Press Release: 3/26/2026

Service Plaza Scandal Update

The service plaza scandal continues!



This week, the legislature finally held their long awaited hearing looking into how exactly a critical MassDOT procurement meant to award state service plaza contracts went off the rails, almost costing taxpayers $900 million, and forcing the entire procurement process to be cancelled and restarted from square one. The process was supposed to be fair and transparent, but Applegreen, the politically connected bidder, engaged in undisclosed communications with key officials during the bidding process, allegedly violating the rules and giving themselves an unfair advantage.



 

 Watch our video breaking down the scandal and the latest oversight hearing here.

Read our full press statement here.

 

Despite this, Interim Transportation Secretary and MBTA General Manager Phil Eng has refused to rule Applegreen out of the new procurement, raising serious questions about whether Massachusetts is protecting the public or rewarding insiders. Meanwhile, Scott Bosworth, the selection committee chair at the center of the scandal, remains in a senior position at the MBTA. With a current salary of around $242,000, his reward for his involvement in this whole debacle seems to be a salary higher than the Governor’s.



This is exactly the kind of insider protection that erodes public trust. Taxpayers deserve contracts awarded on merit, not political connections.



At the legislative hearing, Interim Transportation Secretary and MBTA General Manager Eng was pressed for answers, and his responses were to protect the actors involved in the contract blowup. If state officials cannot hold themselves accountable, it’s left for federal agencies to do so. MassFiscal is calling on U.S. Attorney Leah Foley to investigate, and hold those accountable that Interim Transportation Secretary and MBTA General Manager Eng is protecting.