PITTSBURGH — The man arrested last month and accused of orchestrating one of Western Pennsylvania’s largest-ever deed fraud schemes also owns the property where a woman fell more than 20 feet over the weekend after the stairs gave way, 11 Investigates discovered.
William Schneider’s LLC is listed as the owner of 2535 Mission Street on the South Side Slopes. It’s the same LLC that tied him to many of the 30 properties he’s accused of stealing from unsuspecting owners, including one two blocks down the road.
The house now features a large condemned sign on the front unit warning people the stairs aren’t safe.
“As I went down, the step just collapsed in,” John Thompson, another tenant on the property, recalled. “Like three minutes later, I seen her coming down. I said -- I’m not sure if she was on the phone – ‘Watch the step now, it just broke on us.’ As soon as I opened my door, all we heard is, ‘Help!’”
The stairs have since been repaired and are waiting for a follow-up inspection from code enforcement. Thompson and others said they didn’t trust the work, since contractors hired by Schneider re-used much of the wood that collapsed.
Thompson is now using a stepladder to access his neighbor’s stairs until someone trustworthy declares his safe.
Schneider defended the work in a text message relayed by his attorney Thursday.
“No complaints were filed regarding the steps [before they gave way],” he wrote. “The property passed a Section 8 inspection which deemed the property safe. The steps have since then been repaired by a qualified contractor and deemed safe by himself and another contractor.”
A family member for the woman who fell said she suffered multiple broken bones, including a broken back.
Schneider is next expected in court for the alleged fraud scheme in September.
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