Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 110
Gina Cerilli says Doug Chew contradicts position on bidding Westmoreland County contracts
Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli on Thursday accused a fellow commissioner of breaking a campaign promise less than one month into his first term in office. Cerilli, a two-term Democrat, said Republican Doug Chew’s vote to award seven contracts, to upgrade and install new air conditioning units at locations throughout...
Oklahoma Borough man who stole natural gas ordered to repay $2,000 to Peoples
A Westmoreland County judge has rejected a prosecution request that sought more than $900,000 in restitution from an Oklahoma Borough businessman convicted of stealing natural gas from an open well. Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger, in a ruling made public on Wednesday, said Jeffrey W. Zinchini, 61, of Oklahoma...
Preliminary testing shows ‘probable Legionella’ in water at Westmoreland Manor
Preliminary testing indicated a finding of “probable Legionella” bacteria, which causes Legionnaires’ disease, in water at Westmoreland Manor, county officials said Wednesday. Additional testing is under way, the county reported in a statement. Final results are expected by early next week. “Westmoreland Manor was notified by the Pennsylvania Department of...
Derry woman charged with animal neglect receives probation sentence
A Derry Borough woman will serve one-year probation for her role in the mistreatment of dozens of animals found living in poor conditions last year on her sister’s property. Prosecutors said as many as 14 horses, eight dogs, a donkey and dozens of cats and kittens were found emaciated, in...
Former Leechburg police chief Michael Diebold faces additional criminal chargesVideo
Additional criminal charges were filed this week against Michael Diebold, a former Leechburg police chief, alleging he did not comply with registration requirements for convicted sex offenders. State police charged Diebold, 42, in Armstrong County with a felony offense in connection with allegations he used the social media site FetLife.com...
Westmoreland controller calls for bigger county tax increase
Westmoreland County Controller Jeffrey Balzer on Tuesday called on commissioners to approve an additional property tax increase to ensure there is enough money to pay the bills through the end of the year. Balzer made his plea for higher taxes as he and Commissioner Gina Cerilli traded barbs during a...
Rape charges dismissed against former Hempfield man
A former Hempfield man pleaded guilty Tuesday to lesser offenses after prosecutors agreed to dismiss rape charges in connection with an alleged sexual assault in October 2017. Harold M. Franks, 37, now of Washington Township, was charged after a bloodied and bruised woman appeared at a Greensburg police station, partially...
Westmoreland Manor water being tested for Legionnaires’ disease
State health officials confirmed Tuesday an investigation is ongoing at Westmoreland Manor for a suspected case of Legionnaires’ disease. Residents and employees at the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield have been using bottled water to drink and to clean with since Friday, when the investigation started. “The department is investigating...
Westmoreland Manor water system being tested after complaint filed with state
Residents and staff at Westmoreland Manor have relied on bottled and boiled water since Friday as officials conduct tests to determine if the county nursing home’s water system was compromised. A complaint forwarded by the state’s Department of Health resulted in required testing of the Hempfield facility’s water distribution network,...
Westmoreland Prison Board elects new leadership
Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert was elected Monday to serve as chairman of the county’s Prison Board. The panel oversees operations of the county jail in Hempfield. Members include the sheriff, all three county commissioners, Controller Jeffrey Balzer and District Attorney John Peck. For more than a decade, the county’s...
Westmoreland lockup cashing in with online books, movies
Westmoreland County collected more than $161,000 last year from jail inmates who rented movies and books and made phone calls on tablet computers. Warden John Walton said the money from the first year of the program, which allows inmates recreational use of the tablets from the privacy of their cells,...
Westmoreland’s political future could hinge on outcome of 58th District special election
A harbinger of Westmoreland County’s political future, with the 2020 presidential election looming, could be the March special election to fill Justin Walsh’s former House seat. The outcome of the race to replace Walsh, a Rostraver Republican who now is a county judge, might be a predictor of local Republican...
Prosecutor says Derry man skipped sentencing hearing to take drugs
Glenn Levtzow apparently had a scheduling conflict Friday morning when he was due in court to be sentenced for his role in a friend’s overdose in 2017, a Westmoreland County prosecutor said. “He had better plans today. He is out smoking meth, according to the probation department,” Assistant District Attorney...
