Criminal Charges Against the August Wilson Center Threaten Building's Sale

The Allegheny County District Attorney, Stephen A. Zappala Jr.'s Office has filed theft and wage law charges against the August Wilson Center for African American Culture.

Filed on Friday, the charges against the center in downtown Allegheny could potentially prevent the desired sale of the building, which is in severe debt. The District Attorney is requesting that Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge, Lawrence O'Toole, freeze the building's assets and instate a lien on the August Wilson Center in order to investigate $32,000 worth of unpaid wages and benefits, which was intended to go to 59 stagehands for their 2013 work.

"I'm not going to let the sale close until these guys get paid," Zappala said.

The city was in the process of backing an $8.85 million plan to purchase the center and designating it a cultural asset. Were this plan to go through, however, the mortgage holder, Dollar Bank, would be paid most of the debt owed to it, but the stagehands and other creditors would not.

"We're going to do everything we can to close this month," said Michael Shiner, attorney for Judith K. Fitzgerald, the August Wilson Center's court-appointed receiver.

Former August Wilson Center chairman of the board Aaron Walton said that the stagehands and other creditors, are owed about $1 million alltogether.

Read the original article on the matter here.