Charges withdrawn against Mon View Heights accountant as owners face preliminary hearing

The owners of Mon View Heights apartments in West Mifflin faced a preliminary hearing on felony charges on Friday. Prosecutors say the lack of maintenance at the complex put tenants at risk. 

Three people were supposed to face a preliminary hearing but that number went down to two as one of the defendants had the charges dropped against him. After that came several witnesses with a litany of problems at Mon View Heights that they say are not only dangerous but potentially deadly.

"In a respectful way: 'How dare you blame me? I'm just the accountant,'" said Fred Rabner, the defense attorney for Jonathan Liani.

Rabner said charges were dropped for his client, a former accountant and vendor for the owners of Mon View Heights.

"Once they saw that he was only on the signator of account as a backend bookkeeper, much like you would maybe authorize a paycheck company or someone else to execute your checks, once that came to light, I think it was pretty obvious that he had no culpability whatsoever," Rabner said. 

Liani was initially charged along with the property's owners, Frederick Schulman and Moshe "Mark" Silber, with theft, causing or risking a catastrophe, receiving stolen property, conspiracy and making a public nuisance.

West Mifflin Police Chief Gregory McCulloch took the stand, saying the West Mifflin facility was in a deplorable condition, with trash not being picked up and raw sewage leaking into where children stood for the school bus. McCulloch also told the court that there were broken windows and rodents and cockroaches in units, and the grass wasn't being cut. 

Silber is in federal custody in New York and Schulman is wearing an ankle monitor and is forbidden from participating in any real estate business. Both watched the testimony via video.

Also testifying was Homeville Fire Chief Ronald Lowe, who told the court Mon View Heights' fire hydrants did not produce enough pressure to fight a fire and 90% of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors didn't work. Open electrical junction boxes are also accessible to children, and he called the place "a clear hazard."

The hearing is expected to continue next week.