Massport axes Logan Express management firm after investigation reveals employee theft

Massport terminated the contract of a firm that manages revenue collection and operations at some Logan Express bus locations and referred it to State Police after receiving a tip that contractor employees were stealing.

“At Massport, we demand honesty and the highest level of service from our contractors, and I am deeply disappointed by the failures of ABM at our Braintree and Framingham Logan Express sites,” said Massport CEO Rich Davey.

“We’ve taken swift action against them and are bringing a new operator on board to manage operations and revenue collection at our Logan Express locations, and assure a smooth transition for our customers during this process,” he continued.

The Massachusetts Port Authority, or Massport, hired ABM Industry Groups in 2020 to manage revenue collection and operations at three of the agency’s Logan Express locations: Braintree, Framingham and Danvers, according to Massport.

A Massport spokeswoman told the Herald that the agency received a tip earlier this year on their fraud, waste and abuse hotline about the theft of bus ticket revenue at Braintree Logan Express. The agency immediately alerted the Massachusetts State Police and launched its own review, eventually hiring forensic auditing firm Deloitte to take a deep dive into the issue.

Following an investigation, Massport terminated its contract with ABM. The agency said that a new contractor will take over operations next month, but did not specify who that new contract firm will be.

Massport said the investigations found that three ABM employees were making off with cash bus fares at the Braintree location. A fourth ABM employee was found following further investigation in June to allegedly be doing the same thing at the Framingham site. Charges against the Framingham employee were filed in August, according to Massport, whereas charges are listed as pending against the others.

The Herald reached out to spokespeople from both the Norfolk and Middlesex district attorney’s offices for further information on the charges against these employees but did not receive an immediate response Tuesday evening.

An ABM spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.

ABM says on its website that its facility services division is “the preferred provider for more than 75+ airports around the world.”

The company closed at the New York Stock Exchange at $53.21 a share Tuesday, down 1.43% for the day but up 21.6% over the past year.

Massport runs Boston Logan International Airport, Worcester Regional Airport and Hanscom Field general aviation airport in Bedford. It also runs Conley Container Terminal and Flynn Cruiseport in Boston.