Pittsburgh city wants answers about Scirotto’s arbitration agreement with Gainey

The Pittsburgh City Council will try today to uncover details about how lame-duck police Chief Larry Scirotto cut a secret deal with Mayor Ed Gainey to return to part-time college basketball officiating while also running the city’s police department.

The council is expected to question Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt and Acting Chief Christopher Ragland, who will replace Scirotto on an interim basis, at a public meeting this afternoon.

In light of Scirotto’s sudden decision to resign last week, the council also wants to discuss his permanent replacement.

Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, previously called the meeting Scirotto announced his resignation on Friday in the middle Controversy surrounding decision to continue part-time NCAA officiating job this would force him to leave town frequently during basketball season.

The purpose of the meeting was initially to help council members and the public understand how Scirotto would balance both jobs.

Coghill said the focus will now shift to the circumstances that led to Scirotto’s resignation and the process of finding a new chief.

Coghill said he did not expect Scirotto to attend the meeting, although he was invited. Scirotto’s retirement is effective Nov. 1, but he will be out of office until then, he told city leaders in a letter Friday.

Trust and transparency

Coghill said there were several issues he hoped to cover at the meeting, including questions about Scirotto’s retirement, the selection process that recommended him and poor communication surrounding the arbitration announcement.

When was Scirotto? Elected police chief in May 2023He told council members he would quit refereeing.

However, after news broke earlier this month that Scirotto had quietly resumed his duties as a referee, the mayor said they agreed that Scirotto would step away from refereeing for a limited period of time and revisit the issue.

Coghill wants to know why this deal is so secret.

He is also involved in an audit that took place in Fort Lauderdale while Scirotto was leading the Florida city’s police force.

Control, TribLive’s latest take weekHe claimed that Scirotto double-dived and was paid to work as police chief while he was actually in the field. No action was taken regarding the audit, and Scirotto dismissed it as politically motivated.

“For me, it will mostly be about transparency,” Coghill said Monday.

Assemblywoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, said she felt the Gainey administration needed to rebuild public trust after the controversy surrounding Scirotto’s departure and his secret dealings with the mayor.

He emphasized his concerns about Scirotto refereeing a game before publicly announcing that he would return to officiating basketball. He said the chief and mayor released the information only after facing pressure from the media.

“Then a plan was devised to turn this into an opportunity to help kids or whatever,” Strassburger said.

Gainey had said Scirotto would take local youth to matches he refereed, but no details about such an initiative were disclosed.

Strassburger said Tuesday’s meeting was supposed to be “a forensic look at how we got to this point.”

“I am truly disappointed not only with (Scirotto’s) decision to retire and choose arbitration over police chief, but also the factors that led to his retirement,” he said. “I will have to work to repair the trust in me.”

Choosing a new chef

He said a public, transparent process to select a new chief is a step in the right direction. He said he’s hopeful the conversation will start at Tuesday’s meeting.

Coghill also said he wants to begin discussions about making the search for Scirotto’s replacement public and providing council members with enough information to make an informed decision. He said he plans to vet the candidates more thoroughly this time.

“The whole process has to be open,” he said, adding that he hopes the new chief will be someone who works or has worked in the bureau and can commit to prioritizing the city’s police force.

The selection process that resulted in Scirotto’s hiring took place largely behind closed doors, with selection committee members signing confidentiality agreements with the city.

Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, said Tuesday’s meeting could also be an opportunity for council members and the public to learn more about Ragland, a 30-year veteran who served as deputy chief and will now lead the 750-member police bureau. .