Robert A. Cerasoli

Robert A. Cerasoli is a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, the former Inspector General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the former Inspector General of the City of New Orleans. He also founded the Association of Inspectors General in 1996.

Cerasoli completed his undergraduate education at the American University and his graduate education at the Kennedy School of Government.

Cerasoli is retired from over 37 years of public service in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of New Orleans, Louisiana.

He began his public service career in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1975 and served as chairman of the House Post Audit and Oversight Committee, a "fiscal watchdog panel". During his time, he investigated the matter of Massachusetts' prisons giving furloughs to some murderers, prompted by the well-publicized Willie Horton story. In 1989, when House Speaker George Keverian demanded that he and other representatives either support a bill for higher taxes or lose their jobs, Cerasoli resigned instead, knowing that he could not support the bill.

In 1991, Cerasoli was chosen unanimously to serve as the Inspector General (IG) of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He launched several investigations and issued many reports but is most widely known for pointing out flaws in the Big Dig highway construction project through the city of Boston. The report would prove to be an "I told you so" when part of the tunnel would later collapse as a result of "cutting corners", causing one death. Although then-outgoing Massachusetts governor Paul Cellucci removed funding for the state IG in his next budget, the Massachusetts House of Representatives changed the figures to include $2.3 million for the office, defending it from what was widely seen as retribution for criticism of the governor's handling of the Big Dig. Cerasoli was one of two finalists in a run for Inspector General of the United States House of Representatives, but there was widespread speculation that a Republican candidate would instead be chosen due to Republican control in the House.

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