The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office on Friday padlocked the Panther Pit Bar and Grill in Oakland after the District Attorney’s Office alleged that it is a nuisance bar operating without a liquor license.
Located on Meyran Avenue, the Panther Pit was raided in September by Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement agents who seized nearly 350 gallons of liquor and 80 gallons of beer. Two previous raids were conducted last year and another was completed on Thursday.
A civil complaint filed Friday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court by the DA’s office alleged that police have been called to the Panther Pit approximately 40 times between January 2023 and last month. There were multiple calls for fighting, including one incident with a machete, as well as underage drinking and alcohol poisoning.
“These incidents all involved violence and disorderly and obscene conduct,” the complaint said.
A judge granted the DA’s office an emergency injunction to temporarily close the business.
The owners are listed in the complaint as Kenneth Plumb, 66, of White Oak, and brothers Prasad Margabandhu and Sivram Bandhu, both of Mt. Lebanon. Plumb and Bandhu did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Defense attorney Casey White, who represents Margabandhu, 48, in several criminal matters in both state and federal court, said he hopes to quickly resolve any alleged wrongdoing.
“Mr. Margabandhu is dealing with a tough time professionally and is continuously working on getting his business affairs in proper order,” White said. “He was surprised by law enforcement interest in the Panther Pit.”
Both Margabandhu and Plumb were charged in September by Liquor Control Enforcement for misdemeanor illegal liquor sales at the Panther Pit.
The DA’s office nuisance bar complaint said police were called to the bar for aggravated assaults, theft, alcohol sales to minors and drug use.
According to Pittsburgh police, they were approached around 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 25, 2023, by a woman who reported that the business was charging patrons $20 for all you can drink.
On Feb. 26, 2023, University of Pittsburgh police assisted in an inspection at the Panther Pit. Although the bar was permitted to have only 49 people inside, inspectors found 447 occupants.
Although the business allegedly operates as a restaurant, the complaint said, it does not serve any food.
The complaint alleges that the bar is a “continuous and persistent disruption of the surrounding neighborhood,” and that it ought to be permanently closed.
A hearing on the injunction is scheduled for Nov. 13.
Past problems
Margabandhu pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud and mail fraud in September in federal court. According to the indictment against him, he was accused of asking someone to set fire to a property he controlled on East Carson Street in the South Side, filing a fraudulent insurance claim and attempting to file multiple fake bankruptcies to avoid paying debts.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in that case in January.
In October, however, a probation officer sought to modify Margabandhu’s pretrial release conditions after the new liquor violation charges were filed.
According to the state court charges, during the September raid at Panther Pit, liquor control agents saw a false Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board placard in the business’s front window indicating it had a valid liquor license, though it did not.
A federal judge required Margabandhu to continue on electronic home monitoring with GPS until his sentencing but did not revoke his bond.
Margabandhu is facing charges in state court for theft, as well.
According to the documents filed in federal court, Margabandhu engaged in six “skip scan transactions” at self-checkout registers at Lowe’s and Home Depot locations where he took more than $4,000 of merchandise without paying.
Margabandhu has an extensive history in both civil and criminal court.
In 2015, the Margabandhu and Bandhu were sued for $1.1 million in back rent by the owners of Monroeville Mall over their alleged failure to pay rent for Winghart’s Burger and Whiskey Bar dating back to 2013. That case was terminated in August, according to Allegheny Court records, due to inactivity.
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Then in Westmoreland County in 2019, the brothers fought with the owner of Westmoreland Mall over their alleged failure to pay $91,000 in rent for the former Winghart’s Burger and Whiskey Bar located behind the property.
In 2019, they also attempted to transfer their expired liquor license from that location to the former Rivertowne Pub & Grille site in North Huntingdon to reopen as Winghart’s Lounge, but the township commissioners rejected the request.