Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 129
8 Westmoreland County towns to benefit from new blight demolition fund
The first structures to be torn down in Westmoreland County using money from a newly created demolition fund will include four dilapidated homes and four former commercial buildings. “This is needed to remove blight and create economic impact,” said Jason Rigone, director of Westmoreland County’s planning department. Structures in Avonmore,...
Westmoreland dog license checks begin next week
State dog wardens will begin checking for unlicensed and unvaccinated dogs beginning Monday, Westmoreland County Treasurer Jared Squires said . Inspectors with the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement Office will randomly canvass neighborhoods next week as part of its annual effort to ensure the animals are properly...
Juvenile probation director retiresVideo
Adeline Beighley was a pioneer for Westmoreland County’s probation program. She served as the county’s lone female probation officer when she was hired in 1978. Nearly a decade later she was promoted to supervisor and in 1997 named as the director of the newly created Juvenile Probation Office, where she...
Youngwood man guilty of sexual assault on 2 teen girls
A Youngwood man faces up to 114 years in prison because he was convicted Thursday of sexually assaulting two teenage girls in 2016. Westmoreland County jurors deliberated about an hour before finding Darell Deisean Walker, 23, guilty of multiple counts of sexual assault and other related offenses. They found him...
Westmoreland parks upgrades funded through hotel tax
In a continued effort to boost tourism, Westmoreland County leaders plan to spend more than a half-million dollars this year to improve parks. Commissioners on Thursday approved an annual tourism plan to spend the nearly $862,000 generated by additional hotel taxes imposed on daily room rentals. Construction of the first...
Westmoreland pays $75K for fall at nursing home
Westmoreland County agreed Thursday to pay nearly $75,000 in state and federal fines imposed after a resident was injured last year at the county-owned nursing home. Those fines were issued following a state inspection last May at Westmoreland Manor, which revealed a nurse’s aide improperly attempted to lift a patient...
Alleged victim testifies in Youngwood man’s trial on rape charges
A 19-year-old woman testified Wednesday she was twice raped by a Youngwood man and his girlfriend, who just two weeks prior had given birth to the couple’s first child. She told jurors that the baby slept in a nearby bed in the same motel room where Sarah Vrabel quieted her...
Apollo man sentenced in Vandergrift burglary
An Apollo man will serve up to four years in prison for burglarizing a Vandergrift home. Matthew Carl Hubert, 23, pleaded guilty to charges of burglary, theft and receiving property in connection with a heist last summer. According to court records, Hubert was detained Aug. 5 by a Vandergrift homeowner...
Attorney: No basis for appeal for Salem woman who bludgeoned mother
The new lawyer for a Salem woman serving a life prison sentence for the 2013 bludgeoning death of her mother said in court documents filed Tuesday there is no basis for her appeal. Sarah Vercauteren, 30, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to a mandatory term of life...
Carbon issues resolved with Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County drinking water
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County was cited last month for excessive levels of organic carbon in the drinking water consumed by about half of the more than 400,000 residents serviced by the utility. Both state and local officials said the violation involved a slight increase in the substances deposited...
Trial under way for Youngwood man accused of raping teen girls
A Youngwood man was so detailed in his confession to alleged sex crimes against children he included his victim’s ages in a handwritten letter to his Westmoreland County Prison cellmate, according to evidence presented at trial Tuesday. Jared Letosky told jurors during the first day of the rape and sexual...
Jury seated in Youngwood man’s sexual assault trial
A jury was seated Monday for the rape and sexual assault trial of a Youngwood man who police say harbored a 13-year-old runaway who was one of his alleged victims. Darell Deisean Walker, 23, was charged in four separate cases in which he was accused of sex crimes against three...
Stalking, burglary trial delayed for Unity man
A Unity man told a Westmoreland County judge on Monday he wants to serve as his own lawyer during his upcoming trial on stalking and burglary charges. Terry Marincic Jr., 50, is facing trial in three separate cases in which he was accused last year of making as many as...
