Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 127

The Hempfield bicyclist who served nearly two years behind bars for obstructing traffic on county roadways insisted in court Monday he didn’t pedal a mountain bike on Carbon Road last October. Despite the denial, a Westmoreland County judge ruled David Smith, 59, violated terms of his probation and ordered he...

Westmoreland County Controller Jeff Balzer on Monday blasted a $25,000 payment to a former jail inmate to settle a lawsuit in which he claimed he was beaten by guards. Balzer, speaking during a meeting of the prison board, was specifically critical of the decision made by county commissioners to resolve...

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, in Israel for the 33rd annual International Mayors Conference, honored victims of October massacre at Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill. Peduto posted pictures on Twitter on Sunday morning of his visit a memorial in Jerusalem, in which he said he planted an olive tree...

Two people were injured in a motor vehicle crash Sunday morning in Fairfield Township. Westmoreland County Public Safety officials said a crash on Route 271 occurred shortly after 6 a.m. near Parker Road in which motorists were trapped in a vehicle. Officials did not immediately have information about the identities...

Construction could begin this spring on a new 47-unit apartment complex for senior citizens in Hempfield, marking the first new building project for the Westmoreland County Housing Authority in more than five years. The proposed Odin View Apartments has been in the planning stages since 2013, when the authority opened...

The attorney for embattled Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held contends at least six errors were made during his December public corruption trial, and according to a detailed appeal filed this week, wants the two remaining criminal charges against Held to be dismissed. Held, 44, of Hempfield, is currently awaiting a...

The North Huntingdon man charged with causing a car crash in 2017 that killed a Norwin High School senior will serve five years on probation and 18 months of house arrest. Victor Playso Jr., 33, pleaded guilty Wednesday to vehicular homicide in connection with the crash on Route 993 in...

Evidence collected against a former high school student charged with launching a series of cyber attacks in 2016 that disabled computer systems throughout Westmoreland County can be used at her trial, a judge ruled on Wednesday. Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger rejected a defense claim that the computers and internet...

Republican Frank Schiefer will attempt to reclaim the Westmoreland County Recorder of Deeds post, a job he lost in 2015. Schiefer, 38, of Hempfield served as Recorder of Deeds from 2012 through 2015, when he was defeated by the man he originally beat four years earlier to win the office....

Jessica L. Rafferty, a lawyer from Unity, has announced she will be a candidate for one of two vacant seats on the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas. Rafferty, 38, works as a lawyer with the Greensburg firm of Quatrini Rafferty and focuses her practice on family law and civil...

A Westmoreland County judge Tuesday rejected a defense bid to have the case dismissed against a Monessen man charged with conspiracy in connection with a 2017 shooting. Defense attorney Ryan Tutera argued intentional misconduct by prosecutors caused the premature ending to the attempted murder and conspiracy trial last month of...

An assistant office manager in the Westmoreland County sheriff’s department has been suspended indefinitely without pay based on allegations she worked on a campaign while on the job, according to the county controller’s office. Officials would not publicly comment on the suspension of Tiffany Schomer, but sources at the courthouse...

Westmoreland County prosecutors have appealed a judge’s ruling that limited the evidence they can present in the trial of a Hempfield man accused of raping a woman who has since recanted the allegations. Assistant District Attorney Barbara Jollie contends Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger made five errors that substantially...

More route cancellations and changes to Westmoreland County Transit Authority bus service were instituted Friday as the driver shortages continued to plague the public transportation system. The authority announced the 4:15 p.m. bus — one of eight outbound trips from Pittsburgh on the 1F Route that operates through North Huntingdon...

North Huntingdon lawyer Kyle Baxter said Friday she will be a candidate for judge this spring to fill one of two vacancies on the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas. Baxter, 51, is a Republican but plans to cross-file to run in both the GOP and Democratic primaries in May....

The mother of a disabled 5-year-old Ligonier boy who died last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a New Jersey-based home health care provider and a nurse who the family claimed did not properly care for the child. According to the lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County, Gabrielle Bronson,...

Driver shortages that caused Westmoreland County Transit Authority bus routes to be canceled this week are expected to continue for some time and could further disrupt daily schedules, officials said. One outgoing route from Pittsburgh was canceled Thursday, a day after the authority was forced to cut two bus runs...

Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials said Wednesday the agency will seek repayment for the cost of water quality tests conducted this week at the Beaver Run Reservoir in the aftermath of a pressure drop at a deep gas well on the property. “We increased our testing to every day,...

Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials said Wednesday the agency will seek repayment for the cost of water quality tests conducted this week at the Beaver Run Reservoir in the aftermath of a pressure drop at a deep gas well on the property. “We increased our testing to every day,...

A small-scale treatment plant will be built at the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County’s McKeesport facility to test a new chemical additive that officials said could improve the taste and smell of the system’s drinking water. The authority will spend $170,000 to construct the mock treatment plant that will serve...

Westmoreland County incumbent Republican Treasurer Jared Squires announced Tuesday he will seek a third term. Squires, 41, of Mt. Pleasant Township, was first elected in 2011 and won re-election in 2015. “The Treasurer’s Office has continued to maintain a focus on customer service while keeping the costs of the office...

Jurors had enough evidence to convict a Johnstown man for the 2016 murder of a friend in Latrobe, a judge ruled Tuesday. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio, in a 32-page opinion, denied defense requests seeking to overturn the conviction and sentence for 20-year-old Austin Krinock, who following...

Westmoreland officials said Tuesday an investigation is ongoing to determine how to discipline a county prison worker responsible for the premature release last week of an inmate sentenced to serve up to 23 months behind bars. Sheriff Jonathan Held, who serves as chairman of the county’s prison board, said it...

Allegations that a suspended Mt. Pleasant Borough police officer raped and sexually assaulted six different woman in four counties can be tried together in Westmoreland County, a judge ruled on Monday. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani, following a brief hearing, reaffirmed a ruling he issued in 2017 that consolidated...