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KDKA Investigates: Over Past 2 Years, Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Did Not File Financial Disclosures

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- After three weeks of asking, Pittsburgh Public School Superintendent Anthony Hamlet again declined our questions arising out of his unauthorized trip to Cuba and the spending of millions on dozens of contracts without competitive review.

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And today, city Controller Michael Lamb asked another: For the past two years, why has Hamlet failed to file a financial disclosure statement as required under the state Ethics Act?

"No one lives above the law. We have rules and laws that we have to follow and this is one of them," Lamb said.

The disclosures, which are required of all elected and appointed public officials, are designed to reveal conflicts of interests in their actions such as the awarding of contracts.

"It's to disclose any gifts, any financial interests, and debts. All those are important things to know when you're making decisions for the public," explained Lamb.

In response to our reports, an independent investigator hired by the board is trying to determine whether Hamlet's trip to Cuba with the vendor flying classroom constituted such a gift.

And the state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is investigating millions of dollars in technology contracts to determine whether favoritism was involved. Now Lamb is requesting a third investigation.

"We've taken the step of filing a formal complaint with the Ethics Commission to alert them to this and to do a further investigation and review," he said.

Today at a press conference, Hamlet appealed for the state to increase its funding formula to urban district -- but left early before we could ask him about failing to file these disclosure forms or the questions we've raised about these contacts.

But that doesn't mean we'll quit asking.

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