Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 116
WCTA’s ConnectCard system to be phased out
Westmoreland County Transit Authority’s troubled ConnectCard system, which allows riders to pay cashless fares via prepaid accounts, will be phased out over the next several months, officials announced Tuesday. After years of planning, ConnectCard was finally implemented in early 2018. Almost immediately, it was besieged with technical issues. “ConnectCard has...
Westmoreland County sued over requirement that union workers complete major projects
Westmoreland County’s agreement with a Pittsburgh trades council has been challenged in federal court, claiming the deal excludes nonunion businesses from securing county construction contracts. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, seeks to invalidate the county’s project labor agreement approved in 2016 by Commissioners Gina Cerilli and...
Warrants, other documents remain sealed in Cassandra Gross disappearance, judge rules
A Westmoreland County judge has continued to keep private details of an ongoing investigation into the disappearance of a Unity woman who police said was likely killed last year. Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger signed court orders on Sept. 19 that sealed for another 30 days search warrants and...
Jeannette murder trial date set; Attorney says accused has alibi
An Allegheny County man charged with murder in a fatal shooting two years ago in Jeannette was ruled competent to stand trial. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said Monday a mental health examination of Darrelle Tolbert-McGhee found that he was able to assist his defense and cleared...
Murrysville voters at Newlonsburg and Sardis could get new precincts under new planVideo
Westmoreland County elections officials on Monday approved a revised redistricting plan for Murrysville that will split its two largest precincts. The amended plan, to be presented for approval next week to Common Pleas Court Judge Chris Scherer, will separate the Sardis voting district nearly in half. That precinct was originally...
Chugging beer while riding a tricycle in South Greensburg, all for a great causeVideo
Typically, it might not be the best idea to mix competitive pedaling and beer chugging. But that’s just how participants of the Rotary of Westmoreland’s second annual Trike and Chug spent Saturday afternoon to raise money for the purchase of special adaptive bicycles for disabled children. The Rotary sponsored the...
Westmoreland commissioners honor Red Sand project for human trafficking awarenessVideo
Westmoreland County Commissioners this month honored supporters of the 2019 Red Sand project that brings attention to human trafficking issues. The Blackburn Center along with multiple organizations in Westmoreland throughout September have poured red sand into pavement cracks to symbolize victims of human trafficking that have fallen through the cracks...
Judge rules New Kensington Elks can renew its liquor license
A Westmoreland County judge overruled a Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board decision last year that rejected the license renewal for the Elks Club in New Kensington. In a ruling made public Tuesday, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Harry Smail Jr. found that evidence of repeated citations and criminal activity at or...
Judge rejects Hempfield man’s plea bargain in knife attack case
A Westmoreland County judge on Wednesday rejected a proposed plea bargain for a Hempfield man charged with injuring a neighbor during a knife attack in June. Vincente Alejo Andres, 34, was expected to plead guilty to aggravated assault and simple assault charges in return for nine to 23 months in...
Prosecutors: Westmoreland judge should release juror names in Held case, as Trib asked
In a legal argument filed with the Pennsylvania Superior Court, state prosecutors contend a judge erred when he declined to immediately make public the names of jurors in the December public corruption trial of Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held. The Tribune-Review appealed a ruling from senior Common Pleas Judge Timothy...
Greensburg woman competent to stand trial in child sex case
A Greensburg woman charged with recording herself in a sex act with a young child was ruled competent to stand trial on Tuesday. Corby Jo Kinzey, 24, was charged along with her ex-boyfriend and another woman of sex counts related to the incident in which police contend she had sexual...
Monessen woman gets probation after making deal in drug operation case
A Monessen woman was sentenced Tuesday to three years probation in connection with what police said was a drug distribution ring operating out of a Greensburg doctor’s office. Rebekah Rose Carwithen, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of drug possession and in return state prosecutors dismissed charges of conspiracy, corruption,...
Despite plea for leniency, Donora man gets up to 30 years for attack on girlfriend in Hunker
A Donora man was sentenced Monday to serve up to 30 years in prison for the assault and strangulation of his pregnant girlfriend. Travis Magash, 33, was convicted after a three-day jury trial in May in connection with the attack against 25-year-old Danielle Rose Thompson at her home in Hunker....
