Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 100
Westmoreland restarts criminal trials with case against Rahmael Holt’s father
After a four-month hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, jury trials resumed Monday in Westmoreland County. A 12-member jury and two alternates were selected to hear evidence in a witnesses intimidation case against the father of the man convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of New Kensington police...
500 nonprofits, small businesses seek pandemic grants in Westmoreland County
About 500 applications for Westmoreland County’s coronavirus-relief grants started being evaluated Monday, and the first awards from a pool of $10 million could be approved this week. County commissioners last month announced the first phase of its grant program that uses $31.5 million in federal funds to assist small businesses,...
Westmoreland judge, staff being tested for covid-19 after inmate tests positive
A Westmoreland County judge and four members of his courtroom staff will be tested this weekend for the coronavirus after they were potentially exposed this week through a jail inmate. The inmate’s positive diagnosis was disclosed Friday morning. Court officials said the inmate had been in quarantine at the county...
Westmoreland Manor halts family visits after employee tests positive for coronavirus
Westmoreland officials on Friday reported an employee at the county-owned nursing home tested positive for the coronavirus and, as a result, outdoor visitation of residents, which started earlier this week, are temporarily halted. According a statement issued by county Solicitor Melissa Guiddy, county officials learned the employee had not been...
Greensburg family stands their ground for Black Lives Matter
Travis Spence knows a little something about policing, having served as an officer in California. Still, Spence, along with his wife and kids, were the lone voices in protest in the immediate area as Vice President Mike Pence spoke to a crowd packed into a parking lot next to Greensburg...
Westmoreland advances district judge consolidation plan
Westmoreland County’s final redistricting plan will split caseloads from two shuttered district judge’s offices among four of the remaining 15 local courts, according to documents released Wednesday. Court officials made what was described as minor changes to the proposal unveiled this month that closes court offices in Penn Township and...
Westmoreland Manor residents can have in-person visits for first time since March
Visitation with residents of Westmoreland Manor resumed this week in an outdoor setting, under a tent on a patio in front of the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield. County officials Wednesday announced new safety measures and other precautions associated with the resumption of visits to the nearly 400 Manor residents,...
Fayette County closes courthouse in response to growing number of coronavirus cases
Fayette County government and court officials halted general operations at the courthouse and surrounding facilities in Uniontown in response to growing numbers of staffers who have tested positive for coronavirus. Commissioners Wednesday instituted a two-week closure and required most county employees to work from home while limiting court operations. Commissioner...
Latrobe veteran sentenced for attack on wife, stepdaughter
A Latrobe veteran will serve up to 10 years in prison for an alcohol-fueled knife attack three years ago that left his wife and stepdaughter wounded. Scott A. Matuszky, 48, pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault and terroristic threats in connection with the Oct. 7, 2017, incident at his...
Westmoreland probation office closed in wake of positive coronavirus test
The adult probation office at the Westmoreland County Courthouse was closed Tuesday after a staff member tested positive for coronavirus. Commissioner Doug Chew confirmed the positive test and said the employee had not been at the courthouse since July 21. “It will take 48 hours to sanitize the office and...
Westmoreland County allows furloughed workers to pay into pension accounts
Westmoreland County workers furloughed this spring in response to the coronavirus pandemic will have an opportunity to restore their pension benefits. The county’s retirement board on Monday unanimously voted to allow employees who since have returned to their jobs to buy back time lost while off the payroll because of...
Westmoreland controller does about-face on mask wearing
After more than a week of public shame and praise, Westmoreland County Controller Jeffrey Balzer masked up — and all it took was a text from his daughter. Balzer, the three-term Republican, was both criticized and supported after he was confronted by a citizen just before a public meeting this...
Westmoreland officials fear growing jail population could lead to virus outbreak
Westmoreland County Prison officials said Monday they are preparing for the worst as the lockup’s inmate population continues to rise and, with it, the risk for additional coronavirus cases at the jail. Warden John Walton said nearly 160 new inmates have been booked into the county jail during the past...
