Engineering Firm Blasts Marion County Library After Winning Defense Verdict

New York-based Thornton Thomasetti, the engineering firm the Marion County Library's attorney's lost a 7-week trial against over the costly Central Library construction project today, had harsh words for the library and its consultants and attorneys following today's defense verdict for $712,000 in fees owed to the firm. A statement from Daniel Cuoco, President of Thornton Thomasetti reads:

The jury clearly agreed with us that the Library Board's allegations were baseless and that our counterclaim was fully justified. We continue to be troubled by the sheer waste of time and resources the Library Board's ill-advised strategies have caused for all involved.

The Library Board owes the taxpayers of Indianapolis and Marion County some honest answers--specifically why nearly $60 million of their tax dollars was spent on a garage that cost $7 million to build and why the final price tag includes $7 million in engineering fees for CTL, $6 million in fees for Indianapolis-based Beam Longest & Neff, the engineering firm retained by CTL, and $8 million in fees for the attorneys at Tabert Hahn Ernest & Weddle, also of Indianapolis.

Since the legal and engineering fees to "investigate, repair and litigate" the garage totaled three times the original construction cost, the question taxpayers should be asking is "exactly whose interests were served by this process?"

The parties involved in this travesty should be ashamed of what they have done to the taxpayers of Indianapolis and Marion County and for tarnishing the image of their respective professions.

Yes, they should be ashamed, but they aren't. They're all laughing their way to the bank about how easy it is to take money from Marion County taxpayers with the help of their elected officials and unaccountable appointed officials. As long as the campaign contributors are being taken care of, that's all that matters. Right? Will the politicians investigate their campaign contributors? No. They'll just go on throwing more of your money away on them and sweeping all allegations of wrongdoing under the carpet as if it never happened. See why the CIB gang is so confident of coming out ahead?