Unity man already imprisoned on child porn charges pleads guilty to raping boy
A Unity man already serving an 11-year federal sentence for possession of child pornography on Monday pleaded guilty to additional charges of raping a child. Westmoreland County prosecutors said Timothy Piper, 24, had sexual contact with a young boy over a seven-year period that ended in 2015. According to court...
Westmoreland transit seeking new bids for bus, shared-ride services
After a bumpy ride over the past year, including nearly a quarter-million dollars in fines, the Westmoreland County Transit Authority could move on from the company that runs its bus and shared-ride system. National Express, which in 2018 was awarded a five-year, $29.5 million contract, has been in the cross-hairs...
Judge rules Turtle Creek man will have separate trials for Westmoreland drug deaths
An Allegheny County man charged with supplying drugs used in two fatal overdoses in Westmoreland County will have separate trials, a judge ruled Friday. Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger, in a five-page opinion, said that it would be prejudicial for one jury to hear two separate cases against Demetrius...
Westmoreland changes contractor for moving human remains
For the first time in about two decades, a new company will be responsible for transporting human remains in Westmoreland County. Commissioners awarded a one-year contract to pay $122,500 to Professional Cremation Services LLC of Youngwood for the service. The company’s bid was $51,000 less than the one submitted by...
Westmoreland commissioners honor Hempfield’s Terry RanieriVideo
Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday issued a proclamation honoring the life of Hempfield’s Terry Ranieri. Ranieri, 64, a 1975 graduate of Hempfield High School, died from cancer on Aug. 22. Commissioners Gina Cerilli, Ted Kopas and Charles Anderson presented the proclamation to Ranieri’s brothers Tony and Eddy and their sister,...
Ex-Westmoreland County employee gets $37,500 workplace settlement
Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday agreed to resolve a complaint by a former human resources employee at the courthouse who claimed a hostile workplace forced her to retire in 2017. Assistant county solicitor David Regoli said a complaint filed by Deborah Liprando with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was...
Westmoreland judge awards Allegheny Township woman $600K in slip-fall case
An Allegheny Township woman has been awarded $600,000 for injuries she suffered two years ago outside of a township mini-mart. Following a two-day trial, a Westmoreland County jury ordered Graft Oil of Oci Inc., the owners of the Honey Bear Mini-Mart on Route 356 in Allegheny Township, to pay for...
North Huntingdon site could have been Cracker Barrel, lawsuit claims
A North Huntingdon landlord is suing an equipment rental company, claiming the owners scuttled a deal to sell the site to interests that would have brought a Cracker Barrel restaurant to the location. In a lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County, MB Realty Group contends Sunbelt Rentals Inc., it’s principals and...
Westmoreland water authority plans nearly $10 million in upgrades
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members Wednesday approved spending more than $9.6 million to relocate and replace water lines throughout the county. The construction projects include the replacement of 2.77 miles of older, cement and asbestos water lines in Sutersville with plastic pipes. That project is expected to cost...
2 counts tossed against Youngwood woman in alleged assault over Steelers broadcast
A Westmoreland County judge on Wednesday dismissed two charges against a Youngwood woman accused of assaulting her elderly mother during a dispute over the volume of a Steelers game broadcast. Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger said there was not enough evidence to support charges of conspiracy and making terroristic...
Unity woman’s fraud trial delayed while son, co-defendant remains in federal custody
The criminal fraud trial of an elderly Unity woman will be delayed because her son and co-defendant remains in federal custody on unrelated offenses. Almira Stanko, 83, is awaiting trial in Westmoreland County on three felony counts, including conspiracy and fraud, in connection with allegations she attempted to use her...
Charges dismissed against former Jeannette man accused of interfering with firefighters
Westmoreland County prosecutors Monday dismissed criminal charges against a former Jeannette man accused of interfering with firefighters as they attempted to extinguish a blaze at his home last year. Keith Cerqueira, 59, now of Trafford, pleaded no contest to a lesser charge, a summary count of disorderly conduct, and was...
