Reporter Jackie Majerus wrote this story for today's paper:
In the aftermath of a tragic I-95 bridge collapse in 1983, the late Gov. William O'Neill turned to Don Cassin of Bristol to head the newly created state Department of Public Works.
On Monday, Cassin mourned O'Neill, his longtime friend.
"He was the greatest, greatest man," said Cassin.
Cassin, a former state Senate clerk, said he got to know O'Neill in the Senate.
"He was just a tremendous man to be able to be able to work with other people," said Cassin. "He was one of the guys."
Cassin recalled meeting with O'Neill and a group of friends at the Parma, an Italian restaurant in Glastonbury.
"We were always very good friends, and we still are," said Cassin.
After O'Neill became governor, Cassin said, he named him to a deputy position in the state Department of Administrative Services, which had included public works projects.
But when a section of the Mianus River Bridge collapsed and killed three people, O'Neill responded with a 10-year, $6.5 billion road and bridge repair plan and created the state Department of Public Works.
He made Cassin its first commissioner.
Meetings in O'Neill's office after he became governor weren't formal, said Cassin, but cordial and effective, addressing issues across the state.
O'Neill was great when it came to public works, said Cassin, and education, too.
Their biggest project, said Cassin, was building Gampel Pavilion at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.
"That was a difficult thing for Billy and I to get moving," said Cassin.
At the time, Cassin said, the roof had collapsed at the Hartford Civic Center and it was drawing a lot of attention.
But they persevered, and both projects were completed, said Cassin.
Gampel proved a good bet.
"That was a big, big thing," said Cassin. "That was the best thing I ever did."
He and his wife Rosemarie Cassin shared dinners with O'Neill and his wife Nikki O'Neill, said Cassin. More recently, O'Neill wasn't able to get out much, Cassin said, and they shared time together over the phone.
"He was the best," said Cassin.
Information from an Associated Press report is included in this story.
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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
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