Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 13
‘I had a bad year’: Arnold man pleads guilty to gas station robbery
An Arnold man faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday to the robbery of a New Kensington gas station. Chad William Fitzgerald, 34, was charged last year in connection with an Aug. 14, 2024, heist at the Sunoco gas station on Tarentum...
Jeannette, Monessen mayoral candidates removed from primary ballots
Three mayoral candidates in Jeannette and one in Monessen were removed Monday from May’s primary ballots. Following a series of court hearings, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Harry Smail Jr. ruled Democrat Robin Mozley and Republicans Ron Kastner and Ed Day failed to submit the proper paperwork needed to run...
Judge sets bond in New Kensington attempted murder case
A Westmoreland County judge on Friday set a $500,000 straight cash bond for a former Ohio man charged in connection with an alleged shooting two years ago in New Kensington. Iven Cashua Miller Jr., 37, who was previously identified as being from Cleveland and now lists a New Kensington address,...
School board hopeful bounced from ballot; more candidate challenges on tap
A Republican candidate seeking a spot on the Penn-Trafford School Board was removed Friday from the primary ballot, and a decision on another candidate vying for a seat on the Franklin Regional School board was deferred. Additional court hearings are scheduled for Monday on challenges of three Jeannette and one...
South Greensburg nursing aide sentenced for 2022 attack on elderly resident
A South Greensburg woman was ordered to serve up to two years on probation for an assault of an elderly nursing home resident in 2022. Donna Marie Flock, 57, on Wednesday pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of striking, shoving, kicking and making threats against a resident at Newhaven...
Westmoreland County water authority board allocates funds for fire hydrant replacements
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County on Wednesday allocated $250,000 to install and replace fire hydrants throughout its five-county service area during the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Officials said the program is part of the authority’s annual effort to upgrade the water system through a variety of capital improvements such as new...
Westmoreland Human Services moving to put scattered staff under 1 roof
Staff who comprise the county’s consolidated Westmoreland Human Services department could be relocated to a centralized location. County officials confirmed Tuesday preliminary talks are underway for a project that could see the county move more than 300 employees to the site of the county housing authority’s former headquarters on South...
Westmoreland housing authority says federal budget cuts unlikely to impact local services
Westmoreland County Housing Authority officials said Tuesday they expect cuts in federal funding to have no immediate impact on local services. The authority receives about $24 million annually from the federal government to operate its public housing program, pay for capital improvements and fund vouchers for subsidized housing. The continuing...
Municipalities ask courts to dissolve dormant Crabtree sewer authority
More than a decade after three municipalities created the Crabtree Municipal Authority, they’ve asked a Westmoreland County judge to formally dissolve the agency. In a court filing last week, lawyers for Hempfield, Salem and Unity townships called for the authority, which has been dormant for several years, to be disbanded....
GOP endorses incumbents for Westmoreland row officer seats
Westmoreland Republicans this weekend endorsed five incumbent row officers and a newly appointed judge in advance of the May 20 primary election. Two of those incumbents, Register of Wills Jon Wian and Coroner Tim Carson, face nomination challengers this spring. Wian was appointed in February serve in the role until...
2 plead guilty to Arnold drive-by shooting, high-speed police chase through several A-K Valley towns
Two Pittsburgh residents pleaded guilty Friday to their role in a drive-by shooting more than two years ago in Arnold. The incident ended with a high-speed chase through part of the Alle-Kiski Valley and a collision with a police vehicle. Tishan Lowe Jr., 33 and Imani Patterson, 27, were charged...
Democrats sit out primary for Westmoreland County row offices
No Democratic candidates have filed to run for Westmoreland County row offices this year, further weakening a political brand that dominated the area just two decades ago. Two Republican incumbents — newly appointed Register of Wills Jon Wian and first-term Coroner Tim Carson — face opposition in this spring’s Republican...