South Huntingdon carpenter is GOP nominee for 58th House special election
Westmoreland County Republicans selected a union carpenter making his first run for public office as the GOP’s candidate in a special election for the Pennsylvania State House 58th District seat. Eric Davanzo, 43, of South Huntingdon was nominated Thursday night to run against Democrat Robert Prah in the March 17...
Westmoreland judge gives Pittsburgh man jail break in North Huntingdon drug case
A Pittsburgh man charged last summer with discarding 50 bricks of heroin during a police chase through North Huntingdon avoided a jail sentence when a Westmoreland County judge said he could be a strong example to children he mentors. Laplez Cummings, 35, pleaded guilty Thursday to drug charges, reckless endangerment...
Former South Greensburg secretary gets more jail time in borough theft case
Convicted in the theft of more than $110,000 in public money, South Greensburg’s former borough secretary was ordered to serve an additional year in jail on Thursday. Dennis Lee Kunkle Jr., 55, originally pleaded guilty in October 2018 to six counts for embezzling government funds for his personal use and...
Westmoreland Dems seeking new leadership for party committee
Westmoreland County Democrats will have new leadership in this presidential election year after the party committee’s top two officials resigned in the last month. Party chairwoman Rachel Shaw notified committee members this week she will step down Jan. 27 for professional reasons. The committee’s vice chairman Paul Adams resigned in...
Unity man pleads guilty to supplying lethal drugs in 2 overdose deaths
A Unity man pleaded guilty Thursday to charges he provided the drugs used by two men who fatally overdosed more than two years ago in Derry and Hempfield. Police said Jesse Hudspath, 27, shared 50 bags of fentanyl-laced heroin with two friends who died in their homes. Malachai E. Mundorff,...
Hempfield man to serve up to 2 years for exposing himself to young girls
A Hempfield man will serve up to 23 months in jail for exposing himself to two 10-year-old girls in Greensburg last summer. Ronald Wineland, 61, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a felony charge of corruption of minors and a misdemeanor count of indecent exposure in connection with the incident on Aug....
Tax hike stands after Westmoreland commissioners stick with budget
Westmoreland County’s first property tax increase in 15 years will stand after commissioners on Wednesday said they will not make changes to the 2020 budget. Newly seated Republican commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew said a comprehensive review of the county’s $341 million budget adopted last month by the previous...
Latrobe gas station robber sentenced to 2-4 years
A Johnstown man pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges he robbed a Latrobe convenience store last March. Police said Cory J. Lonsinger, 38, wore a hooded sweatshirt, gloves and had his face covered with a black bandana when he threatened a clerk at the Lloyd Avenue BP gas station on March...
Greensburg man sent to prison for exposing himself to a woman
A Greensburg man will serve up to three years in prison for exposing himself to a woman in his home. James W. Sanders, 36, formerly of Latrobe, pleaded guilty Tuesday to four misdemeanor offenses in connection with an incident last April 3. According to court records, police said Sanders lured...
New Stanton man convicted in fatal hit and run appeals verdict
A New Stanton man serving a 40-year prison sentence for the hit-and-run death of a man jogging on Christmas Eve in 2016 claims he was improperly convicted of murder. In an appeal filed Tuesday, Matthew Ramsay claims evidence against him during a three-day jury trial in March was insufficient to...
Westmoreland bus authority pays $12,500 in overtime in 1st week of running service
Westmoreland Transit Authority paid out about $12,500 in overtime wages for the first week in January after it assumed control over bus and paratransit services from a private contractor. Officials said scheduling procedures that had been in place for years as well as a driver shortage required the agency to...
Jury in Jeannette slaying rejects twin defense, finds Penn Hills man guilty of murderVideo
A Westmoreland County jury wasted little time in rejecting a man’s claim that his identical twin was the shooter in a brazen daylight murder in downtown Jeannette. Jurors deliberated about two hours before finding Darrelle Tolbert-McGhee of Penn Hills guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Michael Wilson, a...
