Later this year, it is possible --- even probable --- that the following individuals will all be in jail: former powerhouse Senator Vince Fumo, former House Speakers John Perzel and Bill DeWeese, Senators Jane Orie and Bob Mellow (both of Leadership), and former Representatives Mike Veon and Brett Feese (also from Leadership). 

On the one hand, seeing corrupt politicians brought to justice is a good thing, as is all the money they are giving back to taxpayers via forfeited pensions.

But there is a downside. While such offenders should obviously be prosecuted, people’s cynicism toward their government seems to be at an all-time high. Why? Because the rampant corruption still occurring --- the kind that directly affects people --- just isn’t being tackled seriously. 

Despite elements of corruption --- both institutional and criminal --- so apparent that even a law student could successfully prosecute the violators, nothing seems to get done. 

Worst of all are the pols who campaign as straight-shooting, law-and-order reformers, hell-bent on rooting out corruption, yet do nothing of the kind when elected.  Sadly, they often end up as corrupt as those they challenged.  The status quo remains intact, and, save for a bit of window dressing “reforms” here and there, it’s Business As Usual.

Nowhere is that more apparent that the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), one of the most powerful --- and corrupt --- organizations in the entire nation.

But wait! Could there be hope after all of reforming the Authority?  Sources say that a report from the New Jersey Comptroller’s Office will be released soon (possibly Monday), and that a gag order has been placed on its contents by the DRPA’s Chairman, Pennsylvania Governor Tim Corbett.  Sounds so cloak-and-dagger that it’s just possible to think maybe, just maybe, this might finally be the time when the bums are kicked out, replaced by honest folks with only one objective: responsible stewardship of the toll payers’ money.

After all, on the other side of the river we have firebrand Governor Chris Christie, who, like Corbett, is a former prosecutor.

So will this be the day we’ve been waiting for?

Fat chance. Very fat.

*****

Freindly Fire (FF) has been the longest-serving media voice taking on the DRPA and the heavyweights involved with the Authority (Ed Rendell, Jon Corzine, the Ballard Spahr law firm, CEO John Matheussen, and past and present Boards, to name just a few). For much of the past four years, FF has been alone in its quest to upend the corrupt regime, eliminate mammoth conflicts of interest, fire double-dipping executives, and bring accountability to the agency.  Joined by FOX 29 in 2010--- and pretty much only FOX 29 --- a number of the above objectives were met.  DRPA execs were scrambling (some were canned), a few reforms were instituted (though mostly toothless), criminal investigations were launched, and both new governors promised swift and decisive action.

But then it all fell off a cliff.

While we have moved in the right direction, it is not nearly good enough.  Quite frankly, this report will probably accomplish nothing.  Sure, there will be press conferences with harsh warnings from Corbett and Christie for the DRPA to shape up, Board members will say all the right things, and taxpayer and reform groups will fall for the same empty promises. And you know what will happen?

Absolutely nothing.

Therefore, it seems appropriate to take a new position regarding all things DRPA --- I am apologizing.  In retrospect, I have been wrong across the board these past few years, and it is only fitting to publicly eat crow for those errors. I am man-enough to admit my mistakes.  Here are some of the most substantial:

1) I was wrong to think Tom Corbett would make good on his promise to clean house upon becoming Governor (and making himself DRPA Chair).  Instead, he chose to appoint hacks, lawyers (redundant?), former union officials, large-dollar political contributors and lobbyists to the Board, without so much as one reformer.

2) I was wrong to think Christie would use his office as a bully pulpit to demand the Jersey Board members (whom he can’t replace until their terms expire) to fire CEO Matheussen, under whose “leadership” the DRPA has become synonymous with “corrupt.”  This is a CEO, by the way, who has been working without a contract for years, makes more than either governor, and stands to pocket a six-figure sum of toll payer money in accumulated sick/vacation days when he finally leaves. Yet he remains because there has been no political will to remove him.

3) I was wrong to think the other media outlets (except FOX 29) would jump on board, exposing the DRPA for what it really is.  And I was wrong to assume they were capable of doing so in the first place, despite time and again giving them an exact roadmap for investigative articles.

4) I was wrong to think the Philadelphia Inquirer --- both under former publisher Brian Tierney’s failed leadership and the current sell-out ownership --- would cover the DRPA as a media watchdog should.  Could such inaction have been caused by Tierney begging Rendell for a taxpayer-bailout of the paper? And let’s not forget that, while R.endell was in power, the acting Board Chairman was John Estey of Ballard Spahr --- Rendell’s former Chief of Staff, a major Rendell fundraiser, and a fellow member of Rendell’s law firm.  So obviously, I was wrong to even consider the possibility that the paper could objectively cover the matter.

5) I was wrong to expect that over $35 million in “economic development” money ---codespeak for political slush funds used for everything under the sun ---except the bridges --- would be spent on 1) the long-overdue re-decking of the Walt Whitman Bridge; 2) helping offset yet another toll increase; or 3) paying down some of the DRPA’s enormous debt. 

And I would be wrong to end my list here, since there is so much more.  So check back next week for even more wrongs.  And who know?  Maybe all these wrongs might somehow make it right…

An accredited member of the media, Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television/radio commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com  His self-syndicated model has earned him the largest cumulative media voice in Pennsylvania. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Who can forget the classic scene in Animal House when the boys from Delta fraternity were summoned by Dean Wormer?  As he looked over their grade point averages, he menacingly barked the hard truth:

Wormer (to a drunk Flounder): “0.2... Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”

“Daniel Simpson Day... HAS no grade point average. All courses incomplete….”

And of course:

“MR. BLUTARSKY... ZERO POINT ZERO.”

In the spirit of the legendary Dean, it’s now time to rate Governor Corbett and the Pennsylvania House and Senate.  Since all are Republican (with large GOP majorities in the legislature and the Governor a ten-point winner in November), it’s a no-brainer that Pennsylvania should be back on track, given the people’s mandate last year.

But as Blutarsky could tell you, being responsible and fulfilling your requirements feels so much like… work! And where’s the fun in that? 

While politics has always been more style over substance, this time it seemed different.  This time people had the legitimate sense that things would turn around, and life would get better in Pennsylvania….that they could actually trust their leaders to practice what they preached.

But opportunity after opportunity has been needlessly squandered, and those hopes are being dashed.  Not because fighting the good fight has left our politicians spent and exhausted, but because these “leaders” have run state government, as Dean Wormer so eloquently said, in a fat, drunk and stupid way.

                                                                               *****

As a state agency, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) is funded by taxpayer dollars. While programs for the arts are certainly important, they are normally first on the budgetary chopping block, and for good reason.  Political leaders realize that when dollars are scarce, the funding of other initiatives with greater overall value is a better investment.

Even former Governor Ed Rendell understood this, as the budget for the PCA decreased 45 percent over the last several years, with additional money being allocated for education and infrastructure.
 
So it was quite a shock to many Republicans in the House last week when the Chair of the PCA, siding with Senate Democrats, criticized the GOP for its proposed cuts to the agency. “The arts budget is so small in comparison with the rest of the budget… I was disappointed to see House Republicans slash it by 70 percent,” she publicly said.

But it’s not the criticism of the cuts that has many in the GOP fuming.  It’s the fact that Governor Corbett has passed the buck, making them do the heavy lifting that he consistently promised to do, but on which he has failed to deliver.

How so?  In Corbett’s budget proposal, the PCA’s budget remains virtually unchanged, yet he wants to slash higher-ed spending by 52 percent. How is that remotely close to “everybody feels the pain?”  It’s not, which is why it’s an impossible sell.

Here’s the killer.  Not only does the Governor lose credibility for himself and his Party by not following through on his shared sacrifice mantra, but, specifically, guess why the PCA’s budget didn’t get cut?

Could it be that its Chair is none other than Sue Corbett, First Lady of Pennsylvania?  

So let’s get this straight. The Governor chose not to cut the budget of the agency his wife chairs --- forcing the House GOP to do it.  And now, because the First Lady doesn’t like that, she chastises the Republicans who are actually exercising the fiscal restraint championed by the Governor (but seemingly only during the campaign), making the House R’s out to be the bad guys.

Not exactly a smart way to endear yourself to the very people who have to pass your budget.

This momentum-killing message is echoing across Pennsylvania: the Governor only wants shared sacrifice so long as his family, friends and pet projects are exempt.

