Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 117
Judge declines to toss fatal drug delivery case against Derry Twp. man
Drug delivery resulting in death charges will stand against a Derry Township man accused of selling the lethal dose of fentanyl-laced heroin that killed a Greensburg man in 2017. In a ruling issued Monday, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani said there has been no violation of the...
Westmoreland tax sale draws huge crowd, pulls in $1.08MVideo
The South Greensburg rental home where Rich and Erin Paul have lived with their three young children for five years was up for sale Monday after its owner failed to pay property taxes. The Pauls were among nearly 150 bidders who attended what Westmoreland County officials said was the largest...
Laurel Mountain Borough man expected to plead guilty in girlfriend’s death
A Laurel Mountain Borough man jailed for the last five years as he awaits trial for the first-degree murder of his live-in girlfriend is expected to plead guilty Tuesday to a lesser charge. The lawyer for Gregory Randall, 62, told a Westmoreland County judge that the trial scheduled to begin...
Former Hempfield doctor to stand trial in fatal overdose case
A Westmoreland County judge ruled Friday that a Hempfield physician can withdraw his no contest plea to charges that he over-prescribed methadone to a patient who overdosed and died. Dr. Edgar Peske, 80, will go to trial in December or early next year on charges of drug delivery resulting in...
Teen charged in Export shooting will be released from jail
A teenager charged with four adults in connection with a shooting last weekend in Export will be released from jail to await trial. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger set a $50,000 bond on Thursday for 16-year-old Connor J. Yakoweloff of New Alexandria and ordered that he remain...
Participant will be resentenced for role in fatal Greensburg torture case
The youngest member of a group of six Greensburg roommates convicted in the torture and murder of a mentally disabled woman nearly a decade ago will be sentenced for the third time in December. Angela Marinucci, 27, has twice before been sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility...
Monessen bus driver charged with having child porn faced similar charges 2 decades ago
A Monessen school bus driver charged this week by federal authorities for possession of child pornography had previously been barred from driving children after he was arrested on similar charges in 2001. This week’s indictment of Jack Brian Laforte, 54, came nearly two decades after he was charged in Westmoreland...
Pennsylvania Turnpike drug suspects claim illegal search
Two Philadelphia men arrested last year on the Pennsylvania Turnpike after police found 27 pounds of marijuana in their car trunk contend the vehicle search was illegal and the criminal charges against them should be dismissed. Lawyers for Joseph Ricardo Wright, 33, and and Dwayne Dwight Augustus, 36, contend police...
Latrobe man, fiancee sue Nemacolin, seek return of $30K wedding reception deposit
A Latrobe man and his fiancee said a Fayette County resort wasn’t as advertised and are seeking the return of their deposit after canceling their wedding reception set for next month. In a three-count lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas, Greg Cammarata and Christina Varrasso say Nemacolin...
Johnson & Johnson opioid ruling spreads optimism around Western Pa.-based lawsuits
Westmoreland County is one of about 2,000 municipalities across the country with pending lawsuits against various drug manufacturers accused of promoting the opioid addiction epidemic that has devastated communities in recent years. This week’s court ruling in Oklahoma, in which the state was awarded a $572 million judgment from drugmaker...
Westmoreland job fair helps fill vacancies
Westmoreland County’s inaugural job fair was so successful officials said they may hold them more than once a year. “We will look to do it twice a year, if not quarterly,” said Amanda Bernard, the county’s human resources director. The county filled about 30 vacant positions through last week’s event...
New Kensington man takes guilty plea to lesser charges in fatal drug overdose case
A New Kensington man originally charged as the person who supplied drugs in two fatal overdoses two years ago on Monday pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Theodore Brown, 25, was facing two counts of drug delivery resulting in death in connection with the Nov. 5, 2017 overdoses of Malachai E....
