DA files new charge against Mon View Heights' owner

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office filed a new charge against the owner of the Mon View Heights housing complex in West Mifflin.

In a news release on Monday, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said Mon View Apartments LLC was charged with a felony count of causing or risking catastrophe.

"This is another piece of the larger ongoing issue," Zappala said in the news release. "We will continue to address these major issues as they arise with the priority of residents' health and safety in mind."

The new charge comes weeks after the district attorney's office declared the housing complex a public nuisance . Mon View Apartments LLC bought the complex at the start of 2023 and has consistently failed to make necessary improvements, Zappala said in a news release when announcing the public nuisance designation.

"I've never seen a circumstance like this where people have to live under these kinds of conditions. It's just wrong," Zappala said while touring the housing complex earlier this month.

On Monday, the district attorney's office said crews from various offices visited the housing complex on Oct. 10 to inspect fire hydrants. Officials said all five hydrants failed the inspection and "the water system lacked sufficient water pressure" to extinguish a fire in an emergency.

One day later, Zappala said the West Mifflin Police Department responded to reports of a 3-year-old girl who fell through the kitchen floor at one of the units.

The Allegheny County Health Department also has 13 open cases and five judgments filed against the owner of the building in court, the DA said on Monday.

"The criminal complaint outlines many dangerous living conditions that residents of the complex have been subject to such as mold growth, rodent and insect infestations, structural damage and failing water systems," Monday's news release said.