Maybe that’s why he has signed no significant legislation (unlike his counterparts in Indiana, Ohio and New Jersey) and remains rudderless, weighted down by a 30 percent approval rating and unable to extricate himself from a political quagmire of his own making.

Freindly Fire rarely makes political predictions three years out, given that in politics, three months can be a lifetime.  But Tom Corbett has thus far blazed a course for the history books, possibly destined to do what no Pennsylvania governor has ever done: lose after just one term.  And don’t think for a second that State Treasurer Rob McCord --- the Dem’s best shot --- isn’t reading the tea leaves.

Oh, we’ve heard all the rationales:

“He’s a prosecutor.” Hey, that’s great --- if you’re Attorney General.  But you are Governor, and timelines are not dictated by depositions and court dates.  They are initiated by the immediate need to correct the massive problems facing your constituents --- problems that, if not soon fixed, will send the state over the cliff.

 “He’s just trying to get the budget done, and after that’s done, things will roll.” Wrong.  One doesn’t just flip a switch and begin governing.  Ask any insider on either side of the aisle and he will tell you that the Administration is marked by two things: there are no adults running the show, and no one knows who’s in charge.

                                                                         *****

Rating the House is easy, as it has done the job it promised to do.  It passed the home defense Castle Doctrine; the EITC educational tax credit (giving more parents school choice); restrictions on abortion clinics (in the wake of the horrendous Dr. Kermit Gosnell story); the Fair Share Act (limiting a defendant’s liability in a lawsuit to only his share of blame), welfare reform bills, and a gaming bill that would transform the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement into its own police agency, free from the political influence by the Gaming Control Board.  And two bona fide school choice bills are being introduced by Rep. Curt Schroder. 
Not bad….even Dean Wormer would be impressed.  GRADE: B+

The Senate is just as easy to rate --- with opposite results.  Their sole achievement has been sitting on House-passed legislation.  In fact, it has become known as the DOA chamber since its members have repeatedly stated that House bills are “dead on arrival.”  The EITC (sponsored by Rep. Tom Quigley), Fair Share Act (Rep. Schroder) and gaming bill (Rep. Mike Vereb) are just a few of the victims. Of the bills the House has passed, NOT ONE has seen the light of day in the Senate. 

One sad result? It was just announced that a Catholic school is closing in Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi’s Delaware County district. One has to wonder that if the Senate hadn’t played games with the EITC expansion bill --- which passed the House 191-7, and would have enabled parents to receive privately-funded scholarships via participating businesses --- maybe the school would still be open, and the taxpayers wouldn’t be on the hook for educating 100 more students in public schools.

And why was it held up?  So that Senate Bill 1, a low-income school choice bill with absolutely no chance of passing, could be kept alive in the Senate.  How Pileggi sells that to his constituents is anyone’s guess.

GRADE: F --- kind of like Flounder’s 0.2 GPA.

*****

But now we get to Tom Corbett --- the Blutarsky of Pennsylvania.  Thus far, he receives a 0.0 GPA because it’s been one failure of leadership after another. 

Consider:

- Like Rendell, he used The People’s Money to bail out the private Philadelphia Shipyard so that it could build ships --- with no buyers!
- Like Rendell, he decided to use $20 million of taxpayer money to renovate the Yankees’ minor league ballpark in Scranton --- yes, the same Yanks organization that is the wealthiest franchise in America
- Told the media, “I've been down in Philadelphia a lot - you just don't know about it," begging the question of whether he is, in fact, the nation’s first Spy-Governor
NOTE: the last time a governor held secret meetings regarding Philadelphia, it was Rendell’s effort to bail out the Inquirer and Daily News.  Coverts ops are better left to the CIA
- Raised the salaries of his staff, who now average $13,000/year more than counterparts under Rendell
- Wants to raise the Lt. Governor’s budget by nearly 50 percent
- Put forth no solution on his mega-campaign promise to privatize the state liquor stores--- providing huge momentum to the clerks’ union
- Was perceived as untruthful concerning his state car. In responding to a media question, he  said he was still using Rendell’s former car, but failed to mention that he was taking delivery of four new SUV’s that same day--- at a cost of $187,000
- Took elimination of collective bargaining off the table --- before negotiating with the state employee unions --- without getting anything in return
- Has not addressed the ballooning pension bomb threatening Pennsylvania’s solvency
- Made no attempt to stop the 25 percent toll increase at the Delaware River Port Authority
- Stacked the DRPA and PRPA with contributors, lawyers, lobbyists and political insiders
- Was silent on the controversy involving his Secretary of Health--- who didn’t like the eggs he was served at a longtime Harrisburg eatery --- and never responded to the owner’s request for justice after the Secretary abused his power
-  Did not fill his cabinet for months, despite the 11 weeks of transition time after the election, putting a hard stop to policy initiatives
- Did not hold a press conference for a similar amount of time, becoming known as “Governor MIA”
- Killed Right to Work legislation when a top aide stated that it could never pass in Pennsylvania --- infuriating GOP legislators who were circulating such legislation
- Was absent on the school choice front, helping to throw that issue into complete disarray --- to the delight of the teachers’ unions, who didn’t have to lift a finger in opposition
- Made no attempt to bring business and labor together in calling for a reduction in the nation’s second-highest corporate income tax --- a quantifiable job killer
- Infuriated the press by locking them out of an event to which they were invited
- Has made no attempt to increase demand for clean, low-cost natural gas to power state building and cars, instead establishing a “Blue Ribbon” commission to study the obvious.

In short, Tom Corbett has made former Governor Tom Ridge look like Chris Christie.  In refusing to use his office as a bully pulpit and barnstorm the state to sell his ideas, Corbett has allowed himself to be perceived as weak and disorganized.  And weakness invites aggression, nowhere more so than politics. So now he finds his agenda under attack not just by the Democrats, but his own Party.

As bleak as it is for the Governor, it’s not over yet. As Blutarsky said, “Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!”

It’s not too late for Tom Corbett to right his ship, though it will take massive political will from him to do so. But with every day that goes by without that leadership, his journey becomes that much more difficult. 

The fall usually sees a relatively light legislative calendar, so the window to push his vision will be narrow.  And forget 2012, as legislators are loathe to take up any controversial issue in an election year --- especially one that will see the Democrats, in all likelihood, take back five or more seats, even with the GOP’s redistricting advantages. 

A wise man once said: If you're afraid of getting a rotten apple, don't go to the barrel. Get it off the tree. The voters thought they did just that. 

The open question is what kind of apple they really picked.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative
reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com

Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries
and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including
The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick
Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."

Freind, whose column appears regularly in Philadelphia Magazine and nationally in
Newsmax, also serves as a frequent guest commentator on talk radio and state/national
television, most notably on FOX Philadelphia.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

A changing of the guard occurred this week at the scandal-plagued Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), as Governor Corbett appointed himself the new Chairman, and replaced five Board Commissioners.

The law-and-order Corbett has pledged to clean up the Authority through openness and transparency, vowing to oversee an entity free of the conflicts that plagued the prior Board.  But his appointments --- all political insiders --- have left many wondering if anything has really changed.

As Chairman, the Governor sets the DRPA agenda, and he deserves the benefit of the doubt that he will live up to his promises.  That said, a look at the new Commissioners reveals that none are known as reformers or good-government advocates, and, in fact, raises new questions, such as whether the companies of Board members will be eligible to receive DRPA contracts.

Cumulatively, the backgrounds of the six new Board Commissioners feature four lawyers (including one who works for the same firm as Montgomery County GOP Chairman Bob Kerns and State Senate Transportation Chairman John Rafferty), a real estate executive, a former union vice president, an official from the scandal-plagued Street Administration, large dollar campaign donors to Corbett, a prominent GOP fundraiser, and former officials of a number of Philadelphia’s not-so-respected entities: the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and the Seaport Museum (which played a major role in the corruption trial of convicted ex-senator Vince Fumo). 
 
The new appointees to the board:

-William Sasso, board chairman at Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young law firm in Philadelphia. Sasso is a prominent Republican fund-raiser and was a co-chair of Corbett's transition team. The Stradley firm contributed $173,000 to Corbett.  As an individual, Sasso donated $23,000 to Corbett’s attorney general and gubernatorial campaigns.

-Joanna Cruz, an attorney with Kerns, Pearlstine, Onorato & Hladik, the firm of Montgomery County GOP boss Bob Kerns and State Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John Rafferty. Kerns contributed $7,500 to Corbett.

