Philly Inquirer reports new details of Penn Pike vice-chair Carson's resignation

A Philadelphia Inquirer report this morning quotes recently resigned Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission vice-chairman Timothy Carson as saying that after his second drunken driving (DUI) conviction in 2006 he spent five days in an alcohol treatment program in place of jail time. His driving license was suspended for a year, he told the Inquirer.

His convictions for drunk driving in 2003 and 2006 were somehow kept secret until Carson revealed them in his surprise letter of resignation this month to state Governor Ed Rendell dated Feb 8.

see http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/4590

Driven or rode train

During the time of his driving license suspension he tells the Philadelphia Inquirer he traveled for the twice monthly meetings of the Turnpike Commission between his home in Rosemont on the 'Main Line' or northwest part of the Philadelphia area and Harrisburg either by train or he says, he was driven by "coworker Mimi Lindelow."

We were told Feb 15 (see http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/4601) by one current Pennyslvania Turnpike Commission officer that Carson, a Republican, was responsible for Ms Lindelow being hired by the Turnpike Commission. She was a longtime Republican legislative staffer put out of work when the legislator then employing her lost an election.

The PTC officer also said that a major part of Ms Lindelow's time was spent as Carson's chauffeur or driver. The two showed up so frequently together Lindelow was commonly referred to around the Turnpike offices as "Carson's girlfriend."

The Turnpike officer said he had no evidence of an amorous relationship and the term 'girlfriend' was probably just light jokey talk. But he said he mentioned it as evidence of the frequency with which she drove Carson, and showed up places with him.

We asked Ms Lindelow how many of her Turnpike hours were taken up with driving duties for Carson. She declined to answer the question.

Outreach

Lindelow officially a public outreach officer works out of the Eastern Regional Office in King of Prussia north of Philadelphia. She represents the Turnpike in meetings with local people over major projects like widening the Turnpike in the eastern region.

Carson "carpooler"

Carson is quoted about his driving with Lindelow "we had carpooled before my (drivers license) suspension, too," since she lived in Haverford, the next community north on the Mainline from Carson's Rosemont.

Lindelow's boss, turnpike public relations manager Carl DeFebo, told the Inquirer that the driving arrangement was informal and that Lindelow was not directed to be Carson's chauffeur while he was unable to drive.

Lindelow drove Carson to Harrisburg "on eight to 10 occasions."

"She was never assigned to that role," DeFebo is quoted. "They would on occasion ride up together. But if it was not convenient for her to drive, she wouldn't do it. More often than not, he took the train."

Ardmore is the first stop out of Philadelphia on the way to Harrisburg for about two thirds of Amtrak trains. The train takes about an hour and a half to Middletown on the eastern outskirts of the state capital a few miles from Highspire where the Turnpike is housed.

Meetings of the Commission are twice monthly and begin at 9am.

Carson could have got a Keystone Service Amtrak train leaving at 6:37am weekdays from Ardmore about 3.7km 2.3 miles from his home and scheduled to arrive at 7:59am in Middletown, 7km, 4.4 miles miles from the Highspire (Harrisburg area) head office of the Turnpike where commission meetings are held.

Commissioners "entitled" to car and driver

A former officer at the Pennsylvania Turnpike who didn't know specifically about Carson's arrangements said it has been standard practice for some years for Turnpike commissioners like Carson to be issued with a late model car, routinely turned over every two years, and to be assigned an 'on-call' driver - most commonly a toll collector but occasionally other staff.

He called "ridiculous" the notion of Carson being represented as "carpooling" with a junior employee.

The officer said commissioners like Carson give orders, they don't ask.

Carson, 61, is a former president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, a former finance chairman of the Republican State Committee, and former board chairman of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. (also see bio at bottom)

His part-time job as vice-chairman of the Turnpike Commission paid $26k/year plus expenses.  The chairman in recent years was Mitchell Rubin, a casino operator and crony of former senator Vincent Fumo, now serving a jail sentence for 137 counts of thievery.

Rubin almost never spoke publicly.

He was dismissed form the Turnpike chairmanship by the state governor late last year after he was officially named as the target of a criminal investigation. Rubin's wife Ruth was convicted of major theft along with ex-senator Fumo for whom she worked.

The two major public voices of the Commission in the past several years have been CEO Joseph Brimmeier and Carson.

It was Carson who publicly and repeatedly challenged Governor Ed Rendell's proposal to privatize the Turnpike in 2007 and 2008. And Carson was the primary author of Act 44, the state law which turns the Turnpike into a major source of funding for transit and roads elsewhere in the state through a combination of tolls on I-80 (still needing approval by the US Government), major toll increases and multi-billion dollar borrowings.

Carson was a partner and prominent member of the downtown or 'City Center' Philadelphia law firm Saul Ewing. He joined the law firm in 1977 and became a partner in 1981.

Both he and firm now say they parted company Dec 31 2009. His departure was never announced at the time, only confirmed after we broke the story here Feb 15.

The Inquirer which first reported Carson still a senior partner at Saul Ewing says Carson's biography remained on the company's website until he resigned his position with the Turnpike Commission Feb 8.

"Couldn't agree on pay"

Carson says he couldn't reach agreement on his pay in annual an renegotiation with the Saul Ewing firm late last year, and that his departure was nothing to do with his resignation from his position at the Turnpike.

The Philadelphia Inquirer today reports Carson also ended his role as a partner at CCH Partners LLP January 1. CCH is a lobbying and government relations firm separate Saul Ewing although described as having a "strategic alliance" with Saul Ewing and housed in the same office suite.

Carson is quoted in the Inquirer today as saying:  "At a certain point in the future, I expect I'll announce some new affiliations."

More on CCH Partners LLC

The Saul Ewing site has this tonight about CCH Partners LLP:

"CCH Partners LLC provides non-legal consulting services including government relations, lobbying services, and business solutions to clients in an array of industries. Saul Ewing Partner Timothy J. Carson is one of the principals of CCH Partners LLC, and is the current Vice Chairman of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, was the 108th President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and served as a Member of the transition teams for Pennsylvania Governors-Elect Edward G. Rendell (2003 – present) and Tom Ridge (1995 – 2001).

"Mr. Carson is joined by two other Saul Ewing Partners, Lois Sherman Hagarty and Richard W. Hayden, in CCH Partners, both of whom have consulting focuses in the life sciences industries. CCH Partners has offices in Philadelphia and Harrisburg. Lois Hagarty is the Pennsylvania lobbyist for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association. Mr. Hayden served as co-chairs of Governor Rendell’s Transition Committee for PA DEP and the Rendell for Governor Environmental and Natural Resources Policy Committee. In 2003, Governor Rendell nominated Mr. Hayden to serve as the Governor’s representative on the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission." end quotes

http://www.saul.com/practice_areas/lifesciences/ancillary.aspx

However as far as the SEARCH function is concerned at Saul's: "Search results for 'Carson' Your search returned 0 result(s)." (see nearby) Perhaps other unsearchable results lurk?

TOLLROADSnews 2010-02-20