Dive Brief:
- Global Partners has filed an ethics complaint targeting the process that awarded U.K.-based Applegreen approval to rebuild and operate 18 travel plazas along major Massachusetts roads for the next 35 years, the convenience retailer announced on Thursday.
- Global Partners said it has “serious concerns about the conduct” of Scott Bosworth, the state official who helped oversee Applegreen’s proposal to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation in June. The complaint highlighted Bosworth’s past involvement with Applegreen and questioned whether his professional relationships may have impacted MassDOT’s decision to accept Applegreen’s proposal over Global Partners’, according to the announcement.
- Global Partners is calling for a formal inquiry with hopes that it “leads to a full investigation” and “triggers a formal legislative oversight hearing,” President, Chairman and CEO Eric Slifka said in a statement to C-Store Dive.
Dive Insight:
Global Partners expressed its frustration almost immediately after MassDOT accepted Applegreen’s proposal in mid-June, adding that its own pitch was more cost-effective and logical since Global Partners is a local entity. At the time, Slifka said that MassDOT’s decision to go with Applegreen “defies logic and long-term fiscal responsibility.”
About a month later, Global Partners isn’t letting up on its claims.
The convenience retailer said on Thursday that Bosworth, chief of transit with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, “played a central role” in overseeing MassDOT’s proposal process for the service plaza project. Global Partners’ concerns about Bosworth relate to his “impartiality and possible undisclosed external engagements,” according to the announcement.
Specifically, Global Partners said that Bosworth “engaged in discussions regarding employment opportunities” with Applegreen’s majority owner, Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, during the proposal process, which could have violated Massachusetts law. The retailer also said individuals with knowledge of the proposal process expressed concern that Bosworth and other MassDOT members “may have improperly influenced the outcome, including possible inappropriate communications with bidders.”
Global Partners has requested an inquiry into Bosworth’s and MassDOT’s “undisclosed communications,” Bosworth’s “failure to disclose conflicts,” and his “manipulation” of the process’s evaluation criteria, among other areas.
The convenience retailer said that although it has filed multiple public records requests related to the proposal process, “MassDOT has failed to timely produce critical documents, prompting Global to file a formal petition with the Secretary of State’s Office for violation of the Public Records Act.”
In a statement to C-Store Dive, Slifka said Global Partners urges MassDOT “to release the side-by-side bid comparison that’s been hidden from public view.”
“Today’s filing reflects our on-going deep concern that the integrity of the state’s procurement process has been fundamentally compromised,” Slifka said. “When a decision that deprives the taxpayers of nearly $900 million in revenue is made behind closed doors, without transparency, and under the cloud of potential impropriety, the public has every right to ask whether the process was fair, or fatally flawed. We’re calling for accountability, full disclosure, and a fair review of how and why this decision was made.”
A spokesperson from Blackstone said in a statement to C-Store Dive that “there is absolutely no truth to the allegations made in this complaint.”
“There were no discussions about potential employment with Blackstone, any of its funds or its portfolio companies with any MassDOT official at any point during, or in connection with, this process,” the spokesperson said. “Any suggestion otherwise is completely false and intentionally misleading.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a statement from Blackstone, Applegreen’s majority owner.