-Joann Bell, an executive at Pugliese Associates, a lobbying and government relations firm. A former special-projects manager for the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and former vice president of AFSCME District Council No. 47, she was also an economic-development coordinator in former Mayor John F. Street’s Administration. The Pugliese political action committee contributed $1,500 to Corbett.

-Walter D'Alessio, vice chairman of a real estate investment banking firm, and senior managing director of a real estate consulting group. A former chairman of the board of the Independence Seaport Museum, and former executive director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, he also served on Corbett's transition team and donated $2,500 to the Governor.

-David Simon, senior vice president and general counsel for Jefferson Health System in Philadelphia. Former general counsel to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, he contributed $29,500 to Corbett's campaigns and served on the Governor’s transition team.

On a similar note, Corbett appointed attorney Charles Kopp to serve as Chairman of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority.  Lawyers at Kopp’s firm, Cozen O’Connor, donated nearly $150,000 to the Governor’s campaigns.

Corbett’s consistency is being called into question.  Despite advocating fiscal discipline and adhering to the free market system, he supports the subsidized Philadelphia Shipyard bailout. Similarly, criticizing Rendell for his DRPA conflicts seems a bit hollow when the new Corbett Board has more than its share of cozy relationships with the political powerbrokers.

This is not to call into question the integrity of any new Board member, nor the Governor himself. All may turn out to be true reformers, smashing the DRPA’s Business As Usual reputation as a haven of political patronage and a piggy bank for the insiders.

But until bold action and aggressive leadership takes place, that’s an impossible sell to an extremely cynical public. Based on Corbett’s promises to right the ship, there was not just the hope but the expectation that he would appoint good-government reformers to the Port Authority. 

That didn’t happen. At all.

So what needs to be done to earn back the public’s trust? Here are four quick ways:

1) Stop the 25 percent toll increase slated for July, and put commuters ahead of Wall Street bondholders and the DRPA itself. At Corbett’s first Board meeting this week, he said commuters should be able to use the bridges as “cheaply” as possible.  Well, stopping the back-breaking toll hike is the only way to accomplish that.  But if he waits any longer, that goal becomes almost unattainable, as there simply won’t be enough time to realize cost-savings which would offset the revenue generated by the toll increase. The clock is ticking.

2) Fire CEO John Matheussen as well as most top executives. It’s bad enough Matheussen makes $50,000 more than either governor (and, up until investigative media reports aired, was enjoying a $17,000/year car allowance), but his reign has been one of catastrophic failure.  The DRPA debt substantially increased, economic development projects having nothing to do with the bridges continued unabated, conflicts ran rampant, and he kept the Board itself in the dark on numerous issues. He would have been fired years ago had he been in the private sector.

And while it’s technically true that he can’t be “fired” by either Corbett or Gov. Christie (a majority of Board members is necessary to do that, and the Jersey Boys have been reluctant to can their patronage king), there is no way on God’s green earth that Matheussen or the Jersey Board can withstand the pressure of two powerful governors, who each have an ace-in-the-hole.  It’s called the Bully Pulpit.  Time to use it.

3) Slash costs across the board.  It is simply not necessary to have 900 employees with lavish salaries and benefits operating four bridges and a short rail line.

4) Authorize a top to bottom forensic audit from a non-political firm. If no stone is left unturned, millions upon millions in savings will be realized.
Despite the Board meeting being a prime occasion to initiate such ideas, something else happened: absolutely nothing.

Corbett promised “a deep review before making any major changes” and stated his intention to get out of the economic development business. 

That’s not exactly going out on a limb, since economic development had already been stopped. And there’s no economic development money left anyway!

For Corbett to say it was too early to replace Matheussen or to make any other big changes because he needed more time to figure things out boggles the mind.  The Governor should have been up to speed already since he was Attorney General when criminal misconduct was being reported (which is why the New Jersey AG is conducting a criminal investigation).  As a gubernatorial candidate for over two years, he was well aware that the Pennsylvania governor picks the DRPA Chairman, and could not possibly have overlooked the comprehensive media coverage of the DRPA debacles.

Oh, wait.  The Governor doesn't acknowledge the validity of those reports. "I don't judge anything, no offense, by what you people put in newspapers and on TV," he said after the meeting.

Does that mean Mike Joyce of the EZ Pass scandal was framed? Were all the investigative reports devoid of documented facts?  Did the DRPA agree to reforms for any other reason than the hard-hitting media coverage?

All of which gets back to the fact that the toll-paying public will have to wait at least another month to see action.  And their patience is growing thin.

A golden opportunity to win political capital is in danger of being lost by Corbett--- mandatory if he is to successfully tackle the tough issues ahead (budget, pension reform, school choice, privatization of liquor).  The Governor doesn’t seem to understand how important reforming the DRPA has become to the Southeast, home to half the state’s population. His board appointees and the lack of bold leadership have sent the message that, as of now, nothing has changed.

And here’s the biggest irony.  In four months, when commuters and shore-bound drivers realize the toll is $5 (up from $4 now, and $3 two years ago), compounded by $5/gallon gas, whom will they blame? Here’s a hint: it won’t be Rendell, but the man in charge.

Despite changes to the DRPA over the last year, conflicts and corruption still exist.  Time will tell whether the Port Authority can earn back the public’s trust, but if a serious effort isn’t made by Governors Corbett and Christie to clean house, fire CEO Matheussen, and stop the impending 25 percent toll increase, that may just be… a bridge too far.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative
reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com

Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries
and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including
The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick
Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."

Freind, whose column appears regularly in Philadelphia Magazine and nationally in
Newsmax, also serves as a frequent guest commentator on talk radio and state/national
television, most notably on FOX Philadelphia.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Freindly Fire Note:

On February 17, Governor Tom Corbett authorized the $42 million shipyard bailout.   Two ships will now be constructed --- even though there are no buyers, nor any in the foreseeable future --- and hundreds of union jobs will now be subsidized.  So much for the pledge of responsible government and fiscal restraint, especially in light of the $5 billion budget deficit.

The wildly successful model that Gov. Christie has given his colleagues --- popularity will rise if you stick to your campaign promises --- is, incomprehensibly, falling on deaf ears. It is bad enough Corbett is being labeled "Governor MIA" for scarce appearances during his first five weeks in office.  But when his first sign of life  is choosing a bailout associated with politically-connected powerbrokers over the taxpayers who just elected him, the idea that Pennsylvania is on the right track becomes a hard sell.

As of now, the status quo still rules the day...

Column originally published January 6, 2011:

Corbett Can Drop Anchor On Governor’s Taxpayer Boondoggle

In the movie Dave, Kevin Kline plays a presidential lookalike who finds himself running the country after the real President falls into a coma.  Convening a Cabinet meeting, this political novice uses common sense to expose the ludicrous mentality of the entrenched Business As Usual crowd.

Kline asks the Commerce Secretary about an ad campaign his Department has implemented to boost consumer confidence in the American auto industry.  “It’s designed to bolster individual confidence in a previous domestic automotive purchase,” the Secretary proudly explained.

Speechless at first, Kline fires back, “We're spending millions for somebody to feel good about a car they already bought? I don't want to tell an eight-year-old kid he's gotta sleep in the street because we want people to feel better about their car. Do you want to tell him that?”  The shocked Secretary (finally) sees the light, and the program is eliminated.

Incredibly, that mentality isn’t limited to fictional Hollywood scripts, but is a large part of the way our governmental leaders operate. Look at what Pennsylvania’s Ed Rendell is trying to pull off before he walks out of the Governor’s Mansion a few weeks from now.

Shortly before leaving office, Rendell authorized $42 million in taxpayer money to be sent to the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) to help bail out the sinking Aker Shipyard in Philadelphia.

The funding, we are told, would prevent Aker from going under, since it would be building two new tanker ships. 

Of course, there’s one small problem.

There are no buyers for the ships.  And the prospect of that changing course anytime soon is virtually nonexistent.

Thousands of ships worldwide are lying at anchor because of the global recession, idled indefinitely because the demand for shipping is dismally low.  It’s gotten so bad that some ship owners are even scrapping their vessels to eliminate harbor costs, receiving pennies on the dollar. But the remaining glut of vessels is still huge, depressing prices for the foreseeable future.

So, let’s be “Dave” for a second and get this straight.

