The Complete Patient

So much has been written about Boston's $15 billion Big Dig fiasco that I hesitated to add to the verbiage. We know the whole thing is one of the great public works fiascos in American history, what with leaks and, most recently, pieces of ceiling concrete killing a motorist. The latest wrinkle--Gov. Mitt Romney's food fight with Turnpike Authority CEO Matt Amorello--produced an additional example of unseemly business and political maneuvering that  wasn't being covered, so I decided to write something. My newest column at BusinessWeek.com chronicles the tale of a big Boston law firm's pro bono work on behalf of the guv in his vendetta against the Turnpike CEO, and how it turns the term "pro bono" on its ear.

The entire Big Dig sitaution isn't just outrageous, it's sad. I use the Big Dig roads regularly, and have marveled all along at its promise for improving life in Boston. It radically improved the commute to Logan Airport for hundreds of thousands of people living west of Boston...until the ceiling came down. It removed a festering sore in Boston's Downtown area by putting roads underground.

But getting there has been so painful. Its' a classic example of a wonderful concept being totally corrupted by government ineptness. If Gov. Romney is successful in going after the Turnpike CEO and portraying himself as a savior and thereby boosting his presidential aspirations, I suppose it will be a small additional price to pay for getting the thing working again. Hey, we're into this for $15 billion, so what's a bit more finagling?