Pittsburgh City Council blocked Wednesday a final payment to a former city employee facing charges for a series of antisemitic incidents on the North Side.
Council refused to authorize a controversial $1,200 payment to Mario Ashkar for his work as a contractor amid widening concerns over the use of city credit cards, known as P-cards, following warnings by Controller Rachael Heisler.
City Councilwoman Teresa Kail-Smith tells KDKA Radio's Marty Griffin, "it's troublesome and I'd like to know, was there any communication between Public Safety and Parks and Rec or was anybody else involved."
Ashkar was paid more than $18,000 after his employment with the city ended.