Rendell wants to spend money --- our money, since there’s no such thing as “state” money --- to build ships…that no one is going to buy, ostensibly so some 1,000 workers can keep receiving a subsidized paycheck. And since there aren’t any buyers, the ships obviously wouldn’t be built-to-order, further devaluing them and making their eventual purchase all the more difficult.

Rendell may not care, but I certainly wouldn’t want to tell a mother that her child died in a bridge collapse that resulted from a lack of maintenance --- because $42 million was spent on ghost ships instead of bridge repairs.

But what type of Rendell move would it be if he didn’t take care of his political pals and big-time fundraisers?

The Chairman of the PRPA is none other than John Estey, former Rendell Chief of Staff and a longtime partner at Ballard Spahr, the Guv’s old firm which has received the lion’s share of millions in no-bid legal contracts from the state.  And guess who the outside counsel of PRPA was?  Ballard Spahr.

This is the same John Estey who is also Chairman of the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), which is intricately linked to the PRPA, sending millions their way over the years.

The DRPA couldn’t dole out legal contracts fast enough to Ballard when it served as its outside counsel --- over $3.2 million since Rendell was elected in 2002, up from $480 the year prior. And when Chairman Estey voted to approve those legal bills, he was, in fact, approving funds that went directly to Ballard --- his own firm. 

Ballard and its associated entities, by the way, have contributed $1.5 million to Rendell.

The Philadelphia Port Authority is nothing if not politically-connected, too: two Board members alone have donated over $350,000 to the Governor’s campaigns.

It must be nice (and lucrative) to represent both Authorities when all that “Other People’s Money,” to quote the legendary Vince Fumo, is flying around, but that’s another story.

But to make the story even more interesting, enter Manny Stamatakis, Chairman of the nonprofit Philadelphia Shipyard Development Corporation.  That is the entity which will receive the $42 million so it can buy Aker assets and lease them back to the company as part of the bailout.  Some might call that a shell game.

“If they don't build these next two ships, this yard is shutting down," Stamatakis was reported as saying.  Well then, let’s not mess around, Manny.  Let’s make it $420 million and employ 10,000 workers.  Or even $4.2 billion so that Aker can build 200 ships.  No one will buy them, either, but so what?  We’re keeping people employed and the political-elite will be happy.

Ironically, the entity that should be in the best position to throw money Aker’s way would be the DRPA with all the economic development money it controlled.  But it was under Manny’s watch as DRPA Chairman that much of the $500 million in such funds were blown --- pretty much on everything not related to bridges or ports.

And now Stamatakis is Chairman of the Shipyard Development Corporation.  Go figure.

Hope is not lost though.  Attorney General Tom Corbett must still approve the contract.

Sources have told Freindly Fire that the lobbying on Corbett to let this contract sail through before his January 18 gubernatorial inauguration by has been extremely intense.  Given the Rendell Administration’s track record with these types of contracts, that should be red flag enough to put the brakes on this deal until all questions are thoroughly answered.  And clearly, questions abound.

The Rendell legacy has been one of abject failure for all Pennsylvanians not linked at the hip to the Governor, and the attempted Aker bailout is a perfect illustration of how he achieved that dubious status.

Like two ships passing in the night, Corbett and Rendell could not be any more different in their direction. Here’s hoping Corbett drops anchor on Rendell’s last hurrah and charts a course for safer harbors.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com
Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."
Freind, whose column appears nationally in Newsmax, also serves as a guest commentator on Philadelphia-area talk radio shows, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Throughout history, there have always been makers and takers.

Makers create things: jobs, products and wealth.  Takers produce nothing. Instead, they leech off the makers. 

And the biggest taker of all is government.

Oppressive, “taking” governments hold center stage in most foreign countries, where taxpayer rights and the rule of law are cocktail party jokes. But increasingly, the takers are also making their mark in America, squeezing the economic lifeblood out of business and zapping citizens’ creativity and hope.

Usually, the take comes in increments, with public officials saying it’s our duty to accept such small sacrifices. But once the takers set their hooks, they never let go. Consider:

-The tax we pay on every bottle of Pennsylvania liquor to rebuild Johnstown from the flood is “just” 18 cents per dollar.  Granted, reconstructing the mega-metropolis of Johnstown must have been a Herculean task, but the flood was…. in 1936.

-The recent city sales tax hike for Philadelphia is “only” a penny, and the city’s 10 percent property tax increase is “temporary.”  The truth: residents are leaving the city to make purchases because of the “small,” 100 percent hike; and no tax is ever temporary.

-And of course, we have the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) who, after mismanaging our toll dollars (READ: spending half-a-BILLION dollars on economic development projects having nothing to do with the bridges), now finds it fitting to raise tolls --- again --- on its four bridges and the PATCO train line. But hey, it’s just a dollar!  Take one for the team, we’re told.

So what’s a toll-payer to do?  Answer: Relax, you’ve already done it.  You elected Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett as Pennsylvania’s new Governor, and he gets to wipe the Rendell-slate clean and appoint a new DRPA Chairman and Board of Commissioners for Pennsylvania.

And make no mistake, with the no-nonsense law-and-order bookends of Corbett and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie now running the Authority, it’s a whole new ballgame, and the toll hike can, and should, be stopped before it goes into effect on July 1.

All it takes is political will.

                                                                        *****

It is not enough to play the blame-game with Port Authority executives and former Governors Rendell and Corzine, all of whom presided over the unmitigated disaster that now defines the DRPA.

While it is important to remember how the Authority got us into this mess, and to hold accountable those who disregarded the toll-paying public (and possibly the law), only immediate, concrete solutions can halt the back-breaking hikes, and prevent future increases that the public simply can’t afford, and shouldn’t have to pay. 

To put into perspective how truly bad things have become, just look at the driving force behind the toll increase: Wall Street bondholders.  That’s right.  Those financiers are so concerned about their investment that they have been relentlessly pushing the Board to put the screws to commuters and jack up the rates.

The mind-blowing lesson from this past week’s Board meeting is that the DRPA isn't being run for the public anymore (not that it ever was). Instead, its reckless spending now has them dancing to Wall Street's tune.  The interest of bondholders trump the public because of the debt carried for economic development projects that A) don't help the economy, and B) develop only animosity for the DRPA.  With absolutely no revenue return to the DRPA, the projects were, and still are, a black hole of political patronage, funded by the public for the sole benefit of the DRPA insiders.

However, there is a silver lining to this mess.  For the first time, the public and honorable politicians are starting to look at how the DRPA can be dismantled.  Leasing it to a private entity, selling PATCO, and dissolving the governing compact are all options --- once unthinkable --- now on the table.

Here are several actions that would allow to the DRPA to regain a solid financial footing while not raising the toll, and, most important, start down the long road of earning back the public’s trust:

1) Gov. Christie should veto the Board’s actions, which approved $200 million in more spending for PATCO.  Whether that money must be spent is irrelevant; common sense dictates that the DRPA should wait 30 more days until Corbett and his appointees come to power and have their say. This is exactly what the Board did last December when it rushed to pass patronage projects ahead of Christie’s inauguration (and his veto power).

2) Gut the DRPA, starting at the top.  Fire all high-level executives, who would have been canned long ago had they worked in the private sector.  Their lack of even basic performance reminds us of the speech delivered to shareholders by Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, “…Teldar Paper has 33 different vice presidents, each earning over 200 thousand dollars a year. Now, I have spent the last two months analyzing what all these guys do, and I still can't figure it out…. in my book you either do it right or you get eliminated.”  The DRPA’s top brass are the toll-payers’ Teldar executives.

3) Slash employees, salaries and benefits. Why the need for 900 employees --- with lavish salaries and benefits --- to operate four bridges and a short rail line is still a mystery.  And to add insult to injury, many executives make more than the governors of both states.  For example, CEO John Matheussen betters them by $50,000 per year, and, up until recently, had a $17,000/year car allowance.  It is unfortunate when people get laid off, but many positions should never have been created in the first place.  The DRPA is a revolving jobs program for the politically connected, subsidized by hapless commuters, and that must end.

4) Freeze all economic development money, period.  That goes for dollars still in the pot and monies allocated but unspent.  Rendell’s lack of legal knowledge in this area notwithstanding, the DRPA is not contractually obligated to spend the money already awarded for these projects.  And to those recipients who yell that they want “their” money, the toll-payers have news for them: it’s not “their” money, and they possess no God-given right to pig-out at the public trough.

