And now I come in praise of lawyers. The profession is often derided, but the attorneys I encountered on this project were impressive in their commitment to their clients—and to the truth. I wouldn’t have known about this stunning story were it not for my friend Michael Riseberg, an accomplished defense attorney who was involved in the civil lawsuit that grew out of the tunnel accident. Michael has a writer’s eye for a great story, and Fm so appreciative to him for directing my eyes to this one.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys John Prescott, Nina Pelletier, and Bob Norton turned out to be indispensable guides for me to the contours of the case. I was impressed with their investigative prowess in unearthing key documents. Even more impressive was how deeply they cared about the divers and their families. These are advocates in the truest sense of the word. As DJ’s court-appointed lawyer in his criminal case, Pete Horstmann showed not just legal acumen but great concern for his client. He also filed the motion that paved the way for my first interview with DJ, while he was still in jail. U.S.
District Court Judge Mark Wolf, who approved that motion, struck me as someone who brought remarkable care to his deliberations.
It was critical to me that I get the full complexity of the case and not see it simply through one side. So I’m grateful for the defense attorneys who spoke candidly to me, particularly Pat Riley, John Lawler, and Fran Meaney.
Then there were the lawyer friends I leaned on for essential guidance as I worked my way through this book. David McCraw, assistant general counsel for the New York Times Company, possesses one of the nation’s sharpest minds in media law, but he also has an outstanding feel for narrative writing. Susan Amster is a gifted publishing lawyer and a terrific person.
I’m grateful for the cooperation—and exhaustive record keeping—of the staff of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. Ria Convery, who is unfailingly honest and helpful, should be leading workshops nationally on the right way to be an agency communications director. Doug MacDonald and his wife, Lynda Mapes, were generous with their time, and I benefited from Doug’s intelligence, deep caring, and love of history. Several former MWRA officials played critical roles in my understanding of the project, even though their names do not appear in the preceding pages. Paul Levy had the vision to put the massive cleanup on the right path, under trying circumstances. Walter Armstrong, Ralph Wallace, and Charlie Button played key roles in carrying out that vision and in helping me grasp it in all its complexity. I’m grateful for the assistance of several others at the agency, notably Fred Laskey, John Vetere, Steven Remsberg, Tom Lindberg, Barbara Allen, Marianne Connolly, Joe Duplin, Rebecca Kenney, and former spokesperson Tom Lee.
The cooperation of all the major contractors and consultants to the project made a huge difference in my understanding. From Kiewit, big thanks to Ken Stinson, Kirk Samuelson, Bill Currier, and Bob Kula. Thanks also to Dave Corkum, who served as Kaiser’s tunnel point man and who indulged an endless stream of follow-up questions from me. The command he continues to have of the details surrounding this project is remarkable. At PB, thanks to the very knowledgeable Eldon Abbott, Brian Van Weele, and Judy Cooper. During my visit to PBI Dansensor’s headquarters in Denmark, Steen Hansen schooled me on the inner workings of the MAP Mix 9000. Bobby Malkasian and Mike Kanash were entertaining guides into the fascinating and foreign world of the sandhogs. And Dick Robbins gave me an essential tutorial on the art and science of tunnel-boring machines. I gained important historical insights about Boston Harbor from the late Charles Haar’s book Mastering the Harbor and Eric Jay Dolin’s Political Waters, as well as from Bill Golden, whose filthy running shoes helped get the harbor clean.
Others providing assists were the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section, paramedic Keith Wilson, Julie Primeau, Ann Scales, Lisa Fliegel, mine rescue specialists Rob McGee and Curt Ahonen, the late Ed Willwerth, John Chavez of OSHA, Tom Botts of Shell, Sue Dong of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Christina Spring of the CDC-NIOSH, Don Gibson of the Fairfield University School of Business (and Katy Mathias for connecting us), Larry Palinkas of the University of Southern California, David Procopio of the Massachusetts State Police, Don Abbott of the Texas Tower Association, and two of the brightest minds in the country on PTSD: Terry Keane of the VA, and Charles Figley of Tulane University. I learned lots about how NASA prepares for high-risk missions from retired astronaut Shannon Lucid, NASA psychologist Al Holland, and psychiatrist Chris Flynn. For insight into the Apollo 13 mission, Jim Lovell’s book Lost Moon (cowritten by Jeffrey Kluger) and a 2005 report from IEEE Spectrum were essential reading. For insight into dive culture, Robert Kurson’s book Shadow Divers was indispensable.
Help with archives, photo and otherwise, came from Katrina Scott, Kevin Kirwin, Dale Freeman and Joanne Riley of the University of Massachusetts Boston, Scott Lewis of Engineering News-Record, Bill Kole of the Associated Press, TJ Walsh of NECN, Michael Spear, and the staff of the Franklin Trask Library. Thanks also to Sister Peggy Rooney, Chris and Kevin Balfe, Caroline Bruce Macaulay, Nils Bruzelius, Heather Barry, Dan McGinn, John Roma, and the Martha’s Vineyard Writers Residency. Special thanks to the members of the Alray Scholars family, who are my partners in the nonprofit scholarship and mentoring organization that grew out of my first book. (Check it out at alray.org.)
Finally, my biggest debt of personal gratitude goes to my family. My amazing parents, Sam and Mary Swidey, have been a source of bottomless encouragement—and top flight copyediting. As a reporter, I learned from them how to make genuine connections with people from all walks of life. As a writer, I was blessed to learn the craft from my dad, a master teacher and the finest man I’ve ever known. A small consolation of his passing in 2014 was knowing he had been around to see the publication of this book, which he had done so much to help shape. Most of the important life lessons that didn’t come from my parents were ones I learned from my sensational siblings—Eric Swidey, Maryann Jackson, Bob Swidey, and Judy D’Angelo—who continue to serve as my support system, right down to Eric (our family’s MacGyver) teaching himself HTML so he could build a Web site for me. That support system has only been strengthened by the addition of their wonderful spouses and kids: Kristin, John, Lynn, Michael, Kelsea, Brett, Eddy, James, Zachary, Mia, Samantha, and Ava.
My outstanding in-laws, Herb and Sara Drower, have added so much to my life with their restless minds and warm support. Many thanks for the encouragement from my entire extended family, with special nods to Mary Hayes and Jayne Paris for being such faithful fans.
This book owes much of its existence to my awe-inspiring wife, Denise Drower Swidey, and the other three beautiful women in my home, our daughters Sophia, Nora, and Susanna. (Ollie, the other male in our house, deserves recognition for his loyalty and low-key acceptance of everything besides passing trucks and bigger dogs.) In many ways, Denise’s fingerprints are on every page. As always, she was my sounding board, first reader, and first editor, diplomatically but firmly challenging me to make the prose on every page clearer. More than that, she gave of herself so I could give this book the time it needed. And somehow she resisted the understandable urge to complain about the state of my home office, with its walls covered with charts and timelines and its floor impassable with boxes of documents and depositions. For too long, it looked like the lair of an obsessed detective or deranged villain from one of those TV crime procedural shows. As for our girls, I can’t thank them enough for their love, patience, and daily inspiration, and especially for all the laughs they gave me to lighten the dreariest parts of the writing process. All for a book that they have no desire to read! They often ask, “When are you going to write something interestingT' Give me time, girls.