“It’s just wrong”: Zappala tours the problematic West Mifflin housing complex

Missing windows. Leaking pipes. Open sewage. Collapsed ceilings. No hot water.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. and West Mifflin officials toured the Mon View Apartments on Friday to assess conditions at the condominium, days after harassment charges were filed against the company that owns it .

The complex, which has failed repeated inspections, is infested with raccoons, skunks, bed bugs, cockroaches and mold, residents and officials said.

“It’s just wrong,” Zappala said Friday during a news conference outside the complex. “We’re talking about human lives here… it’s a disgrace.”

The complaint filed Monday criminally accused Mon View Apts LLC of creating a public nuisance and sanitation violations.

Zappala’s office also issued two search warrants in connection with the complaint – one locally and one in the Hill District. Zappala did not elaborate on the latter arrest warrant.

He said the law allows him, as district attorney, to address “intangible losses caused by the lack of safe and adequate housing” on behalf of victims.

According to Allegheny County property records, Mon View Apts LLC purchased the 326-unit Midway Drive property in December 2022 for $17 million.

Since then, the company has failed to correct the “despicable” and “dangerous” conditions and make the necessary improvements to pass inspection, prosecutors said.

Currently 79 units are empty and cannot be occupied. About 250 families live in the complex, which is subsidized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Zappala said.

“We know who the owners of the LLC are,” Zappala said. “I haven’t charged them yet because I haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk to them to find out what they would do to rectify the situation.”

Zappala said the owners are based in New Jersey. He declined to name her because no charges have been filed against her.

“I’m confident that if they don’t burden the owners at this point, they will come to the table and do the right thing,” he said.

Unpaid bills, crime, sewage

Of 129 units inspected over the summer, 96 failed, according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators met with Winn Residential Property Management, whose representatives told investigators they took over oversight of the complex in August.

“These are good people,” Zappala said. “There’s only so much you can do, but you need the owner to give you the money to take care of the business, and that hasn’t been done.”

A Winn Residential employee told prosecutors that the company had discovered numerous unpaid bills from suppliers and did not have the money to fix problems in the units, the complaint said.

According to West Mifflin police, the department has responded to 502 calls for service at the complex in the last six months, including 31 domestic disputes, 12 shootings and 24 welfare checks.

On Tuesday, Allegheny County police were called to a homicide at the complex. Nathaniel Walker, 54, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police reported on September 9 that raw sewage leaked from a building into a parking lot.

Zappala said West Mifflin Police Chief Gregory McCulloch called the Allegheny Health Department about the wastewater on Sept. 9 and did not receive a call back as of Friday.

“This is unacceptable,” Zappala said.

Finances are not right

According to Zappala, rent for Mon View apartments ranges from $900 for a one-bedroom unit to $1,450 for a four-bedroom unit.

A third of the rent comes from residents, the rest comes from HUD, totaling about $230,000 per month.

According to Zappala, checks from Mon View Apts LLC began increasing in July.

“There is no money in the accounts,” he said.

Zappala said the search warrants revealed that Mon View’s owners were not using their HUD payments at the complex.

“It’s almost as if the owners of this property wanted it to fail,” he said.

“If someone is eligible for a HUD grant … that is their money, and it was given to them for the purpose of providing safe and adequate housing,” he said. “They are denied that.”

The prosecutor said he would ask a judge for permission to direct the HUD grant to the county sheriff’s office so it could be used to address health problems at the complex.

“(The) owners won’t be paid anymore if I have my way,” Zappala said.

Health concerns

Zappala said he has never seen living conditions as bad as those in Mon View.

According to Zappala, a bus stop on the property, where both school buses and Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses arrive, is the complex’s “hub” — the site of an open manhole through which raw sewage has spilled onto the street.

“The day we were out here, there was sewage spilling onto the street,” Zappala said, referring to a Sept. 20 site visit. “Right in front of the bus stop there are potholes where sewage has actually accumulated and these kids are the ones.” I stand there waiting to catch a bus.

Mon View has a playground, basketball court and ball field, but they are overgrown and virtually unusable.

Next Steps

Zappala said it was unclear whether buildings would have to be demolished.

Going forward, Zappala said he is optimistic for Mon View but needs a judge’s help.

“I have no intention of tearing anything down or evicting anyone,” he said. “This is their home and we will protect their home.”