5) Perform a bend-over, proctologist-like forensic audit, top to bottom (no pun intended) of absolutely everything.  Here’s the key: it cannot be performed by the Pennsylvania Auditor General since he sits on the Board, and, no disrespect to Gov. Christie, but the New Jersey Comptroller is a political appointee.  The only way this type of audit bears any fruit is to have an outside firm --- way, way outside, with no political ties whatsoever --- come in and turn over every stone. Heck, maybe they’ll even find more interesting tidbits to pass along to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, currently investigating the Authority.

6) Have only one cash lane per bridge, eliminating three shifts of toll-takers making $24/hour plus benefits.  Ideal?  No, but that’s the price for getting back to a bare bones operation without paying more tolls.

7) Explore public-private partnership and leasing options. DRPA executives were never motivated to run the Authority like a business; in fact, the opposite was true.  The more money they spread around, from no-bid legal work (often where NJ and PA law firms would each generate billing for the same project) and insurance contracts, to engineering and economic development expenditures, the “return” was not Port Authority efficiencies, but personal gain and political profit.

If all management and operational aspects were turned over to a private, for-profit company skilled in streamlining techniques and maximizing efficiencies, the cost savings could be astronomical.  Such programs have been tried successfully with other toll roads, and a management company (with government oversight) could provide immediate and long-lasting savings.

It is time, once and for all, to see the DRPA return to its original mandate: collect toll dollars to operate and maintain safe bridges… bridges that have been paid for numerous times over.  Gov. Corbett has an historic opportunity to do just that by appointing reform-minded, accountable Commissioners --- former cop and current State Representative Mike Vereb, who continues to bulldog the DRPA into more reforms, comes to mind --- and immediately move to stop the toll hike. 

By instituting common sense cost-cutting measures and working closely with Gov. Christie to root out corruption and explore privatization options, Corbett may yet drive the DRPA back from the bridge to nowhere.

Who says you can’t fight City Hall?

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com
Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."
Freind, whose column appears nationally in Newsmax, also serves as a guest commentator on Philadelphia-area talk radio shows, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

In yet another unbelievable act of arrogance, the Board of the Delaware River Port Authority last week rescinded a reform that had been pushed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. 

The Board’s action once again permitted free bridge trips for DRPA employees commuting to work.

Not unexpectedly, Christie vetoed that action, and the ensuing headlines made the Governor out to be a conquering hero --- not altogether an untrue assessment. 

Possibly wary of Christie’s wrath, the New Jersey Board members issued a mea culpa, saying that if they had the chance to vote again, they wouldn’t allow the free trips.

In fact, the Jersey Boys went so far as to state, “…we are prepared to move the remaining reforms proposed by the Governor, and in the future be ever cognizant of putting the interests of our customers first.

A nice gesture, if it is to be believed.

Unfortunately, based on the track record of corruption and conflicts, that’s a stretch.  Instead, it seems like the classic DRPA Two-Step: say one thing, but do another.

But we won’t have to wait long to find out how serious both Christie and the Board are at reforming the DRPA, given the latest bombshell revelations which broke after last week’s Board Meeting.

In their classic style, the Authority’s Big Three ---CEO John Matheussen, Chairman John Estey and Vice Chairman Jeff Nash --- once again emphatically demonstrated that there are two sets of rules: one for themselves, and another for everybody else.

Veto notwithstanding, the major question still remains: will the Business As Usual leadership continue to rule the DRPA, or will Christie follow through on his promise to clean house?

Mike Joyce: A Paid No-Show

Mike Joyce, you may recall, is the disgraced former Chief Public Safety Officer at the DRPA.  He resigned after it was revealed that he gave another executive’s EZ PASS --- with its 100 free trips ---- to his daughter so she could avoid tolls while commuting to private high school.

Just days after the July 27 resignation announcement, Estey told Fox 29 News, “Mike Joyce made a mistake and I think he paid the price for that mistake.”  In the same interview, Nash said, “…(Joyce) realized he took advantage of a situation that he should not have. He was under increasing fire, he was a director of public safety at a very high salary, (and) he needed to step away."

Well said, gentlemen!

And step away he did.

Of course, what the DRPA brain trust didn’t tell us was that Joyce’s resignation was effective TWO MONTHS into the future --- “with a date in September,” in the words of Estey.

Oh, and in addition to still collecting a paycheck (he was making $180,000), there’s one more thing.

He didn’t have to come to work.

That’s right. In the midst of the so-called “Era of Reform” at the DRPA, we had an executive collecting full pay while sitting at home --- all completely sanctioned by Estey, Nash and Matheussen.

Estey’s laughable rationale?  Joyce “was an officer of the Board….he could only be removed by action of the Board.”

Wow.  So in other words, an executive can resign, but until the Board either accepts the resignation or terminates the position, he still gets paid for not showing up.

And we’re not talking chump change.

From July 27 to August 18, Joyce received almost $11,000.  Had the Board not eliminated his position at the August 18 Board meeting, and assuming Joyce would have been on the payroll through mid- September, he would have pocketed almost $25,000!

Yep.  That’s the DRPA.  Spare no expense, as long as it’s OPM --- Other People’s Money. 

Namely the tollpayers’.

Zero-Tolerance For Alcohol, Except For DRPA Leaders

The official Alcohol Policy of the DRPA mandates an “Alcohol-Free Workplace,” with the Port Authority having “a vital interest in maintaining an alcohol-free environment for its employees and the public.”

Therefore, the DRPA  “absolutely” prohibits “the use, possession, sale, distribution or being under the influence of alcohol while on Authority premises or while conducting Authority business.”

Translation:  if you’re an employee in possession of alcohol while on DRPA property, you’re history.

Unless, of course, you happen to be Port Authority leadership, where the rules don’t apply to you.

Leadership like… Jeff Nash.

You see, for years, Nash has been throwing lavish, open-bar soirees on the top floor of the DRPA building on New Year’s Eve to watch fireworks over the river.

It’s a practice, he says, that’s gone on “for generations.” 

Interesting how much DRPA history the Vice Chairman knows, but somehow, this big-time Cozen O’Connor lawyer and elected Camden County Freeholder wasn’t aware of the prominently displayed policy.

In his words, “If there is (a zero tolerance alcohol policy), I’m not aware of it.”

Of course not.

Just as comical, though, is Estey’s response, in another FOX 29 interview:

“I do know that we have a zero tolerance policy.”

But asked about his knowledge of Nash’s alcohol-fueled parties, he predictably said, “I didn’t know that.  No….that’s interesting…I don’t know enough about the policy…but I’d like to go back and understand the policy before I come to any conclusions.”

One has to question what this high-powered lawyer (Estey is a partner at Ballard Spahr --- yes, that Ballard Spahr) intends to find after “investigating” a black and white alcohol policy.

So let’s make it simple for John:

There is a zero-tolerance policy at the DRPA.  No means no. Therefore, any employees consuming alcohol at Nash’s parties are in violation of that policy.

As far as making a “conclusion” as to whether there were DRPA employees present, let’s turn to Mr. Nash for that answer.  He said that the parties were, “…for people who were employees here or for executives.”

Seems pretty clear cut. 

And what of the mammoth liability that Nash placed on the taxpayers, since jury awards stemming from any accident related to a Nash-alcohol party could be astronomical?

Not to worry.  It’s OPM!

But here’s the $64,000 question: What happens now? 

Will Nash be asked to immediately vacate his position?  Will executives in attendance be sanctioned or fired?  And if so, will they still collect pay until their positions are eliminated --- just like Mike?

The DRPA: In The Liquor Business!

Speaking of alcohol, it was revealed that the Port Authority also has a liquor license. According to a DRPA spokesman, the license was purchased for a business venture (that failed), but the Authority, “considers it a good business decision to keep the license.”

Which makes sense, since the DRPA is involved in absolutely everything --- except balancing its checkbook and safely maintaining four bridges and a short rail line.

So since 1999 --- to the tune of $40,000 billed to the toll payers --- the Port Authority has held a liquor license that it has never used.

About the only thing that could top that would have been Nash buying the alcohol for his parties --- from the DRPA! 

And what does our knowledgeable Chairman Estey say about the license:  “That’s the first I’m hearing of that….it’s another interesting piece of information. Thank you.”  (You have to admit…this makes for great television.)

Questioned on whether he would push to sell the license, Estey wouldn’t say.

Since the third time’s the charm, let’s ask one more time.

Why won’t they immediately sell the license?

