A Pittsburgh councilman wants people appointed to run city departments and bureaus to answer council’s questions under oath.
The move by Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, comes after council learned that Larry Scirotto, the city’s former police chief, was less than candid during public questioning about whether he would continue to referee college basketball while running the police bureau.
During an interview with council members before the body approved his nomination as chief, Scirotto, a longtime NCAA basketball official, said he would give up refereeing to focus full-time on his duties with the police force
He did not make that statement under oath, however.
Council members later learned he’d had an agreement with Mayor Ed Gainey all along that would allow him to eventually return to officiating games.
In an effort to curb such issues in the future, Coghill on Wednesday introduced legislation that would require appointees to field questions from council members during interviews under oath.
“At these interviews, appointees are answering questions from council members but they are speaking to the people,” Coghill said in a statement.
The goal, he said, is to deter future candidates from deceiving the public in the way some officials said Scirotto had done.
Scirotto resigned amid the controversy last year.
Coghill said he believed that anyone who lied to council members under oath could be fired or have benefits revoked.
The councilman wanted Scirotto’s pension reduced or revoked because he felt the former chief was hired under false pretenses, but the city did not have recourse for such actions.
Coghill said he felt compelling people to take an oath prior to their testimony would deter dishonest answers from future appointees.
He hopes the legislation will be approved before the mayor appoints a new police chief, who council will interview before approving.
“We’re not doing it to prosecute anybody necessarily, but we are doing it so we have truth at the table,” Coghill said, adding that lying to officials under oath could potentially lead to formal perjury charges.
Coghill said a district judge or notary could administer oaths.
City Council will further consider the legislation ahead of a preliminary vote next week. The measure could be ready for a final vote as soon as the following week.
