DA Zappala files felony charge against West Mifflin housing complex
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The owners of a West Mifflin housing complex have been charged with a felony over dangerous conditions affecting the residents in more than 200 units.
District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. on Monday charged Mon View LLC, the company responsible for the MonView Heights housing complex, with causing or risking a catastrophe.
A criminal complaint against the company outlines many dangerous conditions residents have been living with, including mold, rodent and insect infestation, structural damage, failing water systems and running sewage.
The Allegheny County Health Department has 13 open cases and five judgments against the complex.
On Oct. 10, the county fire marshal, DA and West Mifflin Fire Department inspected the five fire hydrants inside the complex. Each one failed, Mr. Zappala said.
It was also determined that the water system lacked sufficient pressure to extinguish a fire, and a third-party plumber was directed to fix the failures.
On Oct. 11, West Mifflin police also responded to a call about a 3-year-old girl who fell through the kitchen floor of one of the units.
“This is another piece of the larger ongoing issue,” Mr. Zappala said. “We will continue to address these major issues as they arise with the priority of residents’ health and safety in mind.”
Earlier this month, Mr. Zappala filed a public nuisance citation against the limited liability company that owns the complex, citing the deplorable conditions both inside and outside, including a hillside where raw sewage had been spilling into the street, pooling in a large pothole right next to a school bus stop. It had been full of human waste and hygiene products.
Of the 129 units West Mifflin code officials have inspected in recent months, 96 have been deemed uninhabitable.
The apartments range in price from $900 to $1,450 per month. Photos on the complex’s property rental website show small but tidy apartments with hardwood floors and clean white walls. Photos taken by residents showed a very different reality, with crumbling drywall, water damage and black mold.
Mr. Zappala said the complex receives about $233,000 a month in federal subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. For at least August and September, he said, “there has not been a dime put into that site.”