Westmoreland DA files suit against opioid companies for costs of overdoses
The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office this week filed a lawsuit against nearly two dozen opioid distributors and manufacturers as part of a legal action that seeks financial restitution for addiction and overdoses attributed to the drugs. The lawsuit mirrors litigation filed in 2017 by county commissioners and is now...
Judge who overturned Unity couple’s convictions in teen rape case to oversee retrial
A Westmoreland County judge refused to remove himself from the pending retrial of a Unity couple convicted two years ago in the rape of a teen girl. Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger said prosecutors failed “to assert any rational, objective basis” for his recusal in the cases of Bruce...
Arnold man accused of rape pleads guilty to lesser charge
An Arnold man originally accused of raping a woman in 2017 pleaded guilty Thursday to a lesser, misdemeanor offense. Westmoreland County prosecutors dismissed felony charges of rape, sexual assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse as well as misdemeanor counts of indecent assault Anthony Chico, 34, in connection with an alleged...
Driver of Officer Brian Shaw’s killer wants $2,500 returned from New Kensington stop
A New Kensington man who police said drove the vehicle from which convicted cop killer Rahmael Holt ran before fatally shooting a city officer wants police to return $2,500 they seized from him. A Westmoreland County judge on Thursday said he will conduct a hearing to reconsider the request from...
Drug court graduates celebrate accomplishment despite covid-19 restrictions
John Panucci was in the home stretch of his path through Westmoreland County’s Drug Court when the coronavirus erupted in March. Drug court — a two-year program that mixes court supervision, counseling and treatment in exchange for reduced or alternative jail sentences — was not exempt from the pandemic, which...
Hempfield restaurant closed after mistaken covid-19 case, looks to reopen Friday
Rodney Yemc is at his wits’ end. His 25-year-old Hempfield business, Rodney’s Restaurant, has been closed for a week as he awaits coronavirus test results from as many as 25 employees who erroneously believed they were exposed to covid-19 by another worker. “This really puts you in a situation,” Yemc...
Attorney seeks more time to argue for release of Arnold man accused in 2016 killing
The lawyer for an Arnold man accused of killing a 16-year-old girl in the city in 2016 said she needs more time to prepare for a hearing to argue for the pretrial release of her client who claims he has been in jail too long. Cashaan Williams, 21, appeared Wednesday...
Officals: Pending closure of Penn Township district judge’s office is unwarranted
A proposal to close district justice offices in Penn Township and Mt. Pleasant remains unchanged as part of a revamped consolidation plan expected to be released in the coming weeks, officials said. Westmoreland County Court Administrator Amy DeMatt said officials reviewed about two dozen comments filed in the last month,...
Westmoreland offering signing bonuses to beef up Manor nursing staff
Westmoreland Manor will again offer bonuses to attract new nurses to the county-owned nursing home. Officials said there are 23 nursing vacancies at the home — and with hospitals, independent care facilities and other health care institutions looking to hire — officials said the additional cash is needed to attract...
Westmoreland County jail reports 2nd covid-19 case, tests 17 more inmates
A second inmate at Westmoreland County Prison has tested positive for coronavirus. Warden John Walton said Tuesday that routine testing of newly booked quarantined inmates confirmed the positive result on July 17, a week after that person entered the Hempfield facility. “This person was asymptomatic,” Walton said. Prison officials confirmed...
Appeal contends identical twin brother could have been killer in Jeannette homicide
An Allegheny County man serving a life prison term for first-degree murder claims the jury got it wrong when they didn’t believe that his dead identical twin brother was the killer. In an appeal filed in Westmoreland County, Darrelle Tolbert-McGhee, 31, of Penn Hills, contends his conviction should be overturned...
Washington Township man pleads guilty to 2018 assault on elderly woman, police during rampage
A Washington Township man pleaded guilty Friday to the assault of an elderly woman and against police during a rampage two years ago. David A. Gibson, 46, could face up to more than 20 years in prison by virtue of his pleas to four counts of aggravated assault, unlawful restraint,...
