Voter turnout for primary election lags with few contested races on spring ballots
Westmoreland County’s political leaders have a simple plan for November. Democratic and Republican party heads Wednesday said that plan will be to drive up vote totals after a lackluster spring primary that saw turnout dip to 24% of all eligible voters. According to unofficial results released by the county election...
Murrysville man pleads guilty to baseball bat assault
A Murrysville man was released from jail Wednesday after being sentenced for the assault of two people last year with an aluminum baseball bat. Reno J. Roberts, 26, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault in connection with an incident last Oct. 16 following an argument at the GetGo...
Jordan Omlor defeats Lisa Gephart for 59th District Democratic nomination
Newcomer Jordan Omlor defeated Lisa Gephart on Tuesday night in the Democratic primary for the 59th District state House seat. He will face Republican incumbent Leslie Rossi in November. With all precincts reporting in the district — which includes Latrobe, Ligonier, Derry, Mt. Pleasant and Unity in Westmoreland County —...
Jason Richey secures primary victory over John Ventre for GOP lieutenant governor nomination
Republican Jason Richey cruised to a landslide victory over retired UPS executive John Ventre on Tuesday night in the primary election for lieutenant governor. Richey, 54, of Sewickley, declared victory shortly after 10 p.m. as he held a commanding lead to serve as the running mate to GOP gubernatorial candidate...
Unity man appeals murder conviction in Cassandra Gross case
A Unity man is appealing his conviction for the first-degree murder of his girlfriend, claiming Westmoreland County prosecutors failed to adequately prove that a homicide was committed. According to recently filed court documents, the lawyer for Thomas G. Stanko contends the guilty verdict imposed in February following a weeklong trial...
Greensburg state police seek more victims of charged retired priest
Investigators in Greensburg are seeking additional alleged victims of a retired Catholic priest charged late last week with sexual crimes. During a Monday news conference at the barracks in Greensburg, state police spokesman Trooper Steve Limani said authorities found an unspecified number of photographs of a sexual nature related to...
Biological parents grieve murdered son Landon Maloberti, say foster system failed Delmont child
Luke Ellenberger comforted his partner, Samantha Buchinsky, late Thursday afternoon as she wept on a courtroom bench. Just moments earlier, a jury had convicted their son’s adoptive mother of third-degree murder. The couple sat apart from other family members, mourning the final chapter of a tragedy that began when the...
Teen sentenced to state prison for Westmoreland youth facility riot
A teenager will serve up to five years in state prison for his role in a riot at a Fairfield youth detention facility last year. Rockey Magar, 16, pleaded guilty in January to charges of causing a catastrophe, rioting, institutional vandalism and making terroristic threats in connection with what authorities...
Jury finds Delmont woman guilty of 3rd-degree murder in adopted son’s death
Lauren Maloberti stood emotionless as a Westmoreland County jury announced it had found her guilty of killing her 5-year-old adopted son. Jurors deliberated three hours Thursday before convicting the Delmont mother of third-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault and single offenses of child endangerment and conspiracy in connection with...
Jason Richey, John Ventre seek GOP nod for lieutenant governor
Two former candidates for governor are seeking the Republican nomination to serve as Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity’s running mate this fall in her bid for the state’s highest office. Allegheny County Republican Committee Chairman Jason Richey and retired UPS executive John Ventre of Hempfield make up the field of candidates...
Delmont mother denies murder claims, testifies husband inflicted adopted son’s fatal injuries
A defiant Delmont mother told a Westmoreland County jury Wednesday her husband raped and emotionally controlled her and that he was the person responsible for the injuries that caused her adopted 5-year-old son Landon Maloberti’s death in early 2023. Lauren Maloberti, 36, testified she suspected Jacob Maloberti beat her child...
Expert: Delmont child might have survived if he received prompt medical attention
A Westmoreland County jury heard evidence Tuesday that while 5-year-old Landon Maloberti was tortured by his parents, he still might have survived his injuries if he had received prompt medical attention. Dr. Lori Frasier, a pediatrician at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center who specializes in diagnosis of child abuse...
