Already facing a civil lawsuit over the condition of its roads at Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer, owner Namdar Realty Group now could face criminal charges.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Friday it has executed a search warrant aimed at Namdar and opened a criminal investigation.
“We can confirm that a search warrant was applied for, approved and executed as part of an investigation. We can make no further comments,” said Rebecca Spangler, first assistant district attorney.
Namdar did not respond to repeated requests for comment Thursday and Friday.
It is not clear exactly what the focus of the investigation is, but there was wide speculation on social media Friday it could involve a road maintenance fee paid by many of the businesses at Pittsburgh Mills.
The roads there have been the target of shoppers’ ire for more than a year, with potholes being blamed for damage to vehicles trying to reach stores at the shopping center and mall. A Facebook group, Pittsburgh Mills Mess, is dedicated to documenting road conditions there and allowing members to vent about their issues with the potholes.
Nicole Harber of Cheswick said she would be surprised if Namdar was held accountable, but she was glad to hear it might happen.
“It’s a hazard just to come up here,” Harber said. “You can’t always swerve out of the way of the potholes, you just have to go really slow over them.”
Taylor Detzer of Tarentum said she has witnessed multiple near collisions from people slamming on their brakes to avoid the deep craters that mark the roads around the mall complex.
“It’s ridiculous,” she said. “But it’s close to home and it saves time.”
New York City-based Namdar said last year it was developing a plan to repair the roads. On Friday, a Latrobe paving company repaired a road behind the Aldi store at Pittsburgh Mills with new asphalt, but it was not immediately known who paid for the work.
Last week, a company spread gravel on the same road to fill in large potholes. A Walmart spokesperson earlier confirmed the company paid for the gravel work, as well as the filling of some potholes behind the Michael’s store, so Walmart’s delivery trucks could reach the store.
A Walmart spokesman declined to comment Friday on the criminal investigation of Namdar.
Namdar, which owns 400 commercial properties across the country, including several malls in Pennsylvania, is known in the industry for its business model of buying failing retail sites without making significant investments in upkeep. The company typically sells properties to developers at a profit when tenants leave.
Because Namdar owns the roads at Pittsburgh Mills, they are considered private property, leaving Frazer and state officials powerless to repair them.
Frazer last year filed a civil suit against Namdar, claiming the condition of the roads had become a public nuisance. That case has yet to go to court.
Staff writer Tawnya Panizzi contributed to this report.
