Baker defends T's contractor despite theft arrests
Gov. Charlie Baker yesterday defended the MBTA’s decision to hire a private contractor to run its warehouse system, saying the arrest of two workers on charges of stealing from the T is a “blemish” on an otherwise successful contract.
Baker gave no indication that the Friday arrests of George Halley, 32, and Michael Frisoli, 31 — two subcontractors for Mancon Inc. — would jeopardize the Virginia company’s five-year, $28 million deal with the T.
“The performance of the contractor to date has far exceeded the performance of the warehouse when it was run by the T,” Baker told the Herald, saying that Mancon will for the first time give the T a “real reconciliation” of the parts and supplies it’s ordering and using through its warehouse.
“I think this certainly is a blemish,” he said, “but it doesn’t change the quality of the work that’s been done to date or the original decision — at all.”
Transit Police arrested the pair at the T’s Fellsway Garage in Medford on charges of stealing copper wires, cables and other materials from the T. Mancon said last week it was still unclear how much they allegedly took or tried to take, but T officials have said the company has promised to make a “full restitution” to the agency.
The news quickly drew fire from the T’s largest union, the Carmen’s Union Local 589, which has repeatedly criticized the agency’s efforts to outsource work to private companies in efforts to cut costs.
But Baker and T officials have argued that under Mancon, service has also improved. In August, the T said that orders that, on average, took 68 hours to be delivered when the T ran its warehouse have now been slashed to 10 hours.
Baker declined to address whether the arrests signal that Mancon needs to better vet its subcontractors, saying he doesn’t know enough about the workers and “the T doesn’t either.”
“Obviously it’s unacceptable,” he said of the alleged crimes.
A Transit police spokesman did not respond to questions last night about whether Halley and Frisoli have been released on bail pending their arraignment. Efforts to reach both men yesterday were not successful.