Judge orders Panther Pit in Oakland to stay closed for at least a year

PITTSBURGH — The doors of the Panther Pit will remain padlocked and closed for at least the next year.

A civil court judge ordered a one-year injunction after five hours of testimony, and learning that the bar doesn’t have a liquor license, yet allegedly charged a $20 cover fee for unlimited drinks.

The bar is right on Meyran in the heart of Oakland. Police say most customers were underage college students.

Multiple agencies have been investigating the bar for nearly two years, and police have responded there at least 40 times for underage drinking, fights, and drug use.

>>> Panther Pit in Oakland raided by liquor enforcement officers

One of the bar’s owners, Prasad Margabandu, was at today’s hearing and it’s not the first time he’s been inside of a courtroom.

Two months ago, he pleaded guilty to federal bankruptcy and mail fraud in relation to a massive fire in the South Side in 2022. He filed fraudulent paperwork to prevent it from going to a Sheriff’s sale.

His legal troubles started before that fire.

From 2017 to 2018, a Channel 11 investigation found he was in trouble for unpaid taxes, and multiple times with code enforcement, after neighbors complained about the conditions at properties he owned in both Pittsburgh and Swissvale.

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