Greensburg man pleads guilty to animal cruelty
A Greensburg man in jail since January was paroled Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges. Bryan J. Thompson, 56, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts in connection with allegations he failed to get medical attention for his 3-year-old dog, a rottweiler named Leo. One felony count of aggravated...
California woman sentenced to jail for local cryptocurrency scam
A California woman was ordered Wednesday to serve at least five months in jail for her role for an attempted scam involving cryptocurrency investments. Yamei Shi, 35, pleaded guilty in Westmoreland County to felony counts of deceptive business practices and the criminal use of a communication device as part of...
Palmer airport terminal expansion project impacted by winter weather
Construction of a new, larger terminal at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity is about two months behind schedule, officials said Tuesday. This winter’s cold and snow delayed ongoing work to build the foundation for the $22 million, 32,000-square-foot terminal that will double the size of the flight waiting areas,...
Jeannette man receives prison sentence for child porn possession
A Jeannette man was ordered Tuesday to serve up to up to 52 months in prison for the possession and dissemination of child pornography. Anthony J. Cortazzo IV, 38, pleaded guilty in December to 11 felony counts in connection with an investigation launched last year after a former girlfriend reported...
Appeal in Loyalhanna triple murder case identifies potential new suspects
New attorneys for a former Loyalhanna business owner on death row for the murder of his sister, mother and elderly aunt in 2009 claim they have identified two other men as the potential killers. The evidence, they say, bolsters arguments that a new trial is warranted. Kevin Murphy, 64, of...
Theft case against Latrobe attorney is postponed
A Westmoreland County judge Monday delayed a trial for a Latrobe attorney accused of bilking a jailed client. Acting on a defense request, Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio approved the two-month postponement of the theft case filed against attorney John Allen Roth. The defense said the delay was to await a prosecution...
Westmoreland commissioners approve new labor deal, suspend work rules for nonunion staff
Westmoreland commissioners last week ratified a new labor deal for the county’s largest municipal police force and issued the temporary halt of a hiring policy that officials claim has skewed hiring and pay scales throughout the government. The commissioners approved a five-year contract with the Park Police Association of Westmoreland...
Jeannette man’s murder convictions, life sentences vacated over debunked fire science
A former Jeannette man serving three life prison sentences for the first-degree murders of his wife and two young children in 1993 is entitled to a new trial, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Friday. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani vacated the convictions and sentences of James Young, 57, who...
Officials say flights to Fort Lauderdale to resume from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
Direct flights from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will resume in May, the Westmoreland County Airport Authority announced Friday. Spirit Airlines will initially operate two weekly flights to the south Florida city, a move officials said will return profitability and jobs to Westmoreland County’s lone commuter airport....
Jury finds Greensburg man guilty of child rape
A Westmoreland County jury on Thursday convicted a Greensburg man of the sexual assault of a young child. James A. Swanson, 48, was found guilty of two felony offenses, rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, in connection with allegations of improper conduct with a 3-year-old boy in 2019 and 2020....
Longtime Westmoreland transit board chairman Frank Tosto Jr. passed over for reappointment
Republican Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday replaced longtime Westmoreland County Transit Authority board member Frank Tosto Jr., saying it was time for change on the board that oversees public transportation. “Nobody is to be on a board forever. Yes, he has knowledge and experience, but the board, as a recommendation,...
Ross tabbed as new Westmoreland County Election Bureau director
The Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday tabbed the county’s head of information technology to serve as the new election bureau director. Scott Ross of Youngwood was formally appointed to run the courthouse office that oversees elections as part of a newly created position that combines election functions with the job...
Prosecutors refute defense claims, say there’s no doubt Unity woman was murdered
Westmoreland County prosecutors on Wednesday issued a stern rebuke of claims made by the lawyer of a Unity man charged with killing his former girlfriend. Prosecutors said the lawyer for Thomas Stanko in court documents filed last month falsely claimed it was accepted as fact that no evidence supports claims...
