Police say owners of Mon View Heights stole $580,000, created public nuisance
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Three men who own the Mon View Heights housing complex in West Mifflin were charged by police Tuesday with stealing $580,000 that could have been used to make improvements at the properties.
Instead, authorities said, the trio diverted the cash into various bank accounts connected to the apartment complex, according to court papers.
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 making a public nuisance. None had been arraigned Tuesday afternoon. Messages left for them were not returned.
Allegheny County detectives filed the accusations after a monthslong investigation into the living conditions at Mon View Heights. That probe started in September. A lengthy criminal complaint filed Tuesday indicated there were dozens of property violations and failed repeated attempts at communication by West Mifflin Borough officials with the complex’s owners, according to court papers.
The majority of units at the building failed inspection, police said.
Borough police responded to 502 calls at the housing complex between March 24 and Sept. 24 and the fire department was dispatched there 63 times in 2024, authorities said. According to Allegheny County property records, Mon View Apts LLC purchased the 326-unit Midway Drive property in December 2022 for $17 million.
“After receiving the complaint from West Mifflin, we’ve been closely monitoring all situations pertaining to subsidized housing for several months,” District Attorney Stephen Zappala said in an emailed statement. “It became clear there is a lack of accountability, and for that, the residents continue to suffer. However, we intend to hold those responsible for this failure to provide safe and decent housing; and look forward to working with the government agencies responsible for health and housing.”
Zappala toured the housing complex in October and met with residents.
Liani, Silber and Schulman were listed as the owners of the limited liability company that owns the complex, police said. Detectives reviewed bank and mortgage records related to the company and found that various amounts were transferred in and out of accounts connected to the owners, ultimately determining $580,000 that could have been used for improvements at Mon View Apartments was diverted to third-party companies controlled by Silber, according to court papers.
The Allegheny County detectives’ investigation linked Liani, Silber and Schulman to several other properties around the region that authorities said had similar living conditions. Those properties include: Gallatin Apartments in Uniontown, Palisades Manor in Rankin, Valley Royal Court in New Kensington, Bedford Hill Apartments in Pittsburgh, Bethesda Wilkinsburg Apartments, Central Hill Apartments in Pittsburgh, Elhome Apartments in Pittsburgh, Hill Com I and II in Pittsburgh and Kelly Hamilton Apartments in Pittsburgh.
Schulman and Silber pleaded guilty over the summer in New Jersey federal court to fraudulently getting two loans — for $74 million and $45 million — to buy a multifamily property in Ohio and technology park in Michigan through Rhodium Capital Advisors. Schulman and Silber pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to information released by federal prosecutors. The suspects provided lenders with false documents related to the purchase and inflated the purchase prices, prosecutors said. They are awaiting sentencing.