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Baker pick to lead MBTA review resigns – Metro US

Baker pick to lead MBTA review resigns

A pair of fires leaves two dead, two buildings gutted in Waltham
Nicolaus Czarnecki/Metro

Former Boston Redevelopment Authority chief Paul Barrett will no longer lead Gov. Charlie Baker’s examination into the beleaguered MBTA.

The Boston Globe reported Saturday that Barrett resigned Friday after the paper questioned him about $200,000 in unpaid federal income taxes. Barrett told the paper he regretted disclosing to Baker his tax payment difficulties stemming from a failed Cape Cod real estate deal and the purchase of a $1.8 million Cohasset home, but reportedly said “almost all of these matters were settled a while ago.”

Barrett was tapped by the governor on Feb. 20 to lead a review of the MBTA’s operations following weeks of shutdowns, delays and equipment failures as the city was gradually buried under more than seven feet of snow and shivered in sub-freezing temperatures.

“The Governor is disappointed that these issues were not disclosed, and now looks forward to the MBTA panel continuing their important charge under new leadership,” im Conroy, a senior advisor to the governor, said in a statement.

Administration officials say Massport aviation division chief financial officer Brian McMorrow and former New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Katherine Lapp will now lead the panel.

Baker charged the panel with reporting on a performance review of the MBTA by the end fo March, by the end of March, looking at its core functions and comparing it to other transit systems to gauge its governance, financing and capital planning.

Barrett previously worked as secretary of economic development and executive director of the Rhode Island Port Authority under former Gov. Bruce Sundlun.