Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 101
First Westmoreland prison inmate tests positive for covid-19
Westmoreland officials confirmed Friday that an inmate who was placed in custody last week at the county prison tested positive for coronavirus. This is the first confirmed case involving inmates or staff at the lockup. Warden John Walton said the inmate was arrested July 11 by New Kensington police and...
Westmoreland officials approve raises for row offices, jail employees, deny increase for warden, deputy warden
Raises were handed out this week to middle managers in several Westmoreland row offices and officers at the jail as part of a comprehensive effort to standardize county salaries. Members of the county’s salary board, which includes the three county commissioners and Controller Jeffrey Balzer, approved those raises but deadlocked...
Hempfield man sent to prison for murdering girlfriend in 2017 after night of drinking
A Hempfield man who originally told police his live-in girlfriend killed herself will serve up to 30 years in prison for her murder. Allen Eugene Trent, 56, on Thursday pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of third-degree murder for the Feb. 12, 2017, shooting death of Frances Smith, 61, in...
Westmoreland County to cap initial coronavirus grants for small businesses, nonprofits at $25K
Westmoreland County commissioners said the initial round of covid-relief grants for small business and nonprofit agencies will be capped at $25,000. County officials on Thursday unveiled criteria for the first portion of a program to dole out up to $31.5 million in federal funds to repay local entities for expenses...
Hempfield resident confronts maskless county controller at commissioners meeting
Westmoreland County Controller Jeffrey Balzer said Thursday he won’t comply with the governor’s edict or the county’s mandate that face coverings are a must at the courthouse. Balzer refused to wear a mask during a county commissioners meeting and briefly engaged in a heated discussion with a Hempfield resident who...
Greensburg man pleads in child endangerment, assault cases
A Greensburg man pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges that he endangered three children when he left them alone for a week in a bug-infested home with little to eat and no heat. Ryan Mason, 40, was charged in three separate cases including two in which he was accused of leaving...
Westmoreland planning department leader shifts to redevelopment authority, land bank
Brian Lawrence won’t move his belongings far when he assumes his new role as executive director of Westmoreland County’s redevelopment authority and land bank. The 37-year-old Greensburg resident, a 10-year veteran of the county’s planning department, will run the agencies that oversee community revitalization, programs to remove blight and improve...
Judge pushes Excela, doctors to resolve pending stent lawsuits
A Westmoreland County judge on Wednesday ordered Excela Health and two of its former cardiac doctors to engage in settlement talks and mediation to resolve 35 outstanding lawsuits filed by patients who contended they received unnecessary stents. Common Pleas Judge Rita Hathaway during a conference with lawyers for patients, the...
Arnold man in jail for 3 years while awaiting trial seeks release on bond
An Arnold man who has been in jail for more than three years as he awaits his murder trial will appear before a Westmoreland County judge next week to ask for his freedom. Cashaan Williams, 21, has been behind bars since May 2017 after his two $50,000 bonds were revoked...
Salem man pleads guilty to dozens of theft charges, gets probation
A Salem man who police said used bogus checks to purchase electronics, power tools and music equipment in three states and throughout southwestern Pennsylvania pleaded guilty Tuesday to dozens of theft and conspiracy charges. Paul E. Chonko. 42, was sentenced to serve five years on probation and ordered to repay...
Westmoreland to seek applications for first $5M in virus grants for small businesses, nonprofits
Westmoreland County will soon start the process to award $31.5 million in federal funds earmarked for grants to small businesses and nonprofit agencies impacted by the coronavirus. Commissioners said an initial round of funding will allocate $5 million each to small businesses and nonprofits that have yet to see any...
Westmoreland County officials confirm 3rd courthouse worker tests positive for covid-19
Westmoreland County officials on Monday confirmed that a third courthouse worker has tested positive for coronavirus. The latest staffer to test positive was reported to county officials on Saturday. Two other cases involving courthouse staff were disclosed last week. “The cases are unrelated, and we do not have any concern...
