May 26—Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to have the Rialto in downtown Greensburg declared a nuisance bar.

If approved by a county judge, the move would shutter the restaurant and bar — which has been closed since the end of last year — for 12 months.

"That the Rialto Inc. has been operated in a manner that constitutes a public nuisance under the Liquor Code for reasons outlined ... the continued operation of Rialto Inc. bar-club will result in irreparable injury to the commonwealth because of the strong likelihood of continuance of ... conduct," the lawsuit states.

Meanwhile, a proposed consent decree between the district attorney's office and the Rialto's owner about the bar's future is under review by a county judge, according to a statement released Friday by the prosecutor's office.

"While this process took time, the owner and the DA's office worked hand-in-hand to preserve the safety of the community," Ziccarelli said.

The bar at the corner of Otterman Street and Pennsylvania Avenue and across from the Westmoreland County Courthouse has been at the center of several violent incidents recently, including a shooting that injured a passerby.

The lawsuit identified 29 separate incidents dating to Jan. 29, 2021, in which Greensburg and state police and Westmoreland County detectives responded, such as incidents of public intoxication and fights including one when as many as 40 customers spilled out of the bar and blocked traffic, according to the district attorney's lawsuit.

Court documents said that during the last six months of 2021, police made 13 arrests for public drunkenness and other offenses that stemmed from fights and other acts of violence.

In January 2022, two men were arrested and charged with attempted murder in connection with a shooting outside the Rialto, according to prosecutors. Police said Evan Curley, 24, of Greensburg and Stevin German, 28, of Uniontown fired 10 shots during melee. A window on a walking bridge above Pennsylvania Avenue linking the county Courthouse Annex and Extension buildings was shattered, a bystander was wounded and Curley was shot during that incident.

Prosecutions against Curley and German are pending.

A man was stabbed outside the bar in an incident Nov. 23, according to the district attorney. Police said Joseph R. Williams of New Alexandria was stabbed as many as 10 times during the altercation. Anthony J. Sharp, 31, of Jeannette was charged with attempted homicide and other offenses and is free on $250,000 bail as he awaits trial.

In a separate lawsuit filed by Williams this year, he claimed the Rialto operated that night with an expired liquor license.

The Rialto has been closed since last year and its owner, John Rullo, formerly of Greensburg, has said he attempted to sell the business.

Rullo on Friday declined to discuss the district attorney's court filing or details of the proposed consent order.

In an interview in March, Rullo denied the bar's liquor license had expired prior to the stabbing and said the business was being operated that night by a potential new owner who had agreed to buy the establishment, which first opened in 1933.

"The place should never have been opened," Rullo said. "The restaurant was and is under contract. This is a huge mess."

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .