Plum firm plans to sue city officer

Says it was damaged by false claims in his lawsuit

A Plum-based software consultant is pushing back against a harsh portrayal in a whistleblower case, signaling that it intends to sue the Pittsburgh police officer behind the civil litigation.

In a lawsuit filed last month, city Officer Souroth Chatterji said he faced internal retaliation when he investigated an assistant police chief’s potential involvement with the company, B-Three Solutions Inc. Officer Chatterji alleged the city paid B-Three millions of dollars for technology updates and upgrades that weren’t entirely completed.

B-Three attorney Komron Jon Maknoon called on the city Tuesday to “release all internal documents and emails related to the Chatterji-B-Three investigation that we know exist.” Earlier in the day, council agreed to renew a relationship with the company for two years — for up to $572,640 — after

officials said B-Three’s software maintenance remains crucial, including to the police bureau.

At a council meeting last week, Lee Haller, the city director of innovation and performance, called B-Three “a good partner to us.”

The company has rejected Officer Chatterji’s depiction.

“After being smeared in the public eye for weeks, BThree has patiently sat back and waited for the truth to come out — and it has not,” Mr. Maknoon said in a statement. “During this time, BThree has conducted its own investigation that will strongly support its position moving forward.”

The company “endured weeks of negative media coverage and false claims of misconduct due to a sub-par [information-technology] evaluation performed by Officer Chatterji,” according to a BThreenews release. Company president Michael Walton said public comments made by city officials — “based solely upon Officer Chatterji’s allegations” — were shocking anddamaging.

B-Three has had a 12-year partnership with the city, never before hearing that Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration was unsatisfied with the company’s tech services, Mr. Walton said in a statement.

Officer Chatterji’s attorney, Alec Wright, declined to comment. Mr. Peduto, in an interview, said the administration vented “no comments like that” about BThree. Rather, its criticism focuses on the city’s own past disjointed management of technology, he said.

Over time, Mr. Peduto’s office has said, the city wants to bring more software management in-house from outside vendors. Down the hall, Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith introduced legislation Tuesday to give council more and earlier insight into forthcoming contracts with potential contractors of all stripes.

Exact mechanisms for that have yet to be crafted.

“It’s to make sure that we have more eyes on the [request-for-proposals] process and on consulting and contracts,” Mrs. Kail-Smith said. She’s concerned that council couldn’t delay consideration on the latest BThree contract given immediate technical needs in public safety, she said.

An ongoing review by Pittsburgh’s Office of Municipal Investigations is checking on B-Three’s performance and other elements, including any potential conflicts, Mr. Peduto said. The FBIalready looked and found no criminal activity, he said. Told of Mr. Maknoon’s call for records, he invited the company to make a specific anddetailed request.

Mr. Maknoon plans to file litigation against Officer Chatterji next week, according to B-Three. The officer’s suit against the city and Assistant Chief Linda Barone is pending.

“This guy needs to realize that we’re not just going to sit back and be a stepping stone on his path to an attempted payout from the city,” B-Three’s Mr. Walton said.