Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish asked MassDOT's Bosworth for Oyster Harbors favor
Fish emailed Scott Bosworth asking if Oyster Harbors staff could "run a few questions by you"
Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish needed a favor.
So at 6:17pm on Wednesday December 11, 2024 Fish emailed MassDOT employee Scott Bosworth.
Would it be okay for Fish to connect Bosworth to Matt Thomas the “gentleman managing the Oyster Harbors matter, so that he could run a few questions by you. Would you be comfortable if I gave your contact information?”
About forty minutes later at 6:56pm, even as most state employees had long left the office, Bosworth responded from his official MassDOT email account with an enthusiastic: “Sure thing!”
At the time of the Fish request, Bosworth was serving as the MassDOT Selection Committee leader for the yet to be awarded 30 year service plaza lease and Suffolk Construction was a partner in the bidding with the eventual winner Applegreen, an Irish based company.
Global Partners, which lost the lease bid to Applegreen, included the Fish to Bosworth emails in the superior court case the Waltham company filed earlier this month against the Commonwealth.
Oyster Harbors is a private island for the super wealthy connected to the main land by a 1946 draw bridge, after crossing the bridge visitors encounter a staffed gate house.
Fish has owned a home on the island for years. According to Zillow, building lots start at $3M and homes range from $6-$30M+ on the Osterville enclave.
The Fish emails add to the drama surrounding the service plaza bid process, Global Partners is now suing the state and has filed a state ethics complaint against Bosworth.
Early next morning on December 12, 2024 at 6:35AM Fish thanked Bosworth: “Scott, Thanks so much! I’ll make the introduction via email now. All the best, John.”
Seven minutes later at 6:42AM later Fish looped both Bosworth and Thomas together “on the Oyster Harbors matter. I will leave it to the two of you to take it from here.”
Multiple calls to Suffolk Construction went unanswered and Bosworth hung up the phone quickly when we spoke with him Monday. The direct line number for Fish included in the emails has been disconnected.
Based upon his email address (ohgatehouse@comcast.net) Matt Thomas worked at the Oyster Harbors gatehouse. The court documents did not further describe the nature of the “Oyster Harbors matter.”
A possible MassDOT connection could be the draw bridge, which according to the records obtained from the Cape Cod Commission, was last inspected in July 2021 with a middling, but not structurally deficient grade.
