Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 129

An Indiana County man will serve up to 40 years in prison for raping a Delmont girl, starting when she was 10. A Westmoreland County jury, following a three-day trial in May, convicted Bryan Harrold, 51, of Saltsburg, of 13 counts including rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse,...

A Jeannette woman who faces a potential 40-year prison sentence wants to withdraw her guilty plea for the murder of her teenage boyfriend. The lawyer for Crystal Belle, 39, filed court documents Thursday in which she now contends someone else was responsible for the beating death of Khalil Parker, 19,...

A Unity man who has been identified as a potential suspect in the disappearance of his former girlfriend — whom a judge legally declared dead last week — was questioned in court Wednesday amid warnings that his testimony could eventually be used against him. Thomas Stanko, 48, was in court...

Assistant Westmoreland County Public Defender Jack Manderino on Tuesday announced his candidacy for the open district judge seat in Monessen. Manderino, 55, son of the late state House speaker Jim Manderino, has served as a lawyer in Westmoreland County and in Pittsburgh for the last 30 years. “I want to...

A Youngwood woman awaiting trial for allegedly assaulting her elderly mother over the television volume during a Steelers preseason football game rejected a plea bargain deal Tuesday that would have required her to serve up to four years in prison. Defense attorney Tim Dawson said his client, Delores Amorino, has...

A Derry man will serve six years on probation after pleading guilty Tuesday to a series of charges involving three different cases, including allegations he made threats to employees at a magisterial district judge’s office in 2017. Police said all three cases against Paul Barsoum, 54, occurred during a one-week...

A New Kensington man was sentenced Tuesday to serve up to 50 years in prison for the possession of more than 20,000 images of child pornography. Joshua Pottle, 37, was convicted of 40 felony counts in October following a three-day jury trial in which he was accused of having pictures...

Tyler Gett has just a few fuzzy memories of his grandfather, murdered nearly 18 years ago in a Bell Township field. On Monday, Gett, 22, and other family members watched as two of the now-grown men convicted of the 2001 beating and shooting death of 48-year-old Larry Dunmire were given...

Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli announced Monday she will seek a second term in office. The Democrat from Hempfield was the top vote-getter in 2015 when she won in her inaugural attempt for public office and became the first woman in four decades to serve as chairwoman of the board...

A Jeannette couple pleaded guilty Friday to charges they shot a man during an armed robbery more than two years ago in North Huntingdon. Romel Crosby and Brittany Kruel, according to police, lured their victim, 32-year-old Ronald Hines Jr. of Penn Township, to an alley in the Westmoreland City section...

A Hempfield man who has served as a Westmoreland County deputy sheriff for eight years now wants to run the office. Sam Pilato, 56, announced he will be a Republican candidate in the May primary seeking the job as county sheriff. “If elected (my) mission is to return the sheriff’s...

Upper Burrell officials on Friday filed a lawsuit asking a judge to order Westmoreland County to redraw the township’s two voting districts. Township supervisors filed the court action, along with a petition from 20 registered voters, contending that 75 percent of the town’s residents are forced to vote in one...

An Arnold woman’s trial on charges she helped a friend avoid apprehension after the fatal shooting of a police officer was delayed until at least April. The case against Lisa Harrington, 33, was postponed Thursday to allow for a new defense attorney to represent her. She faces charges that she...

The first man convicted in Westmoreland County of violating a 2011 law allowing prosecution of drug dealers in connection with fatal overdoses was in court Thursday to ask for a new trial. Michael Ulysses Peterson, 45, of Mt. Pleasant, is seeking to overturn a verdict against him following a 2016...

A Westmoreland County judge on Thursday rejected a request from a New Stanton man to dismiss a charge of third-degree murder in connection with the death of a pedestrian killed when he was hit by a car on Christmas Eve 2016. Prosecutors contend Matthew Ramsay, 31, was under the influence...

The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County on Thursday morning lifted its boil water advisory for customers in Port Vue and McKeesport. The authority said tests confirmed there is no longer a contamination risk to the more than 2,100 Allegheny County water customers impacted by a water main break earlier this...

A Ruffsdale man will serve up to five years in prison for causing a vehicle crash along the railroad tracks in East Huntingdon that severely injured his two passengers. John Woodward, 39, pleaded guilty this week to drunk driving and two counts of causing a crash resulting in injuries. Police...

A Westmoreland County prosecutor Wednesday said an investigation is underway to learn who took a courtroom photograph of a witness during an attempted murder trial last week, an image that was posted online with an apparent threat. Assistant District Attorney Adam Barr said it appeared the photo of the alleged...

An Allegheny County man was sentenced Tuesday to serve up to 30 years in prison for the fatal beating of an Arnold woman and her adult son more than six years ago. Robert Briestensky, 45, formerly of Brackenridge, pleaded guilty to two lesser counts of third-degree murder in connection with...

A Westmoreland County judge has dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit filed against a gun store and weapons manufacturer brought by the parents of a Mt. Pleasant teenager who was shot and killed by a friend in 2016. Common Pleas Court Judge Harry Smail Jr. in a 16-page opinion threw out...

A boil water advisory has been issued for Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers in Port Vue and McKeesport. Water authority officials said a leak of a six-inch water line near Romine Avenue in Port Vue shortly after 9:30 a.m. caused pressure issues for more than 2,100 customers near the...

An Allegheny County man was sentenced Tuesday to serve up to 30 years in prison for the fatal beating of an Arnold woman and her adult son more than six years ago. Robert Briestensky, 45, formerly of Brackenridge, pleaded guilty to two lesser counts of third-degree murder in connection with...

The Westmoreland County Transit Authority will buy 16 new buses for its paratransit program this year. The agency’s executive director, Alan Blahovec, said a $756,000 state grant will be used to purchase 12 mini buses used in the shared-ride system that operates as Go Westmoreland. Another four buses will be...

Alisia Alcala rides the bus daily to her job at Greengate Centre just a few miles away from her home in Greensburg. Just not on Sundays, when she’s on her own to get to work. “I’d like to see Sunday service and maybe add more stops to the service. On...

Fines leveled against the Ohio-based private company that operates the bus and paratransit programs for the Westmoreland County Transit Authority have now topped $100,000 in four months. The authority imposed $20,000 more in damages against National Express Transit for continued maintenance and operation failures in December. Authority operations director Meghan...