"Massport names corporate security chief, raises fees"

Thursday, September 26, 2002

Massport names corporate security chief, raises fees 
The Associated Press


BOSTON - A 30-year veteran of the Army and CIA who served in some of the
world's major trouble spots was hired yesterday to oversee security at
Logan International Airport and the Port of Boston. 

Dennis Treece, 53, of Marietta, Ga., will become the Massachusetts Port
Authority's first director of corporate security, a position created
after the Sept. 11 attacks to coordinate protection of the agency's
assets, which includes two regional airports and the Tobin Bridge.

Treece, who was a colonel when he retired from the Army two years ago,
served in Vietnam, Germany, Bosnia, Kosovo and Kuwait. He received a
Purple Heart, three Bronze Stars, two Legions of Merit and other awards.
He was assigned to the CIA from 1995 to 1997.

"Like most Americans, I wanted to do something constructive after the
attacks of 9-11," Treece told the board yesterday. "As a security
professional this opportunity to pilot the Massport security operations
gives me the chance to get on the security front lines once again."

Treece, who will be paid $200,000 and receive relocation expenses of no
more than $35,000, is the second high-salaried executive hired by
Massport in the last several months.

The board hired George Hertz to the $190,000-per-year agency vice
president's job in July.

Both men were recruited by an independent search firm hired by Massport
to avoid appearances of patronage that have haunted the agency in the
past.

Treece characterized himself as a "complete outsider" and called any
questions of patronage irrelevant.

"In selecting Colonel Treece, we have found someone who has been on the
front lines, defending our country's freedom for 30 years," Massport
chief executive Craig P. Coy said.

Massport previously had a director of public safety, Joseph Lawless, who
was reassigned to oversee port security following the attacks.

Treece will take a "much more big picture perspective," Massport
spokesman Jose Juves said.

Since his retirement from the Army, Treece worked at Internet Security
Systems in Atlanta, where he helped design, build and staff a global
threat operations center to monitor threats to computer networks.

Treece will work closely with Logan's federal security director, George
Naccara, who works for new Transportation Security Administration,
created to safeguard aviation after the attacks.

Also yesterday, the board increased Logan landing fees by 60 percent to
compensate for the downturn in business since last fall.

Logan had 27.7 million passengers and 488,000 flights in 2000, and 24.2
million passengers and 454,600 flights last year. This year, officials
estimate 23 million passengers and up to 410,000 flights.

On Oct. 1, the landing fee per 1,000 pounds will increase from $2.35 to
$3.76. Currently, airlines must pay a landing fee ranging from $256 to
$275 for a Boeing 737. Under the new schedule, the fee would range
between $410 and $440.

The previous greatest increase in the past decade was between 1993 and
1994, when the fee rose from $1.69 to $1.90, or about 12 percent.

The landing fee covers the airport's cost of operations and cannot be
used to generate a profit. Because costs weren't as high last year, due
to the downturn in business after Sept. 11, airlines will get a rebate
on what they paid last year, officials said.

These kinds of fees make up between 3 and 3.5 percent of the airlines'
operating costs, Juves said.

"This only emphasizes, once again, the need for Massport and our air
carrier business partners to continue working closely together to
weather these difficult times," Coy said.


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