B-THREE SOLUTIONS

City police IT contractor says it plans to sue police officer who filed federal whistleblower lawsuit

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B-Three Solutions plans to sue a Pittsburgh police officer who claims in a federal lawsuit that he uncovered problems with the firm’s police technology.

The fallout from the Feb. 14 lawsuit was “like a sucker punch straight to the gut,” B-Three President Michael Walton said in a statement, referencing media coverage of the lawsuit and statements from city officials.

B-THREE SOLUTIONS
City Council took action on Tuesday to both fund B-Three Solutions and introduce oversight to the way the city does business with private companies. (Photo by J. Dale Shoemaker/PublicSource)

City Council passes funding for B-Three Solutions, introduces new oversight measures

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After weeks of deliberations, Pittsburgh City Council members voted on Tuesday to fund a $572,640 maintenance and upgrade contract with an IT contractor embroiled in controversy. But in the same meeting, two council members introduced legislation that they hope will provide necessary oversight of the way the city does business with private companies. Plum-based contractor B-Three Solutions has provided multiple city departments with software. Most notably, police officers use B-Three systems on a daily basis to file reports and track crime. A Feb.

B-THREE SOLUTIONS

A whistleblower suit alleged problems with police tech. Now Pittsburgh’s chief confirms three key systems, paid in full, were never implemented

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Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert confirmed Wednesday for the first time that three police software systems the city paid for have never been implemented. Those systems are the same ones named in a recent whistleblower lawsuit as having been paid for and allegedly never finished.

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(Illustration by Anita Dufalla/PublicSource)

Feds not currently investigating Pittsburgh city employee relationships with B-Three Solutions

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The FBI today said it is not currently investigating the City of Pittsburgh’s relationship with B-Three Solutions.

PublicSource reported on Feb. 14 that former Chief of Police Cameron McLay referred concerns about the possibility of improper ties between city staff and the Plum-based contractor to the FBI in November 2015. When McLay resigned a year later, that investigation was active, McLay said in a statement.

PublicSource Investigation
(Illustration by Anita DuFalla/PublicSource

How the Pittsburgh police bureau’s work with an IT company escaped city oversight for more than a decade

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Some members of city council struggle to recall B-Three Solutions or what the company has done for the city. B-Three has been commissioned to build the police bureau’s flagship data system and several related projects along with programs for the Department of Finance and the Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections. The city has paid B-Three about $4.3 million since late 2009.

PublicSource Investigation
(Illustration by Anita Dufalla/PublicSource)

Lawsuit: Pittsburgh police officer faced retaliation from Public Safety official for scrutinizing software projects

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Updated 2/20/18: The FBI confirmed to PublicSource that it does not have an open investigation into the city's relationship with B-Three. A Pittsburgh police officer filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming he faced retaliation for raising alarms about potential “waste and wrongdoing” at the police bureau. Being vocal about alleged problems with police software projects put him in the crosshairs of one of the city’s most influential Public Safety officials. As a result, Souroth Chatterji, a native of India, became the subject of threats and racism within the bureau, according to a whistleblower lawsuit filed in federal court. Chatterji filed the lawsuit against Deputy Public Safety Director Linda Rosato-Barone and the City of Pittsburgh.