Tourism office review remains sight unseen
Nearly two years after Mayor Martin J. Walsh ordered a “top to bottom” review of how the city’s troubled tourism office handles public events, it’s unclear what — if anything — the review has uncovered.
The special committee charged with conducting the review has produced no reports or recommendations to the city. The head of the tourism office, who was indicted on extortion charges, is set to return to his job after a judge threw out the case.
The committee, appointed by Walsh in April 2016, is composed of longtime Boston Garden honcho Larry Moulter, event planner Bryan Rafanelli and publicist Collette Phillips.
The Walsh administration’s tourism office at the time was under intense scrutiny for allegedly pressuring event organizers into hiring union workers.
The appointment of the committee came amid reports that federal authorities were investigating whether city tourism chief Kenneth Brissette tried to pressure the music festival Boston Calling into hiring union stage hands. Brissette was later indicted on extortion charges.
The committee was also formed after five Boston-based Teamsters were indicted for threatening a production company filming the TV show “Top Chef” in Milton.
Walsh’s decision to launch a review of the city’s management of large-scale events was to ensure that the tourism office “has access to the right outside resources and expertise, as well as the right internal protocols and policies in place,” according to a city press release at the time.
“We have ... recognized that the bigger the event, the more complex it is to manage properly,” Walsh said in a statement. “And I want to make sure that our agencies and staff have the right training and tools to do so properly.”
But it’s unclear what advice the committee had for the tourism office, since there are no public reports to document it. A public records request by Boston attorney David Lurie for all documents concerning work by the committee turned up no records and city officials could produce none.
“The committee has issued no findings to any City employee,” the city’s director of public records, Shawn Williams, wrote in response to Lurie’s request. “No city employee possesses records regarding the committee other than the press release to which you already have access.”
Officials insist the committee is available to the tourism office “whenever needed” to answer questions about “best practices” and give guidance.
The members had about a dozen “conversations” since being appointed and their work is ongoing, offering guidance to the tourism office “on a rolling basis,” according to officials.
But it’s unclear how many times the committee members met together. Rafanelli, Phillips and Moulter did not return calls from the Herald.
A federal judge last week dismissed the extortion case against Brissette and another top Walsh aide, Timothy Sullivan. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has appealed the dismissal.