Turnpike_Grand_Jury_Presentment

Hatalowich was not alone in relying on Turnpike vendor lists to conduct political
fundraising activities. Lisa Smith 3 is an Executive Office Assistant with the Turnpike. As
Executive Office Assistant she was assigned to support Chairman Mitchell Rubin and
Commissioner Lincoln, among others. Chairman Rubin requested that she gather engineering
lists on a number of occasions. Later she saw a version of the list at a gubernatorial fundraiser.
Rubin also directed Smith to email the lists to Senator #6’s office.
On occasion, Hatalowich asked others at PTC for political fundraising help. A former
Special Assistant to the Commissioners was one such individual. This PTC Assistant worked for
over 50years in the transportation industry and worked exclusively for the Turnpike on the
Mon/Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway projects. Through his position, the PTC
Assistant worked with those legislators whose districts were impacted directly or who showed a
particular interest in these large Turnpike projects, as well as a broad spectrum of consultants
that performed work on these projects. He also contributed heavily to political campaigns across
the board. The former Special Assistant to the Turnpike described his political participation as
follows. “[T]hat’s the way it is. I mean, from the time I, you know, was a summer employee and
all the way through - - I’ve attended more political fundraisers than I would care to admit. It was
so many.” He came to understand that the Turnpike was intimately involved in the process. The
Grand Jury offers the table below to illustrate his most notable and significant political campaign
contributions.
Date Amount Recipient
2/2/2000 $500.00 Dem State Senate Campaign Com
8/9/2000 $500.00 Dem State Senate Campaign Com
8/31/2000 $500.00 Friends of Bob Mellow
3/14/2001 $500.00 Gubernatorial Candidate
3/14/2001 $500.00 Gubernatorial Candidate
3 Lisa Smith testified pursuant to a grant of immunity.
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