Rich Cholodofsky stories
Former Greensburg officer Regina McAtee, convicted in drug case, fights to keep city pension
A retired Greensburg police officer convicted in a federal drug trafficking scheme is appealing a decision that rescinded and forfeited a portion of her pension. The lawyer for Regina McAtee claims the Greensburg police pension commission erred this month when it ordered she return more than $75,000 in retirement benefits...
Judge denies bond for New Kensington teen accused of shooting
A Westmoreland County prosecutor told a judge a 17-year-old New Kensington youth coerced witnesses, concocted a plot to shank a corrections officer and made threats against police officers while in jail. Logan J. King was charged in connection with a September shooting outside the Valley Royal Court apartment complex in...
Intervala expands at former Westmoreland Sony site, plans to hire 45 workersVideo
The former Sony site in East Huntingdon once hummed with television production; today, it is finding new life as a high-tech anchor thanks to a $6 million expansion by electronics manufacturer Intervala. The company, which moved into the RIDC Westmoreland Innovation Center near New Stanton in 2021, announced Thursday it...
Judge weighs evidence of past violence in Rostraver homicide case
Prosecutors say a Westmoreland County jury should hear evidence that a man charged with the murder of his live-in girlfriend last year in Rostraver has a history of violence against women. A former girlfriend testified during a pretrial hearing Wednesday that Robert Chaplin assaulted her and threatened her at gunpoint...
Bill Mazeroski’s run for office: A Pirates legend at the center of a political turning point
More than two decades after Bill Mazeroski’s famous home run in the 1960 World Series, the Pittsburgh Pirates legend was at the center of what many believe was the beginning of the end of Democratic control of Westmoreland County politics. In the spring of 1987, Mazeroski, then a Hempfield resident,...
Donora man sentenced for 2022 Rostraver home shooting; will be part of federal time in different case
A Donora man was ordered to serve at least four years in state prison for firing shots at a Rostraver home. But in reality, Tre Robert Goins, 31, should be in prison for more than a decade, once his sentence in a different case is factored in. Goins pleaded guilty...
Mother of slain Arnold man demands names of accomplices at sentencing
Phyllis Williams demanded to look into the eyes of the man convicted of murdering her son six years ago as she directly asked him to reveal who else was involved in the fatal shooting. “I am a grieving mother who lost my only son, who was a wonderful son and...
Westmoreland juvenile center to double capacity as $1M security project wraps
A long-discussed plan to double capacity at Westmoreland County’s juvenile detention center is expected to accelerate in the coming months, officials said Monday. Director Rich Gordon told members of the county’s juvenile detention board that a nearly $1 million project to replace doors and locks throughout the Regional Youth Services...
Monroeville man sentenced to prison for robbery of guns, cash from Unity home
A Monroeville man was sentenced Friday to serve at least six years in prison for the robbery of guns and cash from a Unity home more than two years ago. Myles F. Kacin, 20, pleaded guilty in September to felony counts of robbery, conspiracy, aggravated assault and connected offenses in...
Police say N.J. man exposed himself, made ethnic threats at Forbes Hospital
A New Jersey man is accused of threatening and exposing himself to staff on Valentine’s Day at a Monroeville hospital and damaging equipment in an examination room. Matthew Doherty, 32, was charged with indecent assault, making terroristic and ethnic threats, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief in connection with the Feb....
Trafford man sues Westmoreland Country Club over injury
A hazard near the 18th green at Westmoreland Country Club was more than just a penalty for a poor shot, according to a lawsuit filed this week. Matthew D. Zegarelli of Trafford claims he was injured when he stepped into a hole from a sprinkler head hidden under overgrown grass...
Less than a day after Westmoreland Transit OKs $64K for tariffs, Supreme Court strikes them down
Less than one day after the Westmoreland County Transit Authority board agreed to pay an extra $64,000 in tariffs for a new fleet of buses, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled President Trump exceeded his authority in imposing the trade duties. The board met Thursday to authorize the payment to cover...
