Gov. Romney Wants Control of Big Dig Probe

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to reporters during a news conference at the Statehouse in Boston Tuesday, July 11, 2006. Romney said he was concerned about the safety of the Big Dig tunnels, and that he would seek to remove Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Chairman Matthew Amorello,after concrete ceiling panels collapsed, killing Milena Delvalle, 38, a native of Costa Rica. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds) (Josh Reynolds - AP)

Romney, who is considering seeking the 2008 Democratic nomination for president, has focused his sharpest criticism on the Turnpike Authority. After the deadly ceiling collapse, he said he would take legal action to oust Amorello as it's chief.

The powerful Boston law firm WilmerHale has agreed to represent the state on a pro bono basis, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said Thursday.

Amorello has refused calls for his resignation, saying, "There's obviously a lot of politics involved."

The connector tunnel's eastbound lanes, meanwhile, are closed indefinitely to ensure safety and to collect more evidence in a possible criminal investigation of the tunnels' designers and builders.

Federal investigators are checking whether companies involved in that area fulfilled their obligations, U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said.

His office brought the first criminal charges in the trouble-plagued Big Dig project in May against six men who worked for its largest concrete supplier, accusing them of falsifying records to hide the inferior quality of concrete.

"We obviously want to identify any public safety risks ... but also to ensure that what the government paid for _ through tax dollars _ is in fact what was delivered," Sullivan told The Associated Press.

Avi Mor, of Dr. Mor & Associates, a California-based consulting firm specializing in analysis of construction defects, said if concrete failure was to blame for the collapse of the panel, investigators would likely find pieces of concrete still epoxied to the tie rods.

Reilly said one bolt that failed was a "clean break" and had no concrete attached to it.

Cab driver Steve Past, 45, said his passengers have been jittery about the tunnels since the collapse.

"The drivers aren't so scared, but people sitting in the back seat are scared. Because who knows? Today one piece falls down, tomorrow another piece," he said.

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Associated Press writers Steve LeBlanc and Ling Liu contributed to this report.