That he hasn't already stepped down is an indication of how arrogant some of these people become. You bet a ton of contractors, construction workers and police officers made a ton of money on this project. Just don't forget the politicians and state workers responsible for overseeing this project. How much money and how many future favors you think they got for looking the other way?

You know the biggest travesty? That taxpayers are going to have to foot the bill when they basically have to re-construct this entire project all over again to ensure safety. Just wait and see what impartial inspectors will find when they finally get to examine this monstrosity.

Can we please have an investigation before we assign blame? Sheesh. I also wish they'd take down the poll on the front page about figuring out from the public who they think is at fault. Nothing like fueling rampant speculation to sell papers. Is there anyone out there willing let them examine the evidence first? We're also making assumptions about who will pay for the repairs. Ya think there may be a wee small possibility that who will pay may depend on who is found at fault?

Please... let the facts come in first before we decide who should be hung.

Anonymous, this what Massachusetts is all about - the blame game. The only thing is, no one ever gets held accountable. When was the last time any politician or government executive in Massachusetts ever went to jail? Ahhhh. The sad part is that taxpayers will pay for the investigation and the repairs while well-heeled attorneys defend the criminal culprits for years. Once again, we'll pick up the tab.
I think Matt Amorello has to go. His recent attempt to turn the Turnpike Authority's board of directors into a third-world dictatorship was the second to last straw. Melina Del Valle's death was no accident and it came on his watch. Like a good Samurai, Matt has to fall on his sword.

If you want Matt Amorello to go because of his fiefdom, thats a political issue (which may or may not be entirely valid). If you want the rampant speculation asociated with this incedent to be the mechanism by which this political problem is solved, then that is an injustice because any blame for this incedent should be because of facts, not popularity or tangentile politics. As such, media organizations that fuel these speculations without regard to a proper investigation are, by extension, inadvertantly or not, exacerbating a potential injustice.

Call me old fashioned but I'd like some evidence before we go straight to punishment. If you want accountability, please enfoce it properly. We don't even know what the structural cuase of the failure was yet. Looking into the policies and procedures under which it happened can any beurocratic blame be cast and that can't happen until after the first item is determined. With so much investigating left to do in order to find out the truth, I find it amazingly opportunistic to assign blame at this point.

Actually Anonymous, this is a blog. That's what we're supposed to do. We react and we discuss.

As for facts, here's the most important one. A woman is dead because of a flawed construction project that Matt Amorello assured us was safe. Had an impartial and thorough investigation been done, perhaps Millena Delvalle would be alive today. Accidents happen...negligence shouldn't.

And as for who is going to pay, Jim is right. We the taxpayers are. We're going to pay the higher insurance premiums from the upcoming lawsuit. And we're going to pay for the repairs, because the company that built the darn thing is already on the verge of bankruptcy.

So you go ahead and wait before reacting and assigning blame. It's the same thing Matt Amorello did, and now a family is without a mother/daughter/sister.

While you do that, the rest of us should look to "hang" some people. Perhaps the sight of a few swinging political bodies will make the next person in charge act BEFORE it's too late.

Jimmy, this is the second time I actually agree with you.

Amorello is a arrogant jerk for trying to take over the Turnpike Authority. And the Legislature is equally a bunch of arrogant jerks for trying to preserve his power. Sad.

Amorello has to go. Pure and simple. He's had command over one of the biggest public works in USA history and its been one debacle after the other. Under his "leadership" we have this stinking mess and now a dead person. If Amorello has any conscious at all, he'll feel the guilt that is his to bear and will resign.

You have ignored my points.
1 - We don't really know that this is his fault
2 - While there may be many other reasons to oust him, lumping them with this incident isn't fair. If you have other reasons then argue those as they are other issues.
3 - Don't say they are connected, because if you don't know the answer to number 1 then you can't know there is a connection.
4 - I don't mind people voicing their suspicions. But the logical leap from "I think that..." and "... therefore we should get rid of him" needs some facts that can be backed up between those statements. If you want to argue about his fiefdom between those quotes, fine... just understand that the woman who died deserves the truth to come out and any instinct to call for consequences to a person for whome we don't know if it is his fault (see point #1) does a diservice to that truth that their family, and the taxpayers, so richley deserve.
My Mom is positive that OJ did it too... I tell her I wasn't on that jury so while I suspect he did, not only does my vote to hang him not count, but anybody hanging him soley on my opinion would be a scary justice system.

