PITTSBURGH \u2014 Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala says he expects criminal charges to be filed in the investigation into the City of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
Six weeks ago, he served a search warrant<\/a> on City Hall for documents related to the administration of former Mayor Ed Gainey. <\/p>\n PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> District attorney speaks out on search warrant for former Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey\u2019s records<\/a><\/p>\n The news from Zappala marks a big development in an investigation that has been going on for more than a year. <\/p>\n Chief Investigator Rick Earle spoke exclusively with the DA on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Earle: \u201cDo you expect criminal charges in this case?\u201d<\/p>\n Zappala: \u201cI would expect some people to be charged. Absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n Gainey has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying he welcomes the investigation and has nothing to hide. <\/p>\n For the first time, Zappala confirmed he expects charges to be filed. <\/p>\n He would not elaborate, but sources tell 11 Investigates that charges may be filed against people who received tax dollars and misappropriated them.<\/p>\n Zappala previously said that money meant for youth programs never made it to the youths. On Wednesday afternoon, he reiterated the focus of the investigation.<\/p>\n Zappala: \u201cYou already know that part of what we are looking for is no-bid contracts, and I mentioned the other day there\u2019s a tremendous amount of COVID money which doesn\u2019t seem to be spent or at least accountable, and we\u2019re looking at all that stuff too.\u201d<\/p>\n In late March, Zappala served a sealed search warrant on City Hall requesting dozens of contracts and documents. He says the new administration under Mayor Corey O\u2019Connor is cooperating with the probe.<\/p>\n He adds that the investigation will take time. <\/p>\n Zappala: \u201cSo, there\u2019s a tremendous amount of evidence that we have to go through. The city has been diligent, trying to get that to us. … They\u2019ve been very accommodating, and they\u2019re trying to move as quickly as they can.\u201d<\/p>\n Zappala had requested that the warrant be sealed for 60 days so as not to tip off any potential targets.<\/p>\n That will be up by the end of this month. <\/p>\n Zappala says he expects it to be unsealed and made public soon. <\/p>\n Download the FREE WPXI News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>. | Watch WPXI NOW<\/a><\/p>\n TOP STORIES FROM CHANNEL 11 NEWS <\/p>\n \u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n