Because  --- altogether now --- it’s Other People’s Money. 

                    *****

Despite monumental press coverage of the DRPA’s never-ending scandals, and elected officials from both sides of the river continuing to call for real reform, many are wondering how and why the current leadership is still in power.

It’s a fair question, since the ones who have been caught in the cookie jar --- over and over --- are the same ones now tasked with guarding the cookies.

That’s like putting the CEO of Enron in charge of reforming the company’s corporate abuses.

But somehow, despite its abysmal record, the DRPA’s leadership has been given a free pass.

So what can Christie do to clean up the DRPA once and for all?

Simple.  Be Chris Christie.

The Governor needs to remember what brought him to power: the willingness to take on anybody and everybody who stands in the way of progress and fair play. 

Few leaders have the courage to oppose the entrenched Business-As-Usual crowd, so when someone comes along with the guts to take action, he immediately wins the respect of the electorate.

So here’s a winning strategy to clean house:

1) Use his office as a bully pulpit and demand that the Board’s leadership be changed. Not in a month, and not in a week.  Immediately. The list of Leadership’s failures is so long and compelling that the story sells itself. 

2) Tell the Port Authority Board that he intends to veto every single item it passes until the Big Three either resign or are removed.

3) Perhaps most important, Christie needs to get much more personally involved in reforming the Authority.  He cannot mandate changes from afar, but must do so in a hands-on manner.  That means attending the Board meetings himself, asking the tough questions, and going on the offensive as only he can. 

No one, not even the Big Three, can withstand the pressure Chris Christie can exert, should he choose to do so.

This is, perhaps, the defining moment for Chris Christie.

Will he finish what he promised to do, or will the DRPA simply wait him out, confident that they are the ones calling the shots?

The chess matched has resumed.  And it’s Governor Christie’s move.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com
Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."
Freind also serves as a weekly guest commentator on the Philadelphia-area talk radio show, Political Talk (WCHE 1520), and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX 29.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Has New Jersey Governor Chris Christie just driven his successful Administration off a bridge?

Not yet, but he’s nearing the edge.

By not taking the bull by the horns and doing the right thing about the mega-corrupt Delaware River Port Authority --- press to have CEO John Matheussen immediately fired --- his credibility has started to plummet.

Christie’s performance --- or lack thereof --- last week at the DRPA headquarters left many scratching their heads, wondering if insider back-room political deals finally got to him, or if he was operating in a seat-of-the-pants, rudderless manner.

Either way, Christie needs to right his ship quickly if he is to remain the national model for successful governors.

                                               *****

Last Thursday morning, Christie called a hastily arranged press conference to vent his frustration over the DRPA’s lack of reform.  Within minutes, media outlets on both sides of the river were reporting that Christie was en route to Camden to fire Matheussen.

With the Port Authority’s incompetence and deceit on public display like never before, and with Matheussen fully immersed in the very conflicts that need reforming, ousting the CEO would be the only move Christie could make, right?

Wrong.

Instead, the Governor inexplicably stood with Matheussen, demanding reforms with more teeth and better accountability at the Authority.

The $64,000 question is how he could have done this with a straight face.

Why would the Governor drive all the way to Camden to say…the same exact thing he’s been saying for months?  And how in the world could he renew his faith in Matheussen as the guy to clean up the DRPA cesspool?

One of two scenarios comes to mind:

1) Christie fell victim to political maneuvering, and is compromised in effectively dealing with the DRPA.

This possibility has merit, as the President of the State Senate, Democrat Steve Sweeney, whose labor-leader brother sits on the Port Authority Board, is a staunch defender of Matheussen.

The Jersey Board is stacked with union officials, so perhaps Christie has felt enough heat from his battles with organized labor that he is backing off replacing Matheussen, a union ally.

2) The Governor called the press conference to fire Matheussen but realized that, technically, he doesn’t have that power. The CEO serves at the pleasure of the DRPA board, and Christie can’t replace any News Jersey Board members until their terms expire.

So perhaps Christie switched to Plan B, and attempted to throw more fire under Matheussen’s feet.

Either way, it’s a failure on Christie’s part, with a two-fold result: his reputation as a law-and-order Governor who isn’t scared to take on the entrenched Business-As-Usual crowd takes a hit, and the cronies at the DRPA grow stronger each day they remain in power.

So what could Christie have done?  The same thing he should do now, and as quickly as possible:  use his office as a bully pulpit and demand that the Board remove Matheussen.

It’s simple, and, at least on this issue, easy.

Chris Christie is incredibly popular precisely because people think he’s fighting for them.  He’s called for cuts across the board to reign in government spending, and, despite even his supporters feeling pain, he remains an iconic figure.  Voters certainly don’t agree with him on all his positions, but they respect his leadership and his willingness to tackle the toughest issues ---and politicians --- head-on.

If tomorrow the Governor forcefully called on the Board to boot Matheussen, and implored his neighboring colleague, Ed Rendell, to do the same, it would be very tough to say no to him.

Every press outlet in both states would report his call-to-arms, as well as the laundry list of reasons why Matheussen must go.

And with so many reasons to dump Matheussen, who’s going to oppose Christie?

Gov. Rendell?  He has admitted major mistakes were committed, and numerous conflicts allowed, under Matheussen’s tenure.

The Board?  Doubtful, mainly because this is the same body that has been kept in the dark by Matheussen on so many issues, including:

* DRPA executives using pool cars while having huge car allowances, and Matheussen’s changing story about HIS pool car use;

* The existence (and use) of DRPA credit cards, a full accounting of which the Board, and the public, are still waiting;

* Conflicts involving DRPA Vice Chairman Jeff Nash, in which Matheussen himself signed three contracts to Live Nation --- the company that employs Nash’s wife;

* The changing story of a DRPA bridge manager who took toll money in clear violation of the rules. Matheussen had the individual transferred to the DRPA cruise terminal office, still making six figures a year --- despite there being no cruises. Board Commissioner John Dougherty stated that Matheussen lied to him from the start about the situation, with the CEO originally saying the story had “no basis in fact.”

* The timeline and details surrounding a suspect arrangement of large-dollar commissions paid by the DRPA to insurance companies in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

* Removing John Lawless, a Board employee, from the DRPA building under armed guard in April, and not permitting him to return to work, despite no authority to fire him. So for nearly five months, the toll payers footed the salary for a Board employee who, by Matheussen’s own accord, wasn’t relieved for disciplinary reasons.  Attempts for answers were met with silence.

Not only did Matheussen keep many of his decisions from the Board, but when they did come to light, he failed to provide adequate explanations for his actions.

Bottom line: John Matheussen’s legacy at the DRPA has been one of abject failure, as he presides over a nearly bankrupt agency that can’t even complete its most core mission --- the maintenance and safety of just four bridges and a small train line.

Additionally, he has broken new ground in his rush to make the Authority the most generous piggybank possible for politicians and insiders, while forsaking the people who pay the bills.

Never before has there been an issue where virtually 100% of the public is in agreement. Taxpayers have reached their breaking point with the DRPA, and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with non-corrupted politicians, citizen activists, and the media in calling for King John to be flushed away, wiping the slate clean for new leadership.

But each day Gov. Christie doesn’t pound this point home, his enemy becomes stronger.  That chink in his armor will expand until it becomes a gaping hole, and the successful Christie agenda will be in jeopardy of failure.

The opportunity to ram a stake through the heart of Business As Usual comes but once in a lifetime. It’s having the courage to take that action which makes legendary leaders.

Governor Christie, that time is now.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com
Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."
Freind also serves as a weekly guest commentator on the Philadelphia-area talk radio show, Political Talk (WCHE 1520), and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX 29.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

It’s Business As Usual at the DRPA.  And despite all the “reform” rhetoric flying around, don’t expect real changes anytime soon.

The reason is simple.

The people charged with implementing the reforms are the very same ones who have been, and still are, completely immersed in the conflicts, nepotism and cronyism that need reforming.

That’s like criminals running the prison, inmates taking charge of the asylum.

Given their legacy of abject failure, from accumulating massive debt to spewing outright lies, The DRPA’s Big Four executive braintrust simply has no credibility.  (It was The Big Five, but Jon Corzine was given the boot last year).

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has been virtually silent during the recent brouhaha, and, as the person in charge of the DRPA since 2002, that tells you all you need to know.

Rendell feigning indignation that corruption occurred on his watch as DRPA Chairman is like throwing ballast off a sinking ship.  It just doesn’t cut it.

