Zappala appeals ruling on Mon View Heights sale

He wants money to go toward improvements at the housing complex.

Another appeal has been filed by Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. regarding the Mon View Heights property in West Mifflin.

In a Superior Court filing Aug. 28, Zappala again asks for a temporary restraining order again so that money from the sale of Mon View Heights will be available as restitution to remediate the property.

On July 30, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos denied a motion by the DA’s office for a temporary restraining order that would have diverted $1 million from pending sale proceeds of the housing complex to be used to demolish four buildings, repair sewer lines and install a new video surveillance system.

A statement from the district attorney’s office explained they are trying again to obtain the temporary restraining order so the “horrible conditions” are fixed at Mon View Heights.

“The conditions and circumstances that the current tenants of Mon View are being forced to live in are hazardous and nothing short of life-threatening,” the statement reads. “Our urging of the Superior Court to review the denial is in hopes that these residents do not have to continue to endure the current abysmal conditions as well as yet another winter, furthering their suffering under these disastrous conditions.”

Zappala filed the original motion in June as part of his efforts to improve conditions at the sprawling complex.

In September 2024, the DA’s office filed criminal charges against the property’s owners, Mon View Apts LLC, for creating a public nuisance.

At the time, Zappala toured the 326-unit complex with West Mifflin officials and saw the blighted conditions — open sewage, collapsed ceilings, bug infestations and more.

After criminal charges were filed, the owners defaulted on their $17 million mortgage and Merchants Bank of Indiana foreclosed on the property. In a separate action in civil court, a receiver was appointed to manage Mon View Heights.

While the bank has spent more than $3.5 million to pay past due taxes and make improvements on the property, its lawyer said, the DA’s office has taken the position that the receiver and the bank should have made a greater effort to make the property habitable.

Phil DiLucente one of West Mifflin’s solicitors, and West Mifflin Councilwoman Carla Payne-Harrison were both very involved in the case. Di-Lucente declined to comment on the case, and Payne-Harrison did not respond to requests for comment.

West Mifflin mayor Chris Kelly said he’s glad the district attorney is continuing to push to help the residents of the apartment complex, but the judge’s ruling does not help the residents that are looking for new places to live.

“We offered to let (the judge) see the property,” Kelly said. “The district attorney’s office is saying ‘This is something that you’ve never seen before.’”