Mr. Anonymous, Virginia Buckingham didn't lead Mohammed Atta through security cameras at Logan Airporrt and put him on a plane to use as a missile against the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Buckingham didn't work for the airlines that continually fought against implementing tougher security guidelines, because it would slow down their check-ins and cost more money. But she took the fall for 9-11, didn't she? It's because Atta made a fool of all of us, on Buckingham's watch. Same think with Mr. Amorello. Despite all his rhetoric, he's been too busy trying to save his job by manipulating the board of directors than worrying about the Big Dig and the best interest of the public. Matt's a goner. YOu heard it here first.

This is what you call evidence of some amount of responsibility:

" ...continually fought against implementing tougher security guidelines, because..."

I haven't seen or heard of anything similar about Amorello's activities that relate to this accident. Lots of people have said alot of other reasons to get rid of him previously, but that are not, until someone shows me otherwise, related to this accident.

I think you are right that he's probably a goner, but if there is no evidence that this accident can be traced back to something he could or should have done then this will be like when the Dolphins fired Wannstedt when Rickey Williams left. There were plenty of reasons to get rid of him for years and it was ironic that the straw that broke the camel's back wasn't anything you could blame him for really.

The point you're missing anonymous is that it is his fault. The buck ultimately stops with the person in charge, especially when that person assured us "the tunnels are safe." Even a day after someone died, the exact same day they found at least 60 other problem areas, he says they're safe. What an arrogant, arrogant "you know what!!!!"

This isn't a one time event. Water comes pouring through routinely. People's cars get damaged by falling tiles. This has been going on for years and every investigation Mr. Amorello lorded over missed the big picture. Why did it take a person dying to discover the other 60 problem areas? Why not do a thorough investigation when the smaller tiles smashed people's windshields in the past?

Again, the person in charge has to be ultimately responsible, or the entire system fails. When the man on top is incompetent and covers up for those beneath him, people die. Mellana Delvalle is Exhibit A of that!

Before you hit the post button, read what you write and listen to yourself. You'll be shocked at what an apologist you sound like.

Jim now that Matthew Amorello is gone, what are your thoughts on creation and future existence of Mass Turnpike Authority?

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority web site claims,� they we’re created by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature in 1952 and does not receive state or federal tax revenue. The roadway, including the Boston Extension in the MHS and the two tunnels, operates on toll revenue, supplemented with revenue from leasing, development of land and air rights, and advertising.�

Romney stated this morning, "Ultimately, it is the right thing in order for the Turnpike Authority to move forward and regain the confidence of the public."

With these two facts in mind, do you think the outdated Mass Turnpike Authority is really needed and should all Highway work maybe fall under authority of Mass Highway Department?
Do you think this appointed position of Turnpike Authority Chairman is a needed position?
Do think maybe the Turnpike Authority Chairman position should be an elected position?

Just wondering some of your thoughts on this issue?

T-Dog, you've got a lot of questions. come up for breath will you? By original statute, the Turnpike Authority was not to be a permanent authority but was created to oversee construction of the Mass. Turnpike. Once the bonds were paid off, it was supposed to expire. The Dukakis administration, however, gave the turnpike new life by reissuing bonds for infrastructure improvements, even though turnpike tolls were supposed to sustain the highway. In other words, the Dukakis administration used the turnpike authority to become a dumping ground for political hacks and to create jobs for Democratic layabouts. Republican governors continued to the cash cow system. When Romney took office, he vowed to consolidate the turnnpike authority and the Mass. Highway Dept., correctly surmising that there should be one authority to oversee all roads. This would have created cost-savings and new efficiencies. Under Romney's plans, the existing bonds would have been paid off and the toll roads either dismantled for organized to be self-sustaining. Naturally, the Legislature backed Matt Amorello and resisted the plan, although a law was finally approved to begin a transition to state control in 2008. With the Big Dig's problems, I see a revamping of the turnpike authority in the cards. Whether this rresults in a professional oversight board or just another hack bureaucracy remains to be seen. I don't see any need for a politically based executive board or turnpike authority. The state should run its roads like a business. Cut the redundancies, take care of the roads, and let people drive safely. If anything, the death of Milena Del Valle and the ensuing shoddy work on the ceiling panels should open the Legislature's eyes to reform this albatross known as the turnpike authority. T-Dog, can you run the show?

Think we should start a line on which on of the hopefuls plays this card first. Now that Amorello is gone might be very easy for one of them to take on Turnpike Authority. I can see it now Reilly is going in at 2/1 odds. After he prosecutes all the contractors he’s going to make elimination of Turnpike Authority part of his agenda. Truthfully I would like to see him take on Turnpike Authority. Better than him lauding REGULAR PEOPLE.
As opposed to non regular people?
He really is out of touch….

And I’ll take that Job….Give me a book of Pink slips and some names
Like The Donald……You’re fired