‘I lost complete trust,’ Delmont husband testifies against wife charged with adopted son’s murder
Jacob Maloberti took the witness stand Monday to testify against his wife, telling a Westmoreland County jury he only began to question how the couple’s 5-year-old adopted son died after they were both arrested and charged with his murder. Testifying before Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears, the 36-year-old...
Witnesses suggest frying pan was used in fatal assault of 5-year-old Delmont boy
The aunt of a 10-year-old boy told a Westmoreland County jury Friday that her nephew saw Lauren Maloberti strike her adopted son, Landon Maloberti, in the head with a frying pan. “He said he saw what happened. They were in the kitchen and that she picked up a pan and...
Doctor testifies Delmont boy, 5, was tortured and neglected
A child abuse specialist told a Westmoreland County jury Thursday that dozens of bruises and a brain injury suffered by 5-year-old Landon Maloberti was torture. Dr. Michelle Clayton, pediatrics division chief at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, testified the child who was hospitalized Jan. 30, 2023, and died a week...
Witness testifies Delmont mother had ‘no tears’ as adopted son was treated for fatal injuries
As 5-year-old Landon Maloberti lay unresponsive on a hospital bed, covered with bruises and connected to medical equipment by wires and tubes, his adoptive mother’s emotions ranged from calm to frenzy. Emergency room doctors, nurses and support staff worked feverishly to diagnosis and treat the boy while his mother offered...
Delmont mother accused in adopted son’s death never explained boy’s injuries, witnesses testify
Lauren Maloberti never adequately explained how her 5-year-old adopted son, Landon, suffered the severe injuries that led to his death, family members and friends testified Tuesday during the start of her homicide trial in Westmoreland County. Maloberti, 36, of Delmont is charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault and child endangerment...
3rd lawsuit filed against Greensburg Salem alleging mistreatment of special education students
A third federal lawsuit has been filed that claims special education students were mistreated by teachers and staff at Nicely Elementary School in Greensburg. Parents of a then 8-year-old Greensburg Salem School District student claim their child was forcefully restrained and forced to watch alleged abuses of other children in...
Spirit shutdown triggers layoffs, funding reviews at Palmer airportVideo
It was just one year ago when Arnold Palmer Regional Airport officials hosted a party inside the soon-to-be-replaced terminal in Unity. They celebrated its busiest days in years as hundreds of passengers passed through the gate headed out on flights to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale in Florida and Myrtle Beach...
Oakmont manufacturer set to open new plant in Sewickley Township industrial park
An Oakmont-based manufacturer will open its new facility in Sewickley Township this week. Chelsea Building Products broke ground last year the company’s second plant in Pennsylvania on a 30-acre lot in Westmoreland County’s Commerce Crossing industrial park. Company officials said the new plant will produce extruded PVC-based windows and doors,...
Westmoreland County comprehensive plan: Population drops despite growth efforts
Westmoreland County’s comprehensive plan, implemented in early 2019, was designed to reimagine the future. That reimagining is occurring, just at a slower pace than first anticipated, officials said last week as the county issued its latest report on the progress made on future planning. “It’s rewarding to see accomplishments, but...
Jury selection set to begin in trial of Delmont mother accused of killing adopted son
Jury selection is slated to begin Monday morning in the trial of a Delmont mother charged with the torture and murder of her adopted 5-year-old son. Prosecutors contend Lauren Maloberti, 36, physically and emotionally abused her son and failed to get him medical attention three years ago. Police charged Maloberti...
‘You are pure evil,’ Kathe Gross tells daughter’s killer during sentencing hearing
Kathe Gross looked across the courtroom at the man convicted of killing her daughter and let loose years of anger and despair. “You are not human. You are pure evil. The only way you could get a woman was through fear. You are going to prison for the rest of...
Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to gun assault in Arnold
A Pittsburgh man was sentenced Thursday to serve 1½ to 3 years in prison for an assault of a man in an Arnold home in 2024, but he was given credit for serving a year of that sentence since his March 30, 2025 arrest. Roger Moore, 48, pleaded guilty to...
Thomas Stanko to be sentenced in killing of Cassandra Gross
The Unity man convicted earlier this year for the 2018 murder of Cassandra Gross is expected to be sentenced Friday morning. Thomas G. Stanko, 55, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole when he appears in court before Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Stewart...