Democrats pass on endorsements for Westmoreland primary election; GOP likely to follow suit
Westmoreland County Democrats will not endorse candidates in next month’s primary election. About 150 committee members met over the weekend at Ferrante’s Lakeview in Hempfield and unanimously voted to hold an open primary and forego endorsing candidates seeking countywide offices. “There are some excellent Democratic candidates running across Westmoreland County,...
Voices of Westmoreland seeks views of county candidates
Voice of Westmoreland, a nonprofit organization that promotes racial, economic and educational equity in the county, is asking candidates seeking office this year answer a series of questions leading up the May 21 primary election. On Monday, questionnaires were sent to county candidates asking views about issues that impact working...
Westmoreland County’s longest-serving public defender keeps giving clients his all
Greg Cecchetti knew from an early age he wanted to be a defense attorney. More than three decades later, he’s still at work defending low-income residents charged with crimes. “I always wanted to be a lawyer, since the sixth grade,” Cecchetti said. “In high school, I knew I wanted to...
Truck driver pleads guilty in Route 22 crash in Salem Township
A Georgia truck driver pleaded guilty Friday to charges he caused a multi-vehicle collision nearly four years ago in Salem that left one motorist injured and traffic stalled for more than eight hours on a busy section of Route 22. Andrew M. Parkes, 32, was sentenced by Westmoreland County Common...
West Newton man pleads no contest to indecent assault
A West Newton man will serve up two seven years on probation for having improper sexual contact with a 15-year-old girl last year. Michael J. Rozzo Jr., 32, pleaded no contest this week to misdemeanor charges of corruption of a minor and indecent assault in connection with an incident Feb....
Salem man sent to prison for high-speed police chase while under the influence
A Salem man will serve up to six years in prison after he was sentenced Friday for being under the influence of controlled substances when he led police on a 20-mile, high-speed chase last year that started in Greensburg and ended with a crash in Loyalhanna. David Negich Sr., 52,...
Ex-Franklin Regional student working on plea deal in connection with cyber attack
The lawyer for a former Franklin Regional High School student charged with initiating cyber attacks that disrupted school and government computer systems throughout Westmoreland County in 2016 said in court Friday that plea bargain negotiations are progressing. Michaela Gabriella King, 21, of Murrysville, is awaiting trial on felony charges of...
Youngwood man claims he was on drugs when he confessed in 2017 robbery, murder case
A Youngwood man testified Thursday he was under the influence of drugs when he confessed to police about his role in the 2017 robbery and murder of an acquaintance. Jason Sullenberger, 41, claimed he consumed cocaine and 50 stamp bags of heroin in the hours just before he was brought...
Westmoreland County to again serve as its own workers compensation insurer
A controversial program initiated two years ago to have a private insurance company oversee Westmoreland County’s workers compensation cases will end this year. County commissioners on Thursday said they will not give a new contract to the Housing and Redevelopment Insurance Exchange. Instead, the county will return to serving as...
Westmoreland commissioners focus on eliminating political activities inside courthouse
As election season in Westmoreland County swings into full gear, commissioners on Thursday approved a revised policy they said will ensure there is no politicking by county employees while on the job. The revised policy specifically prohibits workers from performing any political activity while on duty or coercing any employee...
Fontana appointed new chief of Westmoreland park police
Veteran officer Henry Fontana is the new chief of the Westmoreland County Park Police. Fontana, 56, replaces Kirk Nolan, who left to become chief deputy to Coroner Ken Bacha. Since 2014, Fontana has served as a park police lieutenant, overseeing patrols at Westmoreland County Community College and the complex that...
Lawyers for Hempfield murder suspect claim confession was illegally obtained
The lawyers for a Hempfield man awaiting trial on charges that he killed his girlfriend claim a confession made to police hours after the murder was illegally obtained. Defense attorneys Donna McClelland and Eric Hoffman contend police handcuffed and placed Allen Eugene Trent in custody and improperly elicited statements in...
