Connecting the Atlanta dots
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Houston Airport Director Mario Diaz used to be the Deputy General Manager at the Atlanta Airport.
Justina Mann worked there too. She was the woman helping oversee huge airport contracts to help rebuild the Mickey Leland International Terminal.
Their boss in Atlanta was Ben Decosta, who is now in the airport consulting business.
Guess you know where this is going?
In November, former City Controller Ron Green began to question these lucrative airport proposals, not because they aren’t needed, but because he smelled something. Green refused to sign off on the huge contracts that would have included payments to insurance firms linked to Houston City Councilmember Dave Martin and State Legislator Boris Miles. The deal chosen also appeared to cost millions more.
But that wasn’t Greens only questions. He wanted to know if Ben Decosta or his consulting company were linked to any firms winning potentially lucrative contracts at the Houston Airport, including that concessions contract bonanza last year. Green also wanted to figure out what Houston Airport officials used to work for Decosta in Atlanta. Talking to representatives of bidders during the selection process is a no-no.
In e-mails obtained by Dolcefino Consulting Mann says she only knows third hand that Decosta assisted one of the proposed winning bidders, Austin-Gilbane. Mann said she was aware of another deal for management services. Mann said she only worked at the airport with Decosta for four months, and only had one encounter with him.
Kind of makes you wonder why they talk so much now.
Cell phone records obtained by Dolcefino Consulting show both Mann and the Airport Director Mario Diaz had phone conversations with Decosta during the “quiet period.”
Dolcefino Consulting tracked dozens of phone communications between Mann and Decosta over a one-year period. One chat was 38 minutes’ long. Considering they only met once in Atlanta, they now seem to have a lot to talk about. Some of the conversations occurred in December of this year, after Mann was being asked questions by the City Controller about any Decosta connection.
Maybe Mario Diaz is just calling his old boss to catch up, but in two years we tracked up to 70 phone calls or attempted calls between Diaz and Decosta. The longest was 47 minutes.
Maybe it’s all small talk about the great times in Atlanta. Mayor Turner has done the right thing to scrap the current proposals and start all over, but who is going to get the answers about the Atlanta connection.
The former controller was willing to sign a sworn affidavit after asking Mann, Diaz, Andy Icken, Councilman Martin and Mayor Parker to sign sworn affidavits.
They all refused. Seems to be fair to wonder why.
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