Unity man pleads guilty to threats against personal care home worker
A Unity man pleaded guilty Wednesday to threatening the life of a personal care home worker last year. Ryan D. Hoover, 35, told a Westmoreland County judge he was under the influence of drugs when he barged into the Kelly’s II Personal Care home in Unity on Sept. 25 and...
Westmoreland water authority says harsh winter weather stressed system
Arctic winter conditions that set upon Western Pennsylvania over the past month have the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County working overtime. Snow and freezing temperatures in late January and early February resulted in hundreds of water line breaks, leaks, frozen pipes and longer work hours for the crews assigned to...
Repeated drug deals nets Trafford man prison sentence
A Trafford man who police claimed sold drugs to an undercover officer on multiple occasions was ordered to serve up to 12 years in prison. Vondae Duane Freeman, 40, pleaded guilty in November to three felony counts including one weapons offense and two drug charges in connection with what state...
4th person sentenced in Westmoreland catalytic converter theft ring
The last of four people charged with operating a catalytic converter theft ring throughout Westmoreland County in 2022 was ordered to serve at least 21 months in prison. Vince Lamar Skillings, 48, of Derry pleaded guilty last February to theft and two additional felony counts in connection with his role...
Westmoreland Hospital, former nurses sued again for alleged mistreatment of patients
A third lawsuit has been filed against a Westmoreland County hospital and four former staffers accused of mistreating patients. According to court documents, the alleged incidents occurred over five days in late June 2024 after Shirley Stouffer of Hempfield was admitted to Independence Health’s Westmoreland Hospital with heart issues and...
Plan for proposed Westmoreland convention center stalls
Progress on a proposed Westmoreland convention center pitched by the county’s chamber of commerce appears to have stalled. Chamber President Dan DeBone confirmed funding remains the major sticking point, preventing forward movement on what is estimated to be an $86 million project in Hempfield. Last August, the chamber released results...
Ohio woman pleads guilty to theft, forgery scheme at Murrysville, Irwin banks
An Ohio woman charged last summer in an identity theft and forgery scheme at banks in Murrysville and Irwin was paroled last week after pleading guilty to her role in what authorities described as a multi-state operation. Jennifer C. Folzenlogin, 63, of Cincinnati, was arrested last July following a regional...
Westmoreland public safety director retires, commissioners promote top deputyVideo
Roland “Bud” Mertz provided a steady hand as the world plunged into pandemic-fueled panic in early 2020. Mertz, as head of Westmoreland County’s Department of Public Safety, took control over the local response in the early days of the virus’ outbreak. Throughout the next year, he served as the point...
Paper ballots OK’d for Westmoreland voters at $18K price tag
Westmoreland County voters will again be able to cast paper ballots at the polls during this year’s primary and general elections. Republican commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew on Thursday approved a contract with an estimated price tag of $18,275 to supply paper ballots at each of the county’s 306...
Westmoreland commissioner calls sheriff’s partnership with ICE invalid
An agreement signed last year by Sheriff James Albert that allows his deputies to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is invalid and cannot be enforced, a Westmoreland County commissioner said Thursday. “Did the sheriff have the authority to do this unilaterally? The (answer) is unequivocally no. He did...
Verdict: Thomas Stanko guilty in murder of Cassandra GrossVideo
Kathe Gross let out a fist pump and a cheer in a Westmoreland County courtroom Wednesday as a jury convicted Thomas G. Stanko of first-degree murder in the 2018 disappearance of her daughter, Cassandra Gross. The verdict, delivered after four hours of deliberation, concludes a nearly eight-year legal saga for...
Lancaster man pleads guilty for shooting truck at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
A Lancaster County man was sentenced this week to serve up to five years in prison for a 2024 shooting at a truck as it left Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe. Tyler J. Mieczkowski, 24, pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony counts of aggravated assault and fleeing from police in...
Live updates: Jury returning to courtroom in Stanko trial
The jury in the Thomas G. Stanko homicide trial is returning to the courtroom now after about four hours of deliberations. Westmoreland County Judge Michael Stewart delivered final instructions to the jurors this morning before they moved to private deliberations just after noon. The panel is considering charges of first-degree...
