The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has reached an agreement to get out of a risky deal with the bankrupt Lehman Brothers, which officials said netted $31 million and cleared away a fiscal cloud looming over the financially troubled agency.
Turnpike Executive Director Alan Lebovidge on Monday said the rare bit of positive financial news should have no effect on planned toll hikes, but at least one Turnpike board member said the deal should give the agency breathing room to delay any increases.
Alert BMG readers will remember that the reason you may soon have to pay $7 to travel on the Pike, or a lot more in gas taxes, is because the Turnpike Authority may have to pay $363-$470 million (reports vary) to cover another swaption agreement it made with Swiss bank (and IRS tax fraud enabler and Nazi slave labor exploiter) UBS. The Lehman agreement, according to the Authority's financial adviser Lamont Financial Services, was entered into to offset the UBS agreement. More here. So much for that offset, I guess. Interestingly, the AP article mentions another swaption agreement with J.P. Morgan that hasn't previously been discussed -- no doubt in a diligent effort to offset the Lehman and UBS agreements. Anyone care to make sense of this? Perhaps some of our beloved readers from the Turnpike Authority?
