WASHINGTON, Pa. — The owner of a building that toppled in Washington, trapping a woman for nine hours, is blaming a neighbor for the collapse.
The building owner’s attorney says he's been unfairly portrayed in the media and is not the slumlord he has been called.
She says a water issue from a neighboring building caused the collapse.
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"The neighboring building is taller and I can see that the downspouts go to the end. They don't go anywhere. The water runs down and on to Mr. (Mark) Russo's roof,” Beth Tarasi, his attorney, said. She added the weight of that water caused the collapse.
Russo was cited by the city for other issues, but Tarasi says those citations had nothing to do with the roof and did not contribute to the collapse.
"Everyone that I spoke to that went in and investigated the building said that they didn't see that he was being any kind of slumlord they said it was nice housing,” Tarasi said.
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Russo was supposed to be in court for those citations, but Tarasi had the case postponed in light of this new information.
She says they're working hard to get the building torn down and resolve this issue.
"He's very sorry that this happened and he feels bad."