Turnpike_Grand_Jury_Presentment

Brimmeier or COO Hatalowich approached the Chief Engineer in advance of the meeting to
advocate for a firm with which they were interested in contracting.
One former Turnpike Assistant Chief Engineer for Design recalled that under CEO
Brimmeier’s tenure, the input from the engineering department was not considered as it should
have been. In particular, he believed that Brimmeier and Hatalowich did not incorporate the
evaluations prepared by the Turnpike’s Engineering Department into their voting process. His
frustration with the process eventually led him to resign from the Committee.
A former Turnpike Engineering Contract supervisor recalled a similar change once
George Hatalowich became the Turnpike’s Contracts Administrator. It was apparent to her that
there were discussions and decisions made prior to the Committee meeting. “When you went to
the Technical Review meeting and they didn’t, you know - - I mean, they didn’t really discuss
the firm a whole lot, so - - and you knew when they voted that everybody was voting for the
same firm as No. 1, you know there had to be some discussion somewhere prior to the meeting,
prior to the formal meeting.” During meetings of the Committee, the Turnpike Contract
Supervisor often heard Hatalowich advocating for firms and asking that others be added to the
list. It was clear that he was telegraphing the choices of Turnpike Commissioners, Legislators,
or others. She also recalled the engineers and project managers becoming frustrated with the
process. As Engineering Contract Supervisor, she also fielded complaints from engineering
firms about requests to participate politically from Turnpike officials. One firm recalled getting
a call from Hatalowich to attend a political fundraiser for Gubernatorial Candidate #2.
The Contracts Supervisor assisted Hatalowich with scheduling and phone calls when he
served as Turnpike Contracts Administrator. She recalled many calls from Turnpike
Commissioners, and that there was a direct correlation between his job as Contracts
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