Head of Big Dig gets hefty pension

BOSTON, April 6 (UPI) -- The man who headed Boston's Big Dig will receive a hefty pension under a Massachusetts law meant to protect state employees from political firings.

Michael Lewis, 46, stands to get more than $70,000 a year for the rest of his life, the Boston Globe reports. He also has a new job as transportation secretary in Rhode Island with a $130,000 paycheck.

The Big Dig, which substituted a tunnel under downtown Boston for an elevated highway that long divided the city, was one of the most ambitious municipal construction projects ever. The project was plagued by cost overruns, delays and a scandal when falling concrete killed a woman.

Lewis refused to talk to the Globe except to say that he left the project as a retiree. But the newspaper said the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority actually fired him last year.

The law denies enhanced pensions if evidence of collusion to increase benefits comes to light.