Rat-infested property condemned; charges filed

Rostraver Police Chief Scott Sokol said “abhorrent conditions” included roughly 50 pigs “stuffed in a small area.”

A Rostraver Township property that has been infested with rats is now condemned, after township police went there Tuesday and discovered “abhorrent” conditions, filth and about 50 pigs squeezed into a small area.

That search led to Rostraver Township police filing a public nuisance charge Tuesday against Wendi Sue Kraemer, 59, of 4531 state Route 51, and condemning the property.

Police and Erik Mitchell, the township zoning/code enforcement official, started an investigation on the property May 18, after residents along nearby Adams Drive complained about public health and safety concerns due to rats coming from Kraemer’s property.

The criminal complaint, filed Tuesday at the office of Magisterial District Judge John Christner, adds that video from KDKA-TV showed numerous rats on the driveway of Kraemer’s property.

Mitchell issued Kraemer a township ordinance violation letter May 19, stating she was “in violation of multiple sections due to sanitary conditions of her property and infestation of rats.” The letter required Kraemer to reach out to Mitchell within 10 days of receiving the notice. Mitchell stated to police that Kraemer did not make contact with the township.

The complaint adds that Kraemer has an animal sanctuary on the property with “trash conditions,” which has led to a colony of rats settling on her property.

Police spoke with residents along Adams Drive, which borders Kraemer’s property, and they listed several encounters with rats. Some reported finding dead rats and blood, and they’ve seen the rodents digging holes around their homes, leaving some residents afraid to leave. Some residents have put out traps and poison and hired exterminators.

Rostraver Police Chief Scott Sokol told the Mon Valley Independent that he obtained a search warrant for Kraemer’s property Tuesday after they were previously denied entry.

Sokol said conditions were so appalling that his officers were vomiting when they entered the property. Sokol estimated there were around 50 pigs on the property, and he believes they were the main cause of the significant rat infestation.

“We found abhorrent conditions, filth to a level that you could not believe,” Sokol said. “There were rats present. We found a large number of pigs corralled on the property.

“They were bad conditions. All the appropriate resources have been contacted. Department of Agriculture, the Humane Services. I mean, the pigs were literally stuffed in a small area.”

Sokol said dogs and cats were found on the property as well.

“As far as the charges, we take those seriously, these allegations, and what we’ve seen out there is horrifying,” Sokol said. “And in the presence of those communities there in those streets, they don’t deserve that. We’ve got to take every step we can, and Rostraver Township is moving swiftly and efficiently to do that.”

Township Manager Jeffrey Keffer confirmed that as of Tuesday, Kraemer’s property is condemned.

“It’s an unhealthy, uninhabitable situation,” Mitchell said. “It’s just been an ongoing problem in the township for a long time, and the neighbors have finally had enough, and they reached out and we’re just handling the problem.”

Mitchell said they placed “danger” signs on the front and back entrances of the property.

Property owner claims she was ‘set up’

When contacted Tuesday, Kraemer told the Mon Valley Independent that she was “set up” and that the rats were dumped on her property. She also claims the excess trash was placed there by someone else.

“I was set up. The rats were dumped there, the garbage was dumped there, and we immediately cleaned it up,” Kraemer said. “We immediately got taken care of the rats, but this is something that’s been going on for 11 years, and this is why I’m suing the township. This is why I’m in that lawsuit with all them, because they’ve been maliciously doing things.

“Again, cutting my cameras, cutting my solar lights. My well was tampered with. I’m redoing my whole well system now because my whole well was tampered with. This stuff is nonstop. It’s been going nonstop for 11 years.”

Lawsuit dismissed, Kraemer appeals

Hostility between Kraemer and her neighbors reached a boiling point when she filed a federal lawsuit on Aug. 22, 2025, alleging Rostraver Township Commissioner Gary Beck, township Code Enforcement Officer Frank Monack, Nick Lnu, All But Furgotten Inc., Andrea Palmer, Libby Williams, Erin Cassidy, Renee Barnes and Trish Cole violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly and the right to petition. The Fourteenth Amendment defines U.S. citizenship and guarantees equal protection, due process and privileges and immunities of citizens.

The lawsuit alleges First Amendment retaliation and slander, equal protection violations, and state law claims. The case also involved allegations of discriminatory treatment and retaliation.

The suit states Kraemer moved to Adams Drive in 2015, founded Angels Journey Home Rescue, and runs it from her home, leading to neighborhood tensions and complaints about her property and activities. She claims her neighbors, including Beck, lodged complaints about trash, odors, burning garbage, structures, traffic and cats.

Kraemer admitted to having more than 20 cats, with many missing or unaccounted for, she claimed at the time of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims Beck ordered Big’s Sanitation, now known as Earthwise Environmental Solutions, to stop picking up Kraemer’s trash, as she allegedly put out up to 30 bags of garbage. In September 2020, a petition was drafted about property conditions and Kraemer believed Beck was behind it.

On Jan. 14, 2022, Kraemer’s front porch caught fire and several animals died. She claimed afterwards that Lnu, a defendant, dumped trash inside the house.

Another defendant, Palmer, a humane officer for All but Furgotten, was called to help place the surviving animals, and allegedly called Kraemer a hoarder.

After the fire, Kraemer posted a fundraiser on the Cuddly fundraising website. The suit claims Williams, Cole, Cassidy and others made negative comments about her on the page. Due to the complaints, Cuddly removed the fundraiser.

The cases against those defendants were terminated in 2023.

During a yard sale fundraiser, the suit alleges Beck used racial slurs against her rescue’s African-American volunteers.

When Kraemer started the process to get building permits to fix the house after the fire, she claimed she was treated differently when Monack required a sewage inspection before issuing a building permit, unlike others. Monack’s concern was based on Kraemer’s property lacking a septic system.

The judge dismissed the lawsuit against Beck and Monack in February 2025, stating there was a lack of admissible evidence supporting the plaintiffs’ allegations. There was also no admissible evidence of racial discrimination.

On Feb. 25, 2026, Kraemer filed an appeal, which is currently pending.

Township Solicitor Joseph Dalfonso emphasized that the public nuisance charge and condemnation are separate from Kraemer’s lawsuit.

“I can say definitively that her lawsuit has nothing to do with her current property maintenance violations,” Dalfonso said. “Today’s enforcement mechanisms had nothing to do with her lawsuit.”

Sokol said the next step is to wait for the upcoming preliminary hearing, and he believes they have found the necessary evidence to prove their case.

A preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge John Christner is set for 10 a.m. July 13.