Allegheny County Council on Tuesday rejected Executive Rich Fitzgerald's nomination of a Squirrel Hill businessman to the county Finance and Development Commission.
Council voted 6-7 with one abstention and one member absent, meaning the appointment of Mark Aloe, 67, co-owner of Aloe Brothers LLC, a coal-mining firm, fell short of receiving a majority vote on the 15-member council.
“I learned that there was an indictment in Nebraska against Mr. Aloe, and that has me very concerned,” said Councilwoman Sue Means, R-Bethel Park.
Aloe was an investor in Pacesetter Corp. of America, an Omaha, Neb.-based home improvement firm that, records show, authorities accused of embezzling from an employee benefit fund. As part of a settlement agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Omaha in 2010, prosecutors dropped the embezzlement charges. Aloe was prohibited from holding a position in which he would oversee or manage an employee benefit plans for 14 years, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
“The more I research on this individual, the more troubled I am, and I will be a no, a definite no,” Means said.
Aloe has said he was not involved with Pacesetter beyond investing money in it to keep it afloat.
