documents.

``In the weeks since Matt Amorello has agreed to resign and stand aside, our staff has been unable to get telephone calls returned, documents provided, briefings, and so forth," Romney said during a State House press conference.

Romney criticized Amorello for secrecy. ``Anytime something is kept secret, anytime people won't return calls and won't do briefings and won't sit down to talk about the transition of leadership, it gives you wonder as to why that would be," Romney said. ``So I can only wait and hope. . . . I certainly have high hopes that Chairman Amorello wants to go out on a high note and not have documents revealed or practices revealed that would be less than complimentary."

The departing workers are among the agency's most highly paid: According to 2005 payroll records, Hayman earned $134,940; Shirley made $84,188; Burns, $109,980; and Swanson, $133,744.

The Legislature granted Romney access to all Turnpike Authority records as part of the oversight responsibilities turned over to him after the July 10 Big Dig tunnel ceiling collapse that killed Milena Del Valle of Jamaica Plain. Romney also forced out Amorello, whom he accused of mismanagement.

Yesterday, the governor said he has no plans to fire all Turnpike Authority managers. ``There are many excellent and qualified individuals in the leadership of the Turnpike Authority," he said. ``The engineering team, I've been told, is very strong and includes capabilities we will want to retain."

The Turnpike Authority would not comment on the departures. The employees themselves did not return a reporter's phone messages.

``We would decline comment on personnel issues involving employees who retire or who leave the MTA," said outgoing chief of staff Marie Hayman.

Hayman termed inaccurate Romney's accusations that Amorello has refused to cooperate with administration officials planning the transition. She said that the authority's chief financial officer met with Romney administration officials on Aug. 1 and sought two other meetings but that Romney aides declined.

``Chairman Amorello has also instructed all MTA department heads to prepare transition reports for the incoming administration," Hayman said in a written statement.

Meanwhile, Cogliano will take a small but symbolic step tomorrow to make the Turnpike Authority appear less insulated and more public spirited.

As one of his first official acts, he will ask the Turnpike Authority board to discontinue the Fast Lane privileges of Turnpike Authority board members, top managers, and other employees. The action will have to approved by the board.

Board members and employees are allowed to travel the Turnpike and airport tunnels without paying tolls.

``If this is adopted, they will have to pay like anyone else," said Romney administration spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom. ``Turnpike board members and senior managers should have the same experience as the public in using the tunnel and road system. We don't think they should be desensitized to the fact of paying. They should put themselves in the shoes of regular motorists and should understand the cost and frustration experienced by regular motorists."

Fehrnstrom said the board may be forced to retain the benefit for employees who receive it as part of a collective bargaining agreement.

Hayman said Turnpike Authority employees are not required to pay tolls on the Turnpike or the Metropolitan Highway System, but must pay for the transponder if they want to use the Fast Lane system. The transponder is the device placed in a vehicle to record tolls.

Romney said that starting tomorrow the administration will move to review the agency's books, contractual obligations, and labor agreements.

After the governor installs Cogliano as chairman, the board will launch a search for a manager to oversee operations, and Eric Kriss, former secretary of administration and finance, will conduct a full review of the Turnpike Authority's financial affairs.

``There will be a new spirit of openness," said Mary Connaughton, a board member appointed by Romney. ``The books will be looked at. The finances will be looked at. There will be open discussions as to what the next steps should be."

The governor first called for Amorello's resignation in November 2004, after the Globe reported that there were hundreds of leaks in Big Dig tunnels. The governor again called on Amorello to resign after the fall of the tunnel ceiling.

Amorello agreed after a Supreme Judicial Court justice refused to block a July 27 hearing in which Romney sought to remove him.