His awful reform spin aside, Rendell is gone in months.  Two down.

That leaves CEO John Matheussen, Chairman John Estey, and Vice Chairman Jeff Nash, with their new-found piety and wounded vanity.  Despite PR tours and crisis management spin, their attempts at reforming the DRPA have fallen woefully short of the mark. 

You simply cannot lead when your followers have lost faith in your abilities.

The only viable solution is to wipe the DRPA clean, and Flush The Johns ---and Jeff too.

Need more ammunition for why they need to go?  Consider these recent beauties:

Estey’s Insulting FOX 29 Interview

During a recent interview on FOX’s Good Day Philadelphia, Estey, a partner at Ballard Spahr, was asked about possible DRPA conflicts with his law firm.  His response: “The truth is, I don’t know where that came from….my firm doesn’t do any work for the DRPA.”

Oh really, John? How utterly disingenuous can he be?

Ballard Spahr billed over $80,000 in 2010 alone, and $186,000 in 2009!  When did the firm stop its DRPA business dealings?  Five minutes prior to the show? 

And even if some of that billing was carried over from other years, that absolutely should have been disclosed by Estey. But it wasn’t.

What Estey also conveniently failed to mention was that Ballard performed almost $3 million in legal work for the Authority since Gov. Ed Rendell appointed himself DRPA Chairman in 2002. 

Which is interesting, given that Rendell worked at Ballard for the three years prior to his election.

Oh, and just to be clear: Ballard, its attorneys, and the Philadelphia Future political action committee --- which is registered at the Ballard offices, and whose Treasurer is Rendell confidante, political powerbroker and former Ballard Chairman David Cohen ---  donated nearly $1.5 million to Rendell’s campaigns. 

And Rendell’s Governor committee is registered at the Ballard Spahr offices!

For comparison, Ballard billed a total of only $480 in 2001 ---the year BEFORE Rendell was elected.  Quite a jump by any standard.

And despite Rendell’s claims that he had no influence in how Ballard was selected, Ballard Chairman Arthur Makadon was quoted in a 2009 news article, stating that the choice is "effectively up to the Pennsylvania governor."

Call me slow, but those two statements seem contradictory, and raise a whole lot of other questions that need to be scrutinized in great detail.

Are Rendell and Estey Really Clueless On Audits?

One of the reforms Estey has championed is allowing the Pennsylvania Auditor General to conduct an audit of the DRPA. 

In fact, the stated purpose of Estey’s upcoming resolution is to “…permit the Pennsylvania Auditor General’s Office…to audit the performance of the Authority.”

Sounds great as a 30-second sound bite.  But the reality is an entirely different animal.

As in….that audit CAN’T occur.  Not now, not ever.

The Pennsylvania Auditor General (currently Jack Wagner, who has been one of the only consistent voices of reform) has an automatic seat on the DRPA Board.  As such, it violates government auditing standards for Wagner to conduct a forensic audit on an agency on which he sits.

Estey and Rendell either don’t know this, making them incompetent, or they do, making them complicit in deliberately misleading the Board, the public, and the media.

And it isn’t like the DRPA is being audited regularly, anyway.  The governing rules of the Authority, known as the Compact, REQUIRES a management audit every five years. 

But this being the DRPA, where rules are for other people, they just released the audit THAT WAS DUE IN 2006!  Since the Authority footed the $500,000 bill, the audit’s independence was immediately nullified.  In fact, one Board member called it a complete waste.

To use a phrase made famous by former DRPA Board member Vince Fumo, now vacationing in federal prison, it’s Other People’s Money.

Typical DRPA.

The only way to ensure an audit is conducted independently is to utilize an auditor as far removed from the New Jersey and Pennsylvania political scene as possible. 

The United States Government Accounting Office or Inspector General’s Office are the most viable options --- but neither are being recommended by the DRPA.

DRPA Salary Increases: Yes Or No?  Ask Dick Brown

According to the DRPA, there have been no recent salary increases for employees.  Yet Richard Brown, longtime General Counsel, had his $9,000 car allowance shifted to his salary.

Despite car allowances being eliminated last month as a “reform” measure, Brown’s $9,000 car allowance-turned-salary increase will NOT be retracted. 

In other words, he received a pay raise. His salary stands at $189,081.

Car allowances are taxed as income, but that money does NOT count toward one’s pension.  Could it be that the DRPA made this salary-increase arrangement for Brown, who is at or near retirement age, so that his pension could be padded--- a hefty increase that toll payers will be paying for the rest of Brown’s life?

Legal or not, such a move is a slap in the face to those who will be paying $5 to cross the bridges next year --- bridges that remain overdue for capital improvement projects due to a lack of money.

Board Has Been Kept In The Dark

On numerous occasions, including some in the DRPA’s recent “Age of Reform,” the Port Authority’s Board Of Commissioners have been kept in the dark regarding resolutions, conflicts, personnel matters and the overall direction of the DRPA.

Consider just a few:

-The Board wasn’t informed of Vice Chairman Nash’s conflict when the DRPA shelled out three $50,000 marketing contracts to his (now) ex-wife’s company, Live Nation. 

-The Board wasn’t informed when Corporate Secretary John Lawless --- a self-described whistleblower --- was escorted from the building by Matheussen for non-disciplinary reasons in April, despite the fact that Lawless doesn’t work for the CEO, but for the Board itself. 

-The Board hasn’t been consulted on the reform resolutions being offered at the August Board meeting.

- Several Board members were unaware that DRPA executives had Authority-issued credit cards, and still have no idea how much was spent, and on what.

This veil of secrecy has become so commonplace that several Board Members are openly calling for a change in DRPA leadership.

If the Authority’s own Board doesn’t even know what the leadership is doing, how can the public ever feel confident that they are getting straight answers, let alone the truth?

So much for openness, transparency and accountability.

Attitude reflects leadership

The attitudes of Matheussen, Estey and Nash have consistently exuded nothing but contempt for toll payers, the media, law-and-order politicians and the truth.  No amount of reform will change that fact, so the only answer is their removal.

Likewise, the leadership of Gov. Chris Christie will be forever damaged if he reappoints or endorses any of the current DRPA leadership.

After decades of abuse and scandal, Business As Usual at the DRPA must come to an end.

Governor Christie, the people are waiting.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com
Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."
Freind also serves as a weekly guest commentator on the Philadelphia-area talk radio show, Political Talk (WCHE 1520), and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX 29 in Philadelphia. 

He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dear Governors Rendell and Corzine:

It is no secret that the Delaware River Port Authority has recently come under intense criticism. The organization is $1.2 billion in debt and cannot sufficiently fund major capital projects, such as re-decking the Walt Whitman Bridge. As a result, the Board of Directors today authorized a substantial toll increase at its board meeting.

However, there are a number of unanswered questions that extend well beyond the scope of a toll hike. In the hopes of shedding some light on these issues, The Bulletin herewith asks the DRPA to address four questions that can no longer remain under the bridge:

1)Why is Pennsylvania State Treasurer Robin Wiessmann, who has a seat on the DRPA Board, authorizing expenditures to the law firm of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, (Gov. Rendell's former firm), the firm in which her husband, Ken Jarin, is a partner? And why are partners in that firm chairing DRPA board meetings when their firm represents the board?

Since Governor Rendell, the DRPA chairman, rarely attends board meetings, he appointed John Estey as his chairman-designate. What makes this particularly interesting is that Ballard Spahr represents the DRPA Board, and both Mr. Jarin and Mr. Estey are partners in that firm. Since the chairman-designate has the same voting power as the chairman, Mr. Estey is, in point of fact, authorizing payments to his own firm. And when Treasurer Wiessmann doesn't think that DRPA's in-house general counsel and staff attorneys are equipped to handle a legal matter, and authorizes outside counsel, she too is putting money into her husband's pocket - and ultimately her own.

2)Why does the DRPA's Director of Labor Contract Compliance, John Rogale, list two employers on New Jersey state election records, illustrating a potentially huge conflict of interest?

Election law requires that political contributors disclose their employer under the "Occupation and Employer Information" section. Pursuant to a May 17, 2006 contribution, Mr. Rogale listed the DRPA as his employer. However, on a contribution nine months later, he listed "Remington and Vernick Engineers" of Haddonfield, New Jersey as his employer - at a time when he was (and still is) employed by the DRPA. Given that Remington and Vernick is a general engineering contractor for the DRPA, it is a gross conflict of interest if Mr. Rogale's is employed by that firm. If he does not work for them, and since this is not an "easy" mistake to make, why did Mr. Rogale list them as his employer?

