City Council members thought they had a deal.
When they approved hiring Larry Scirotto as Pittsburgh’s new police chief, a condition was no more moonlighting as a college basketball referee.
Later, Scirotto realized he wanted to officiate after all and offered his resignation. But Mayor Ed Gainey came up with a plan to have the deputy chief cover for Scirotto when he was away, a plan that was kept from them.
They found out when the deal surfaced in news reports. They were right to be livid. Now Scirotto is out and an interim chief takes over. The city must begin a new search.
$80,000 was spent to find Scirotto, who was paid more than 250,000 in salary and will receive a pension of about $95,000 a year. That’s an expensive price to pay for 18 months of leadership.
It is also unfortunate since Scirotto was getting good reviews. Ultimately, responsibility for this situation rests with the mayor.
It is not a good look.