Hempfield doctor seeks to withdraw no-contest plea to murder charge
Prosecutors from the state Attorney General’s office say that a Hempfield doctor should not be permitted to withdraw a no-contest plea entered earlier this year to a murder charge. Edgar Peske, 80, was charged two years ago with drug delivery resulting in death in connection with the 2015 overdose death...
Former Kiski Area trainer receives probation for corruption of minors, harassment
A Plum man who worked with athletes at Kiski Area High School will serve two years on probation after pleading guilty Friday to misdemeanor charges of corruption of minors and harassment. Westmoreland County prosecutors agreed to dismiss one felony count that accused Ryan O’Toole of having sex with a student....
Mt. Pleasant woman accused of human trafficking seeks return of seized cash, vehicles
A Mt. Pleasant woman awaiting trial on human trafficking charges in connection with four massage parlors she owned wants a judge to return more than $700,000 and two vehicles seized from her in the investigation. In court documents filed last week, Hui Xu, 44, contends the items, including proceeds from...
Mt. Pleasant woman accused of human trafficking seeks return of seized cash, vehicles
A Mt. Pleasant woman awaiting trial on human trafficking charges in connection with four massage parlors she owned wants a judge to return more than $700,000 and two vehicles seized from her in the investigation. In court documents filed Thursday, Hui Xu, 44, contends the items, including proceeds from a...
Judge overturns harassment conviction that got Westmoreland chief deputy sheriff fired
A Westmoreland County judge on Thursday overturned the conviction of the sheriff department’s former chief deputy who was fired last year after being found guilty of harassment against a union official. Following the continuation of last month’s appeal hearing, Patricia Fritz was found not guilty of the summary offense. She...
New Kensington man freed after murder sentence to serve 2 years for heroin
A New Kensington man, paroled earlier this year after serving more than two decades in prison for murder, pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug charges that stemmed from his arrest in May. Charles Edward Jones, 40, pleaded guilty to one felony count of drug possession with an intent to deliver and...
McKeesport man convicted in Westmoreland heroin ring wants new trial
An Allegheny County man serving up to 23 years in prison for his role in a drug distribution ring that operated in central Westmoreland County through 2012 contends he was a victim of a botched defense. The new lawyer for Dominick Haynes, 32, of McKeesport, during a hearing Wednesday, contended...
Westmoreland County training program highlights LGBTQ communityVideo
Jo Tauber knows firsthand the challenges that members of the LGBTQ community face every day in Westmoreland County. Tauber, 30, of Penn Township, said she’s been lucky to have been accepted by her family and friends but she understands her story may be different from others who identify as lesbian,...
Murrysville’s Sardis precincts boundary lines questioned
Westmoreland County elections officials said Monday they suspect voters who live near the border between Murrysville and Washington Township might be casting ballots in the wrong municipality. Elections Bureau Director Beth Lechman said the county believes for the last two decades it has used outdated maps to determine voting districts...
Search warrants in Unity woman’s disappearance to remain sealed
Seventeen search warrants detailing the investigation into last year’s disappearance of a Unity woman will remain under seal, at least for another month, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Monday. Following a closed-door hearing with two county prosecutors and a state police trooper, Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger ordered the...
Westmoreland housing authority ownership change expected to increase revenue
Westmoreland County’s housing authority transferred ownership of nearly 10% of the agency’s public housing units as part of a reorganization officials said will enable it to increase money it receives for needed capital improvements. “This is a decision that makes all the sense in the world. We will get more...
Jeannette man sentenced to house arrest for attempted child sex
A Jeannette man will serve nine months on house arrest for attempting to lure a child to a local hotel for sex. Brian Zupancic, 29, pleaded guilty in May to felony counts of unlawful contact with a minor and attempted statutory sexual assault for an incident in June 2017. Police...
Suspect in 2017 Youngwood murder wants confession barred from evidence
The man police said was the ringleader of the group that allegedly conspired to rob and kill a Youngwood drug dealer two years ago wants a Westmoreland County judge to bar multiple confessions made in the weeks that followed the fatal stabbing. Christopher David, 41, of Youngwood, contends he was...
