Internal emails detail communications with former city worker accused of ethnic intimidation

Internal emails obtained by 11 Investigates are shedding new light on that former City of Pittsburgh worker who is now charged with ethnic intimidation.

The City of Pittsburgh Controller’s Office is also firing back at the Mayor’s Office for refusing to turn over documents and information related to the former employee’s job.

Nine days after police released a surveillance photo of a man wanted for alleged intimidation on North Side, Pittsburgh Parks was communicating with Mario Ashkar, attempting to work out his pay for April. It’s unclear if anyone knew he was the suspect in the spray painting of antisemitic words on a sidewalk in the Mexican War Streets section of the city’s North Side.

>>> Pittsburgh man charged with ethnic intimidation for allegedly damaging Israeli flag

In an email obtained by 11 Investigates, dated May 3rd, with the subject, UPDATED APRIL INVOICE, Parks and Recreations Director Kathryn Vargas wrote to Ashkar and the department’s Finance Administrator “this is approved to process.”

It’s unclear what update was made to the invoice, but earlier this week the Mayor’s Communications director denied any impropriety.

“The assertation that the city paid Mario Ashkar after the administration was made aware that charges would be filed against him are false,” said Maria Montano, the Mayor’s Director of Communications.

Ashkar was charged by police on May 10th.

Earlier this week, Pittsburgh City Council suspended the $1,200 April payment to Ashkar after Controller Rachael Heisler raised questions about Ashkar’s previous employment with the city, his controversial rehiring and how he was paid.

>>> City of Pittsburgh accused of improperly paying former city employee turned contractor

11 Investigates first told you Ashkar was hired as a Special Events Coordinator in Public Safety in June of 2022. Six months later he was fired for poor performance.

But five months after that, according to an email, he was rehired by City Parks at $30 per hour 15 hours per week to assist with the Farmers’ Market.

Sources said officials in Parks and Recreation were aware of his firing from Public Safety but hired him anyway, to do a very similar job.

>>> 11 Investigates: Ethnic intimidation suspect had been fired from city 2 years ago, then rehired

Ashkar, who had received $18,000 so far, was paid by check first but then through a purchasing card or p-card via PayPal to the name of Princess Jafar.

Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak admitted it was a violation of policy.

“In this case, there was, I believe understandable, though ultimately still, a serious mistake made,” said Pawlak, who said that the mistake was made in the Department of Parks and Recreation.

Controller Heisler also said there were no time sheets or records detailing the work Ashkar performed. She also questioned how Ashkar was put in touch with Parks and Rec after being fired from Public Safety. The two officers are on the same floor of the City-County building.

“I would like to see those invoices and what he was billing the city for,” Heisler said.

Heisler also requested all of that information from the Mayor’s office, but the Administration refused and said they would refer the case to the Office of Municipal Investigations.

An emailed statement from the Mayor’s Office reads:

“As public servants, we have a responsibility to handle records regarding personnel matters in accordance with city policy, state, and federal laws. This is especially true if those records are going to be part of any type of investigation.

Over the past several days, Controller Heisler has made several public statements regarding potential investigations, as well as information regarding personnel related matters.

We appreciate that she has notified us of this, and her eagerness to ensure the validity of this P-card transaction. However, the proper step would be to refer this matter to the Office of Municipal Investigations. They have the policies, legal authority, and experience managing confidential personnel records. Therefore, in order to ensure that this never happens again, the Office of the Mayor will be referring this matter to the Office of Municipal Investigations and will cooperate fully with the investigation.

We look forward to being as transparent and as cooperative as we can be in this process. At this time the City has no further comment pending the completion of the investigation.”

Heisler also released an email statement, critical of the Mayor’s office decision to go to OMI instead. Her statement reads:

“I’m disappointed that the administration has dismissed our request to turn over materials regarding the p-card abuse we have uncovered in the last week. By their own admission, they have known about the troubling situation surrounding payments to Mario Ashkar for nearly four weeks. Only now are they referring the matter to the Office of Municipal Investigations after the information became public. That is not transparent or cooperative – it is, however, disappointing.

“While I appreciate the belated involvement of OMI and respect their role in investigating employee conduct, we will also continue to move forward with our audit of the City’s p-card program. I believe it is well within the scope of the Controller’s office to seek the necessary financial records to audit the accounts of City Departments – including all associated paperwork, communications, memorandums of understanding, and other relevant documentation. Delayed or absent responses to relevant record requests obstruct the work that the Controller’s office does on behalf of taxpayers.

“We will continue to pursue the materials we need to complete our audit through alternate means. My office will provide City Council with initial recommendations to improve the p-card system in the coming days. Unfortunately, these recommendations will not be fully informed due to the lack of records provided by City Departments.

“Ultimately, this is all pretty simple. My office is trying to figure out how and why this happened in the case involving Mario Ashkar, whether anyone else has used p-cards to make similar improper payments, and what we need to do to make sure it never happens again. I’m eager to tell City residents what we find and ensure that we’re doing the right thing with their tax dollars.”

11 Investigates also reached out to Ashkar, via email, but has not heard back.

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