Editorial: Was Pittsburgh credit card scandal really no big deal?
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It was just an honest mistake.
That was the Pittsburgh Office of Management and Budget Director Jake Pawlak’s interpretation of the misuse of city credit cards to pay a former employee as a contractor.
A six-page summary of the three-month Office of Municipal Investigations probe was issued Wednesday, assuring everyone there is nothing to worry about. No major discipline is required. No changes need to be made.
Well, that’s a relief. Nice to know everything is aboveboard and there’s nothing to see. Maybe the city should tell the rest of the government though.
The credit card scandal came to light when Controller Rachael Heisler questioned payments made to Mario Ashkar for coordinating farmers markets. The “p-cards,” or purchasing cards, are not meant for that kind of payment, which should go through a more formal process.
The cards are meant for things like subscriptions to a necessary online service or pizza for a meeting — not $23,000 in off-payroll services. How do we know that? There’s a $10,000 cap on how much any particular vendor can be paid on a card.
Once passing that point, the contractor should have been hired. But Ashkar was previously fired from working for the county. Parks and Recreation Director Kathryn Vargas knew that before contracting with him and before authorizing payments. The report even pointed to that knowledge.
“I felt that it was a way for management to not deal with their own deficiencies in creating a supportive work culture,” Vargas was quoted.
That sounds not only knowing but deliberate — that avoiding the rules was not a mistake but a decision.
Heisler has promised an inquiry separate from the Office of Management Investigations and has criticized Mayor Ed Gainey for a lack of cooperation. Instead, Gainey worked only with the now-completed probe done by an office answerable, ultimately, to his administration.
Even if he doesn’t cooperate with Heisler, Gainey has another issue. The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office is joining in, serving a search warrant Tuesday on the Office of Municipal Investigations after being denied information requested earlier in the month.
The smart thing for the Gainey administration to do in this case would have been to step aside and allow Heisler to do her job, cooperating fully at every turn. She is independently elected to be a fiscal watchdog. She raised the question about the p-cards in the first place.
And most importantly, having the administration completely hands-off of any investigation prevents suspicion and second-guessing. It’s like appointing a special prosecutor — except there is already someone empowered to do that in city government.
Heisler and the DA’s office may come to the same conclusion in the end. Maybe Vargas’ actions were simply a series of errors that can be corrected with more oversight and better training.
But after three months, it’s hard to call the Gainey administration’s decision an honest mistake. Like the use of the cards, it was a deliberate choice.