DA Files Felony Charge Against Mon View Heights Landlord

Allegheny County Prosecutor Stephen A. Zappala Jr. has charged the owners of the Mon View Heights subsidized housing complex in West Mifflin with felony charges amid allegations of failing water systems, rodent infestations and of insects, mold growth and a child falling through the floor.

The charge of causing or risking a disaster marks an escalation in the ongoing battle between Zappala and Mon View LLC, the owner of the troubled resort. Last month, the prosecutor charged Mon View LLC with a lower-level misdemeanor for public nuisance and a summary offense involving wastewater violations.

“This is another piece of the larger problem at hand,” Zappala said in a statement Monday. “We will continue to address these major issues as they arise with the health and safety of residents top of mind. »

The criminal complaint cited a litany of problems at the site, from potholes in the street to boarded up windows to unpaid bills from vendors to sewage dumped into the street.

On Oct. 11, the West Mifflin Police Department responded to the complex after a 3-year-old girl reportedly fell through a kitchen floor in one of the apartments.

The girl’s mother told a police officer that she and her daughter were in the kitchen when the floor collapsed beneath the girl’s feet, causing her leg to fall off, according to a criminal complaint. Police reported a 2-foot-long hole that may have been caused by rotten wood, the complaint states.

On Oct. 10, all five fire hydrants at the complex failed an inspection, according to the district attorney’s office. Authorities determined the water system did not have sufficient water pressure to extinguish a fire.

Two days later, the prosecutor authorized a third-party plumber to repair the failing fire hydrant system.

Authorities said the fire hydrant near the entrance to the complex had been out of service for more than a year.

Children living in the apartment complex play in the area near the open sewers, according to the complaint.

Inspections of the property revealed a number of serious problems, officials alleged in the complaint, including mold growth, midge infestations, units without running water and broken showers.

One apartment was deemed “completely unlivable” because it was filled with trash, mold and insects, and the ceiling had collapsed.

West Mifflin police responded to 502 calls at the Mon View Heights housing complex from March 24 to Sept. 24, officials said in the complaint. The calls involved domestic disputes, shootings, suspicious activity, child abuse, burglaries and assaults.

There have been at least 62 arrests or arrest warrants issued during this period.

My View Apts. LLC purchased the 326-unit property in December 2022 for $17 million, according to Allegheny County property records.

Most of the units failed an inspection over the summer. The property was fined $180,000 earlier this year for fire hydrant and occupancy violations.

The county health department has 13 open cases and five judgments against Mon View Heights in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, according to Zappala’s office.

No one could be reached in the apartment complex’s management office.

Related:

• DA’s office accuses owner of Mon View Apartments of creating public nuisance

• ‘It’s just wrong’: Zappala visits problematic West Mifflin housing complex