BOSTON -- Officials said that it is unlikely the state will be able to recover a large part of the $1 billion in money reportedly overpaid to Big Dig contractors.

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Cost Overruns Debated

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that Massachusetts Turnpike chairman Matt Amorello told a Senate committee that the state has only managed to reclaim a couple hundred thousand dollars.

"I think there's a belief in the minds of some that there is $1 billion in recoverable monies or $500 million, and that will not be the case," Amorello said. "In total, it's millions of dollars. Is it hundreds of millions of dollars? I don't believe so."

Long Debt Committee chairman Sen. Mark Montigny said that the amount the state has recovered is embarrassing.

"Even tens of millions of dollars to me is inadequate," Montigny said.

Secretary of State William Galvin was equally blunt.

"Public construction projects should not become boondoggles and should not become opportunities for private gain at the expense of the public," Galvin said.

Galvin also accused the turnpike of ignoring repeated warnings over the last three years not to destroy records.

"Their propensity to destroy so-called unofficial records, including e-mails -- there is no such thing as an unofficial record in Massachusetts," Galvin said.

Inspector General Greg Sullivan said not only were managers of the project, Bechtel/Parsons, hiding the real costs of the Big Dig, but he has documents proving the Federal Highway Administration also knew as far back as 1994 that the project was going to cost at least $2 billion more than expected.

"But the real story is that we're going to have to pay $6 billion of the Big Dig costs because we supposedly lied to the federal government," Sullivan said. "And I say and the record says that this is not true."

Bechtal/Parsons managers sat in the back of the room during the hearing and refused requests for interviews. They are scheduled to testify Wednesday.

Federal and state officials will soon form a blue-ribbon committee to coordinate efforts to recover money from contractors. Until recently, that job fell to Bechtal/Parsons.