Suffolk Construction is “no longer compelled to stay silent” on the state service plaza contract controversy, the company said Thursday, issuing affidavits in its defense, requests for information, and urging MassDOT not to give the contract to losing bidder Global Partners.
“As leaders in the business and civic community we should hold ourselves to a high standard and never resort to the kind of underhanded, inappropriate, and dishonest tactics Global has displayed during this process and rewarding such behavior would be a grave mistake for the Commonwealth and MassDOT,” said Suffolk spokesperson Dan Antonellis.
Suffolk partnered with Ireland-based Applegreen in a bid for a contract for the long-term lease and management of 18 MassDOT highway service plazas. Applegreen was awarded the bid, but after a losing bidder, Waltham-based Global Partners, alleged improper communications between the companies and MassDOT, they withdrew from the process.
State officials have not yet said whether they will rebid the contract or hand it to Global Partners, which had the second-place bid.
Antonellis said Thursday he could not say whether Suffolk would be involved in another bid for the project, “but if the bid is reopened and a service plaza operator asks us to be involved as a construction partner, we might take a look at it.”
In September, Global also filed a lawsuit against MassDOT, alleging the bid process was tainted by illegal communications between Applegreen and its partners and state officials involved in the process and conflicts of interest.
Suffolk filed several affidavits from executives in the case on Wednesday, vehemently denying any improper communications between them and MassDOT officials.
Suffolk said Thursday they had avoided commenting “directly on the false and misleading accusations leveled against Suffolk by Global Partners” out of respect for Applegreen’s ongoing lease negotiations, but were speaking now that the company pulled out.
The company sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Monica Tibbits-Nutt they said was intended to “set the record straight and present objective evidence proving that Suffolk scrupulously complied with all legal and ethical obligations during the procurement process.”
Suffolk said they were engaged in communications with MassDOT on other projects, including the South Station Tower project and a bridge weight and maintenance issue, and members of the company sent messages to MassDOT’s RFP Chair Scott Bosworth following the deaths of his father and sister.
“To now twist that story to fit a fabricated narrative, as Global Partners has repeatedly done, represents a basic lack of common decency, and serves as a troubling example of a company willing to place profits above all else, even human life,” Antonellis said.
Global’s lawsuit alleges Bosworth was “in private contact with Applegreen’s owner and lobbyists and Suffolk executives, including communications directly related to the solicitation process, evaluation, and result” during the process.
The letter urges MassDOT not to reward Global’s “manipulative misinformation campaign” and “act consistent with the best interest of Massachusetts taxpayers and Mass Pike travelers by reopening a new bid process for the Service Plazas Project.”
At the very least, Antonellis said, they are seeking for Global to receive the “same level of scrutiny that was applied to us.”
Suffolk also filed records requests seeking information on Global’s contacts with MassDOT during the bid process and on the company’s current management of existing service plazas. The company alleged issues under Global’s management, including upgrades to plazas, inflated fuel projections, and limited EV charging plans.
“Global’s current, on-going, and past performance certainly seems relevant to whether they, as the losing bidder in the RFP process, should now simply be handed a new contract for services along the Mass Pike that the public desperately needs and deserves,” the letter states.
Global did not respond to a request for comment as of Thursday evening.