Commission finishes look at Hamlet’s financial disclosures
City Controller Michael Lamb said Wednesday that a state commission has completed its investigation into allegations that Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet may have violated the State Ethics Act by failing to file two years of financial interest statements.
Mr. Lamb said he received a letter about a month ago that the state Ethics Commission had completed its investigation and gave Mr. Hamlet the opportunity to respond.
The controller said he has not seen the results of the investigation, was not aware if any penalties had been levied, and does not know whether Mr. Hamlet responded.
Ebony Pugh, a district spokeswoman, said she could not comment on the matter Wednesday, but Mr. Hamlet would respond “with full transparency” during a virtual news conference at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Mr. Lamb, who also acts as controller for the school district, received the letter about the conclusion of the investigation because he filed the initial complaint with the commission in 2019.
He filed the complaint two weeks after the district hired an independent investigator to look into an unauthorized trip to Cuba taken by Mr. Hamlet and other administrators with the owner of a company with past business ties to the district.
Mr. Lamb said in a letter to the district solicitor at the time that a review had showed Mr. Hamlet failed to file the required documents for 2017 and 2018. The filings require the disclosure of information such as income sources, creditors and costs related to transportation, lodging and hospitality.
“As a result of these findings, I am reporting this information to the state Ethics Commission for further review and investigation in the form of a formal complaint,” Mr. Lamb wrote.
According to the State Ethics Act, public officials must file a financial interest statement covering the previous calendar year no later than May 1.