Army records disagree with memo writer's service claim

A former Big Dig safety officer who has said he wrote a memo warning that the Interstate 90 tunnel ceiling was unsafe did not serve in the US Army for the years listed on his résumé, according to an Army spokeswoman.

In addition, the Army records show no evidence that John J. Keaveney graduated from college, as he also stated on the résumé.

Keaveney, a former safety officer for Modern Continental Construction, is facing questions about his credibility after telling the Globe last month that he warned the project manager in 1999 that the connector ceiling could collapse. Modern Continental has suggested that the memo was fabricated and has handed over records to state investigators that the company says contradict Keaveney's account.

On his résumé, a copy of which was given to investigators, Keaveney said he served in the Army from 1986 to 1990. But records show he only served 10 months, from April 1989 through February 1990, said Andrea Wales, spokewoman for the US Army Human Resources Command.

In addition, a form in his Army personnel file indicates that the highest level of education Keaveney achieved was 11th grade, Wales said. The form also included a notation reading ``GED cert.," which Wales said appeared to indicate Keaveney had earned a general equivalency diploma.

On his résumé, Keaveney asserted that he earned a bachelor of science degree in business from University College Galway.

Keaveney's lawyer, Robert Peabody, said yesterday that he believes the information on Keaveney's résumé is correct.

``We are taking steps to document and substantiate those references as questions are raised," Peabody said.

Earlier this week, an Irish Army official said there is no record of Keaveney serving with the Irish Defense Forces.

Keaveney's résumé maintains he served 7 years in the IDF, including stints in Cyrus, Angola, Iran, and Iraq.

Keaveney, 43, was terminated Wednesday from his job as a safety officer for Boston-based Shawmut Design and Construction.

A statement issued by Shawmut provided no details about why he was terminated.

Keaveney has not spoken publicly about the controversy over the memo since last Aug. 3, when he insisted that the document was authentic.

At the same time, he acknowledged that he had sent the memo to the Globe under another Modern Continental employee's name. He had previously denied sending it to the newspaper.

Jonathan Saltzman of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com; Murphy, at smurphy@globe.com.