Amid scandal, new state treasurer bans contract finder fees

AP-PA--Pennsylvania News Digest, PA

TARENTUM, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania mall that was foreclosed on after its owners failed to repay $143 million has been auctioned off for $100. Wells Fargo Bank was owed the money from a 2006 loan and submitted the winning bid for the 1.1 million-square-foot Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills on Wednesday. The bank was acting as trustee for MSCI 2007 HQ11, the trust that bought the mall in suburban Frazer Township. Wells Fargo foreclosed last year on the mall, which opened in 2005. The mall once was worth $190 million but recently was appraised at just $11 million and is slightly more than half occupied. Pittsburgh Mills Limited Partnership defaulted on the loan. Wells Fargo and the mall's new owners haven't commented on the purchase. ___ This story has been corrected to show Wells Fargo Bank acted as a trustee, it didn't buy the mall, and it was the mall, not the bank, that was auctioned off.

Foreclosed mall once valued at $190M is auctioned for $100