3) Why does Marc Woolley hold positions at both the Ballard Spahr law firm and the DRPA?

According to the DRPA, Mr. Woolley serves as Assistant to the Chairman as well as Director of Claims Administration. But he can also be reached at the Ballard Spahr office in Philadelphia, where he started working last week. Working for both entities would be an obvious conflict of interest. If he is "transitioning" from one organization to another, Mr. Woolley's employment during this time should be kept to one organization, never overlapping.

Given that the DRPA's public image is extremely negative, Mr. Woolley's situation, with no explanation from the DRPA, is unacceptable. At this point, even the appearance of impropriety should be avoided at all costs. Immediate clarification on this matter is requested.

4)  Why does John Matheussen, Chief Executive Officer of DRPA, refuse to commit the $35 million of economic development funds for either debt retirement or the Walt Whitman Bridge re-decking project?

Given the DRPA's economic woes, and the fact that 76 percent of its revenues are utilized for salaries, benefits and debt service, common sense dictates that it should eliminate the economic development grant program, instead using the remaining money on bridge maintenance (which would be approximately 20 percent of the re-decking cost) or to retire a portion of its paralyzing debt. Mr. Matheussen's refusal to do indicates that the DRPA's will resume its "business as usual" operations as soon as the current controversy subsides.

These are but a few of the many outstanding questions swirling around the Port Authority. The Bulletin respectfully asks for immediate clarification on these questions. This letter has also been addressed to each member of the DRPA Board and Mr. Matheussen.

Sincerely,

The Philadelphia Bulletin (Chris Freind)

In 1999, after serving eight years as Mayor of Philadelphia, Ed Rendell joined the Ballard Spahr law firm, headquartered in Center City. Two years later, during his campaign for governor, Mr. Rendell said, "I have, for the last two years, done practically nothing for [Ballard]," according to numerous press reports.

Upon assuming office, he appointed himself Chairman of the Delaware River Port Authority (DPRA), the entity overseeing the four major bridges in Philadelphia. One of the major beneficiaries of Gov. Rendell's being DRPA chairman has been his former firm.

In the three years preceding Mr. Rendell's election, Ballard received $25,000 in legal fees from the Port Authority, including only $480 in 2001. From 2002 until the present, Ballard has received over $2.7 million.

Two of the governor's former top aides, John Estey, his former chief of staff and Adrian King, his former deputy chief of staff, are currently partners at Ballard, and both hold influential positions related to DRPA. Mr. Estey chairs the board meetings and maintains full voting rights on behalf of the governor, and Mr. King serves as the authority's outside counsel. Mr. Estey and Mr. King are brothers-in-law, and together they have contributed over $35,000 to Mr. Rendell's political coffers.

Additionally, a Rendell appointee, Pennsylvania Treasurer Robin Wiessmann, sits on the DRPA board. Her husband, Ken Jarin, also a partner at Ballard, serves as DRPA outside counsel and occasionally chairs board meetings. He contributed $90,000 to the governor's campaigns. Ballard attorneys have contributed nearly a half-million dollars to Gov. Rendell. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of "in-kind" contributions were also donated.

The Philadelphia Future Political Action Committee, registered at the Ballard Spahr offices, contributed $471,000 to Mr. Rendell. The PAC's treasurer is David Cohen, former chief of staff under then-Mayor Rendell, former chairman of Ballard Spahr and the current executive vice president of Comcast Corporation. Mr. Cohen contributed $80,000 to the governor.

According to Pennsylvania Department of State campaign filings, the address of Gov. Rendell's campaign treasurer is the 51st Floor of 1735 Market Street in Philadelphia. Ballard Spahr occupies the entire floor.

While many believe this arrangement is a blatant conflict of interest, it not unusual. In fact, such relationships are commonplace in how business is conducted in Pennsylvania.

Despite the questionable nature of such practice, it is not officially considered "pay-to-play," which generally relates to the illegal practice of giving political contributions in return for government contracts. In the absence of a quid pro quo arrangement, the rewarding of former firms with lucrative contracts is legal and continues unimpeded.

What has raised the ire of both the public and the state legislature, however, is the frequency of these contracts, the huge contract amounts and the secrecy surrounding no-bid contracts. That is especially true when they are doled out to firms, such as Ballard Spahr, which maintain a close relationship with the governor. When pressed for answers about the decision-making in hiring Ballard Spahr, Gov. Rendell's spokespeople routinely deflect all responsibility away from him, issuing statements that the governor had no role in the selection process.

Consequently, there has been a renewed push in the state House to enact reforms in how contracts are awarded and to prohibit campaign contributions by companies and individuals who contract with the commonwealth or its political subdivisions. Four bills addressing these issues have been introduced as a legislative package by state Reps. Robert W. Godshall, R-Montgomery County; Douglas Reichley, R-Berks and Lehigh counties; Glen R. Grell, R-Cumberland County; and Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny County, and all remain pending in the Democratic-controlled committee (see Legislators Introduce Bills To Reform Contracts).

There are numerous firms that have benefited from political connections, but none navigate the political landscape so adroitly as Ballard. Many of its partners are consummate political insiders, so much so that according to press reports, Gov. Rendell chose not to utilize his Philadelphia office in The Bellevue for an August meeting regarding city casinos, preferring the cozy confines of Ballard Spahr instead.

Zack Stalberg, president of the nonpartisan watchdog organization Committee of Seventy, was quoted as saying, "It seemed like an odd place to have it. There's got to be a lot of other neutral territory around town other than a highly influential, connected law firm."

According to state records, more than $1 billion in no-bid contracts have been issued during Gov. Rendell's tenure. While the vast majority of state contracts require a bidding process, the governor has the discretion to award contracts on a no-bid basis when it is in the "best interest of the commonwealth." It is not known whether the Rendell administration has exploited this loophole more than the previous administrations, since comparative state records were "lost," according to the Department of General Services, who has, to date, been unable to locate the records.

Ballard Spahr ranks near the top of law firms receiving state work since Gov. Rendell became the state's chief executive, totaling more than $10 million, not including DRPA fees. That is in large part because no other firm comes close to having the intimate connections with the governor himself. Enough eyebrows have been raised by watchdog groups and in the General Assembly that Barbara Adams, general counsel to the commonwealth, and Rendell appointee, made a special presentation during a recent state-sponsored Continuing Legal Education (CLE) course to stress that law firms are not chosen because of their political connections. According to a source, many attorneys "rolled their eyes and smirked" at that comment. CLE courses are mandated for all Pennsylvania attorneys in order to keep their law licenses current.

In addition to the millions in DRPA legal fees, Ballard Spahr's connections have allowed it to be selected as counsel for the following entities:

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission

For several years, the Rendell administration has proposed privatizing the turnpike in order to raise revenue. Despite the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation having a large in-house legal staff, numbering more than 70 attorneys, Ballard was selected as counsel for this project, being awarded a $1.8 million no-bid contract.

Ken Jarin billed the state $25,000, which was ultimately paid for by the state treasurer - and Mr. Jarin's wife - Robin Wiessmann. Ballard Chairman Arthur Makadon billed the state at a rate of $637 per hour. Additionally, Ballard performed $773,000 worth of legal work without a contract. In order for those legal fees to be paid, a special arrangement, known as a "Compromise, Settlement and Release" agreement, was executed between the state and Ballard. These actions have infuriated state legislators, prompting the proposed reform legislation.

The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA)

As an "independent agency of the commonwealth," the PRPA depends on and takes direction from the state. John Estey serves as Chairman of the PRPA. During a June 18, 2008 board meeting, Ballard Spahr was selected to be counsel to the authority.

GTECH

This Rhode Island company, which specializes in casino-related operations, hired Ken Jarin for assistance in contract negotiations while it was attempting to win a contract for a computer system that monitors slots gaming in Pennsylvania. GTECH received a five-year contract worth millions per year.

Additionally, the state Department of Revenue awarded a five year contract to GTECH earlier this year "to supply terminal-based game services to the Pennsylvania Lottery," potentially worth $25 million a year.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com

Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."

Freind also serves as a weekly guest commentator on the Philadelphia-area talk radio show, Political Talk (WCHE 1520), and makes numerous other television and radio appearances.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it