DA Zappala confirms ongoing investigation into City of Pittsburgh finances

PITTSBURGH — 11 Investigates is digging deeper into an investigation focused on city hall.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala confirmed Wednesday for the first time that there is an ongoing investigation into Pittsburgh’s finances.

He would not elaborate but indicated to Chief Investigator Rick Earle that it has to do with no-bid contracts, P-cards and trust funds.

This comes after he executed a search warrant last month when the city refused to give him the investigative file on the controversial P-card purchases.

The city launched an internal investigation after a contract worker in Parks and Rec was paid through PayPal using a P-card.

The issue came to light after the contractor was accused of ethnic intimidation.

The city said the investigation determined that the head of parks and rec violated policies...But there was no evidence of a crime.

Wednesday, the DA suggested there’s more to it.

“We got enough we could charge if we wanted to, but there’s a bigger picture we’re trying to address,” Zappala said.

In addition to the P-cards, zappala said he’s also looking at city trust funds, questioning why money from the parks fund isn’t being used.

He’s also continuing a probe into no-bid contracts that began last year when he reviewed a no-bid police staffing study that he contends provided little value to city taxpayers.

“As much as I believe people, and want to believe that they’re honest, there’s no accounting for this money. It’s the same thing with these no-bid contracts, there’s no performance audit on the back side, what are we getting in return for what the taxpayers are spending,” Zappala said.

Earle reached out to the city for a response but has not heard back.

The day after that search warrant was executed, Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak told Earle he had no idea what the DA was after, adding there’s no basis for a criminal investigation.

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