School board director claims signature was forged on letter supporting Amazon bid

PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh Public Schools board director says his signature was forged on documents submitted as part of Pittsburgh’s Amazon bid.

Kevin Carter said someone else put his signature on a letter from the district supporting the city’s bid for Amazon’s second headquarters. But the one that was included in the bid is fake, he claims.

The Pittsburgh Public School District is now launching an independent investigation into an alleged forged signature on the district's Amazon letter submitted to the mayor's office.

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A week ago – the city released its unsuccessful bid for Amazon’s second headquarters.

The offered package was valued at $4 billion over 25 years. Included in the collaborative proposal was Pittsburgh Public Schools.

One page, in particular, stood out to School Board Director Kevin Carter and his attorney.

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"It's a very serious matter to have a public official's signature placed on a letter, committing the district to hundreds of millions of dollars," said Chuck Pascal, his attorney.

Carter posted on his Facebook page overnight, writing in part,

"It was brought to my attention that I signed a commitment letter on behalf of the school district. I would like the general public to know that I never seen, nor did I sign any letters to Amazon on behalf of the district."

He goes on to say his signature was forged, even posting a comparison of what was allegedly submitted in the proposal versus his signature from his 2015 election petition.

District solicitor Ira Weiss says the district is launching an investigation into the matter.

"The fact that Amazon has not chosen Pittsburgh for 'HQ2' and the fact that this letter did not legally bind the district into any tax incentive programs is entirely irrelevant," Weiss said in a statement. "It's critical that we get to the bottom of this immediately."

When Channel 11 tracked down Mayor Bill Peduto – he denied his office forged any signature and confirmed having lengthy discussions with the solicitor.

"Our assumption was that both Mr. Carter and Dr. Hamlet were briefed by the solicitor and signed the document themselves," Peduto said.

Carter's attorney told Channel 11 it's too early to say if any lawsuit will be filed, but stressed this is a very serious offense, which is why they too will be conducting their own investigation.

Cox Media Group