Former Gov. Dick Thornburgh wrote a commentary for the Harrisburg Patriot News calling for the abolition of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Thornburgh wrote that “abuse of tax dollars is a turnpike tenet,” adding that the commission “is a haven for those who wish to gorge themselves upon commonwealth tax dollars and load the payroll for political purposes. This type of patronage abuse has no place in Pennsylvania politics.”

Thornburgh’s column was published Dec. 27, 2009. It could have been written today.

Given last week’s announcement of a series of criminal charges following four years of investigation and grand jury testimony, Thornburgh’s call for abolishing the turnpike panel should be given fresh attention.

The corruption charges against a former state senator, three former top turnpike commission executives and two businessmen involved a “pay to play” culture. Investigators with the state attorney general’s office allege that commission members pressured bidders for turnpike work, such as engineering companies or financial firms, to provide gifts to commissioners or make political contributions to politicians in Harrisburg.

The key figures facing charges include former state Sen. Robert Mellow, already in prison for other public corruption charges, along with former Turnpike CEO Joseph Brimmeier. A third high-profile target in the case is Mitchell Rubin, the former chairman of the turnpike commission and a man with close ties to former state Sen. Vincent Fumo, now serving time in a federal prison after being found guilty of more than 100 corruption charges including misuse of state resources and misuse of assets of two nonprofit organizations.

The corruption outlined in the 85-page grand jury report is shocking. But on the other hand it is not shocking, because the turnpike commission has for decades been characterized as a hotbed of patronage jobs, no-bid contracts, influence peddling and more.

The grand jury report released last week describes a corrupt culture, not a few incidents. Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane noted that “these were blatant actions. It was almost as though they had no fear of being caught.”

Kane’s comment about no fear of being caught sounds like the culture in the Legislature regarding Bonusgate, using staffers for political work and to help run re-election campaigns.

Kane noted that companies seeking contracts with the turnpike commission were made to understand that they had a better chance of winning contracts if they made political contributions to particular campaigns favored by the commission brass.

One observer agreed, saying, “You can just look at the list of (political) contributors and look at the list of Turnpike contract holders and draw your own conclusions.”

The allegations of pay-to-play at the turnpike commission bring back memories of the way power brokers in politics often work. So, it’s not surprising to learn that Mellow, already in prison on unrelated corruption charges, will again face prosecution. Nor is it surprising to learn that Fumo, also in federal prison, played a role in the pay-to-play culture. Fumo is not a target of the latest charges, but several of those facing charges had close ties to him.

Through the corrupt culture of favoritism, some individuals profited, and the turnpike ended up paying more for goods and services than necessary. Millions of dollars were likely misspent.

This story should be followed as more evidence emerges and trials are held. The public should press state legislators to pay attention too — and finally clean up the turnpike commission.

The best answer might be what Thornburgh suggested in 2009 — abolish it.