Pittsburgh Public School District Director Claims His Signature Was Forged On Amazon HQ2 Support Letter
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh Public School Director Kevin Carter says his signature was forged on a letter, signed by district Superintendent Dr. Anthony Hamlet, and sent to Amazon in support of Pittsburgh's Amazon bid.
In a statement, Carter said: "I have never seen, nor did I sign any letters to Amazon on behalf of the district. Any letter or materials included in the Amazon proposal with my signature was fraudulently forged."
Carter is the chair of the School Board's Business and Finance Committee.
On Facebook, he showed his real signature and compared it to one he said was a real signature.
In a separate statement, School District Solicitor Ira Weiss said the district would investigate, noting: "The district is immediately launching an independent investigation regarding the allegations of a forged signature on the Pittsburgh Public School District 'Amazon' letter submitted at the request of the city of Pittsburgh's Mayor's Office."
That prompted a cryptic response from Mayor Peduto:
"The school district's solicitor Ira Weiss delivered to the city a letter of support from the Pittsburgh Public Schools signed by Dr. Hamlet and school board member Carter. The letter was delivered after a meeting where the district's solicitor was fully briefed on the process and bid proposal."
Sources tell KDKA that the letter was actually drafted by the city and sent to the school district for signature, and that the mayor's office wanted Carter - as chair of the Business and Finance Committee - to sign the letter, instead of Regina Holley, who is president of the school board.
KDKA has also learned that the school district is hiring a Beaver County company called CSI, Corporate Security and Investigations, to determine, first, was Carter's signature forged, and, if so, who did it.