Judge denies bond for Mt. Pleasant man accused of attempted murder
A Westmoreland County judge on Monday ruled the only way to protect the community from a Mt. Pleasant man accused of attempting to murder his girlfriend was for him to remain in jail. Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears rejected a request to release Charles Etling on nominal bond, saying...
4 men sentenced for roles in gambling ring prosecutors say spanned Western Pa.
Three members of a Western Pennsylvania numbers-running and sports-betting network pleaded guilty Monday in Westmoreland County to their roles in what state prosecutors contend was a major gambling ring with ties to organized crime that generated millions of dollars. Deputy Attorney General Mark Serge said the men were “low-level” operators...
Family pleads to lesser charges in illegal video poker operation in White Oak, North Huntingdon
The patriarch of a White Oak family and his three children were sentenced Monday for charges they oversaw more than 100 illegal video poker machines in North Huntingdon and the surrounding area. Robert Biros, 85, pleaded no contest to a felony charge of operating a corrupt organization while his two...
Coronavirus taking its toll on hotel tax revenues across the region
As Western Pennsylvania struggles with the coronavirus, officials say the pandemic is expected to have a dramatic, continued impact on tax revenue collected from hotel stays, which in turn is used to promote the region’s more than $7 billion travel industry. Virus fears resulted in fewer people coming to the...
Westmoreland County offices closed Friday
Westmoreland County government and court offices will be closed Friday in observance of the July 4 holiday. Federal and state offices are also closed on Friday. All courthouse operations and court proceedings will resume on Monday, July 6....
Attorney: Hempfield man who fatally beat elderly father believed 92-year-old was a vampireVideo
Douglas Novak’s mental illness was so pronounced that he beat his father to death and believed the 92-year-old Hempfield man was a vampire who needed to be staked through the heart to kill him, his attorney told a judge Thursday. Novak was off his medication when he used the wooden...
Westmoreland Register of Wills will fully reopen to public July 6
The Westmoreland County Register of Wills will fully reopen to the public on Monday . The courthouse office, which oversees the filing of wills and estates and issues marriage licenses, has restricted public access since early April and has been operating by appointment only in response to the coronavirus pandemic....
North Huntingdon man accused of coughing on police gets up to 2 years in jail on theft charges
A North Huntingdon man accused of trying to infect police with coronavirus by coughing on them will serve up to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to other offenses. Joseph R. Good Jr., 35, was arrested in April and, according to police, claimed he had coronavirus and...
Bolivar man must repay $8,600 for falsifying time sheets
A Bolivar man admitted Tuesday that he faked time sheets to showing he was working as a home health care assistant for nearly four years when, instead, he was working at a local business. Clark Michael Baird, 61, was sentenced Tuesday by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio...
Man to be held in Westmoreland prison while awaiting extradition on attempted murder charge
A South Carolina man charged with the attempted murder of a police officer there will remain in the Westmoreland County Prison while he awaits trial for unrelated theft charges. Westmoreland County Judge Scott Mears last week set a $50,000 straight bond in the case against Brian Joseph Stoltie, who was...
Man who caused fatal 2018 Salem wreck is paroled
A West Virginia man was paroled Monday after pleading guilty to causing a crash on Route 22 in Salem that killed a man and injured his wife and young daughter nearly two years ago. Brian Keith Clemons, 43, formerly of New Alexandria, pleaded guilty to charges of vehicular homicide, aggravated...
Westmoreland juvenile center to require masks
Juveniles held in Westmoreland County’s Regional Youth Services Center will be required to wear masks to deter the spread of the coronavirus. The facility’s oversight board on Monday said the new requirement is a precaution at the Hempfield facility, which serves as a juvenile detention center and shelter for troubled...
Westmoreland considers coronavirus tests for all new county jail inmates
Westmoreland officials will consider testing all new inmates at the county lockup to help guard against coronavirus at the facility. Warden John Walton, during a meeting of the county’s prison board Monday, said although no case of covid-19 has breached the facility, the existing screening method to prevent spread of...
