James Kerasiotes

{{Short description|American politician}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|honorific-prefix =

|name = James Kerasiotes

|honorific-suffix =

|image =

|imagesize =

|smallimage =

|caption =

|order =

|office = Director of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority

|term_start = July 1, 1996

|term_end = April 11, 2000

|predecessor = Allan R. McKinnon

|successor = Andrew Natsios

|office1 = Secretary of Transportation of Massachusetts

|governor1 = Bill Weld
Paul Cellucci

|term_start1 = 1992

|term_end1 = 1998

|predecessor1 = Richard L. Taylor

|successor1 = Patrick J. Moynihan

|party = Republican

|profession = Newspaper Publisher

|spouse =

|residence = Massachusetts

}}

James J. Kerasiotes (born 1953 or 1954{{cite news |title=Former Secretary of Transportation James Kerasiotes Sentenced to Six Months in Jail for Tax Evasion |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/former-secretary-transportation-james-kerasiotes-sentenced-six-months-jail-tax-evasion |access-date=14 October 2024 |agency=U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts |publisher=U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts |date=February 5, 2015}}) is an American polician who served as the director of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the project manager of the Big Dig in Boston during the 1990s.

After serving as Secretary of Transportation in the Cabinets of Governors William Weld and Paul Celluci from 1992 to 1998, Kerasiotis was appointed to the Turnpike Authority, and quickly established a reputation as a hard-nosed manager who often fired people.{{cite web |title=Part 5: Hatchet Man vs. the 800 Pound Gorilla |url=https://www.wgbh.org/part-5-hatchet-man-vs-the-800-pound-gorilla |website=GBH |publisher=GBH |access-date=14 October 2024}} As the cost of the megaproject spiraled out of control, Kerasiotis publicly reassured the public that the project was on track, though he privately quarreled with the project's construction firm, Bechtel. He was asked to resign by Massachusetts governor Paul Celucci on April 11, 2000. The Big Dig was officially completed in December 2007 at a cost of $8.08 billion.

Before entering state government, Kerasiotes was publisher of NewsWest, a suburban newspaper in eastern Massachusetts, and later a director of Tab Communications, a chain of weekly newspapers west of Boston.{{Cite web|url=http://graphics.boston.com/globe/metro/packages/spotlight_dig/kersio.htm|title=Boston Globe Online / Spotlight / Whitey and the FBI}} He also was involved in the creation of the monster board.

In July 2014, Kerasiotes was charged in federal court with filing false personal income tax returns.{{cite web|

url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/ma/news/2014/July/KerasiotesJameschargePR.html|

title=Former State Secretary of Transportation Charged with Filing False Tax Returns|

date=15 December 2014|

publisher=United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts}} He pleaded guilty on September 11, 2014, before Judge William G. Young{{cite web|

url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/09/11/former-big-dig-chief-kerasiotes-pleads-guilty-tax-crimes-faces-prison/CxaJ5xdX1NvQLj4KQBGd1L/story.html|

publisher=The Boston Globe|

author=Milton J. Valencia|

title=Former Big Dig chief pleads guilty to tax crimes|

date=September 11, 2014}} and was sentenced to 6 months in prison.{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/former-secretary-transportation-james-kerasiotes-sentenced-six-months-jail-tax-evasion|title= Former Secretary of Transportation James Kerasiotes Sentenced to Six Months in Jail for Tax Evasion|date= February 5, 2015|publisher=United States Department of Justice|accessdate=October 29, 2018}}