After 14 months with little progress addressing deteriorating living conditions at the Mon View Heights housing complex in West Mifflin, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said he is prepared to take a more aggressive approach.
The complex, which has failed repeated inspections, is infested with raccoons, skunks, bedbugs, rats, roaches and mold, residents and officials said. There have been reports of missing windows, leaking pipes, open sewage, collapsed ceilings and no hot water as well.
Zappala said as of Wednesday, there are about 180 families, including 20 elderly residents, living in the 326-unit Midway Drive property, which he said is currently owned by Merchants Bank of Indianapolis.
He now plans to consider criminal charges against the bank.
The bank receives monthly federal Housing and Urban Development money and is involved in foreclosure proceedings on the property, according to Zappala.
“We’re going to put the bank on notice that when you foreclose on a piece of property, you are now de facto the owner of that property,” he said. “You’re no different than the people we’re going to put in jail.
“You’re going to become defendants in a criminal action — unless you start making sense in how we collect this money and how we use this money, because obviously, none of it has gone to reduce public safety.”
Zappala said as of Wednesday, his office has prepared an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint against the bank, but that he intends to talk to them first, if possible.
“We’re going to start protecting these people a little bit more aggressively, and I’m going to have some discussions with both the civil side and the criminal side and see where we’re at,” he said.
In addition to Mon View Heights, Zappala said he is investigating three other housing complexes linked to the same owners: Palisades Plaza in Rankin and two in Westmoreland County.
“They’re in exactly the same conditions … that is something that smacks of racketeering,” he said. “That is a serious matter, and I’m going to make sure the bank understands you do transactions in Western Pennsylvania like this, and we’re going to look at the appropriate sanctions.”
‘Public nuisance’
Zappala said the situation at Mon View Heights has been frustrating.
“But we intend to push now with the bank,” he said.
He’s looking for answers about an escrow fund that is now empty. He did not reveal how much was in the fund.
“That escrow fund was to insure that property against catastrophic loss. The insured are supposed to be the tenants. The insured is the bank. How does that make any sense? How was that permitted to happen?” Zappala said during his Wednesday press conference.
Zappala said he is also investigating the possible misuse of $1 million in capital improvements funds for the property.
Mayor Chris Kelly of West Mifflin said many of the units in decrepit condition are still occupied by tenants.
“Not one child up there has been asked to be brought into this world and live under these conditions,” he said of a slideshow featuring images of the conditions that was shared with members of the press Wednesday. “There are times that a child shares his breakfast cereal with raccoons and skunks, a lady washing dishes with an umbrella over her head.
“These are conditions that none of us would expect any of our family to live in.”
Zappala toured the complex publicly in October 2024, speaking with residents after a complaint charged Mon View Apts LLC criminally with creating a public nuisance and sewage violations.
In February 2025, three men who owned the Mon View Heights housing complex were charged by police with stealing $580,000 that could have been used to make improvements at the properties.
Jonathan Liani, 39, Moshe Silber, 35, and Frederick Schulman, 72, all of New York, are charged with theft, causing or risking a catastrophe, receiving stolen property, conspiracy and creating a public nuisance.
Instead of making improvements, they diverted the cash into various bank accounts connected to the apartment complex, according to court papers.
Zappala said the Mon View Heights situation still constitutes a public nuisance, giving his office the criminal authority to abate it.
We’re going to start with fire protection and public safety, and we’re going to have a nice discussion with these people, and I’m going to tell them exactly where we’re prepared to go,” he said.
‘Substandard housing’
Carla Payne-Harrison, who serves on West Mifflin Council, said she’s been working closely with Mon View Heights residents, listening to their concerns.
“Their concerns are very valid,” she said. “They are living in substandard housing. They’re living in conditions where none of us (would) want to live.”
But now, after meeting with Zappala’s office, the Allegheny County Housing Authority and other council members on Wednesday, she’s confident the situation will change.
Payne-Harrison and Zappala agreed the residents won’t have to endure another winter at Mon View in the current conditions.
“When it’s really, really cold, pipes are busting. They don’t have any water — they don’t have any heat,” she said. “So now, they’re relocated to hotels.”
Often, Payne-Harrison said the residents can’t cook at the hotels, so they can’t bring the food they had at Mon View with them.
“So now, they’re in hotels, and they need to be fed,” she said. “So members of borough council, the mayor of West Mifflin, (are) footing those costs.”
Moving forward, Zappala said they are looking at different alternatives, one being relocating people from the Mon View property — based on availability and the amenities that they would need, for instance, to take care of children.
Zappala said, however, when thinking of the older population living there, they might not want to move.
”These guys do not want to move,” he said, referring to elderly residents. “This is their home.”
Karen Santoro, also on West Mifflin Council, agreed.
“It’s just such a sad situation. And not only with children; there’s seniors living there, and they have nowhere to go, and they’re afraid,” she said. “Some of them have lived there 50 years, and they’re really concerned of what’s going to happen to them if they have to be moved.”
Santoro said the meeting with council members, Zappala and other city officials was productive, though.