Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 107

Westmoreland County’s longest-serving judge, and one of its most experienced on the criminal court bench, will take on a new assignment in January. Common Pleas Judge Rita Hathaway, who for the past 16 years has presided over criminal cases, will shift to the civil division as part of a reorganization...

Staff at the Westmoreland County Transit Authority has grown by more than 600% over the last month as the agency continues to gear up for its takeover of bus and paratransit services on Jan. 2. What was once primarily an administrative organization with 18 employees, the authority has transitioned to...

The first of what could be four trials for defendants accused in the 2017 stabbing death of a Youngwood man is scheduled to begin March 9. First up will be Jason Sullenberger, 42, of Youngwood. He is charged with first-degree murder and other offenses in connection with the death of...

A Latrobe man will serve three months of house arrest and two years on probation after he pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of animal cruelty. According to court records, Andrew T. Pevarnik, 44, was charged in September after humane officers found 17 dead animals in a Derry Township...

A Delmont woman will be paid $45,000 for injuries she claims to have sustained in a fall at Twin Lakes Park while attending the Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival nearly six years ago. According to the lawsuit filed against Westmoreland County in 2016, Juliana Artascos said she was injured after...

Westmoreland County prosecutors and defense lawyers are getting raises. The county commissioners on Thursday ratified a new, four-year labor contract with the union that represents 34 assistant district attorneys and public defenders. The deal with the Assistant District Attorneys Wage and Policy Committee calls for the lawyers to receive 2.75%...

The $3 million cost to relocate and replace aging water and sewer lines in Youngwood is a bargain, Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials said Wednesday. The project is part of a PennDOT plan to reconstruct a three-mile section of Route 119 in the borough and will allow the authority...

Water and sewer rates for customers of the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County will remain the same for a second consecutive year. The authority’s preliminary 2020-21 budget, unveiled Wednesday, includes no rate changes and carries a $5 million cut in projected revenues, officials said. Board members are expected to approve...

Michael Amorino told a Westmoreland County judge that his niece lived a troubled, isolated life with her mother that was marked by mental illness and abuse, all factors that led to the August 2017 beating inflicted on his elderly mother during a dispute over the volume of a Pittsburgh Steelers...

A third sentencing hearing for the youngest member of group of former Greensburg roommates convicted in the 2010 torture killing of a mental disabled woman has been delayed as state appeal courts continue to weigh the legality of life prison terms for juvenile offenders. Angela Marinucci, now 27, has been...

Westmoreland County commissioners could vote Thursday to hike property taxes for the first time in 15 years. Commissioners Gina Cerilli and Charles Anderson said Tuesday they have yet to commit to the proposed 2.4% tax hike as part of a finance package that includes adoption of a 2020 budget and...

A Youngwood woman charged two years ago with a assault of her elderly mother during a dispute over the volume of a Pittsburgh Steelers preseason game broadcast was expected to be released from jail late Monday. Dolores Amorino, 42, pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, simple assault...

Westmoreland County Prison officials said Monday they will review facility entrance logs to determine if a local attorney charged last week with smuggling drugs to inmates at the Allegheny County jail had similarly visited the lockup in Hempfield. Following the release last week of a grand jury presentment, lawyer Paul...

The raid of a Jeannette bar more than four years ago resulted in the illegal search of a customer, a judge ruled Friday. William Lamont Lewis, 42, of Pittsburgh, was charged with drug and weapons offenses following a state Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement raid of Punch and Juniors Bar...

A Washington County man said in court on Thursday he was coerced by his former defense attorney to not testify in his 2015 murder trial and now wants his conviction of first-degree murder overturned. Michael Martin, 46, contends he was the victim of a poorly conceived defense by a lawyer...

A Unity man was sentenced Thursday to serve up to 10 years in prison for the rape of a child. Timothy D. Piper, 24, pleaded guilty in September to three charges, including counts of rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. Prosecutors said Piper had repeated sexual contact with a young...

A Greensburg man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of child endangerment for a physical altercation in September with a 9-year-old girl. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani sentenced Roger E. Russell Jr., 64, to nine-to-23 months in jail as part of a plea bargain in which prosecutors...

A former Greensburg man was ordered Wednesday to serve five years on probation for an attempt to run over a romantic rival with his car this year in Derry Township. Robert Kuszajewski, 28, now of Jeannette, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of simple assault, reckless endangerment and making terroristic threats...

Westmoreland County Treasurer Jared Squires on Wednesday warned residents to avoid a fraudulent website that is selling bogus dog licenses. Squires said the state Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement identified the bogus site as selling fake Pennsylvania dog licenses. Operators of the sham site paid internet search...

A Jeannette man will serve at least six years in prison for his role in a fatal vehicle crash in March in which his 25-year-old passenger was killed. Trey L. Cue, 24, pleaded guilty Tuesday to homicide by vehicle, drunken driving and other offenses in connection with the crash that...

Former Leechburg police Chief Michael Diebold will remain in jail for an indefinite period pending a hearing to determine whether his parole will be revoked. Diebold, 42, a convicted sex offender, was jailed late last week after he was accused of accessing a social media site that specializes in sadomasochism....

A Derry Township man will serve at least eight years in prison for his role in the overdose death of a friend in early 2017. Eric B. Vogel Jr., 31, pleaded guilty in September to a charge of drug delivery resulting in death in connection with the overdose of 29-year-old...