Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 21
Man charged in suspected Rostraver road rage killing rejects plea deal
A Belle Vernon man awaiting trial for the alleged road rage killing of a motorist two years ago in Rostraver has rejected a plea deal to a lesser charge. During a pretrial hearing Tuesday, prosecutors confirmed they proposed a deal that called for Anthony Hairston, 29, to serve 25 to...
Judge grants leniency for key witness in New Kensington killing
A Pittsburgh man who testified during a criminal trial last year against three co-defendants charged with killing a New Kensington man was granted leniency Tuesday by a Westmoreland County judge. “You are going to get a second chance because of those two people,” said Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani...
Former Westmoreland caseworker claims he was fired because of disability
A New Stanton man who worked for one month as a caseworker for the Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau claims he was fired earlier this year because he was disabled. In a two-count lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, Sean Lally contends he was discriminated against by...
DA confirms 1993 fatal Jeannette fire cause as undetermined, but says murder, arson convictions should stand
Westmoreland County prosecutors told a judge on Monday an expert hired to review the evidence used to convict a Jeannette man of intentionally setting a deadly fire in 1993 cannot conclude the blaze was arson. James Young, 57, is serving three life sentences after he was convicted of setting fire...
Pecarchik sworn in to lead Register of Wills Office in Westmoreland County
Katie Pecarchik says she knows how the Register of Wills Office is supposed to run. Pecarchik worked for two decades as a clerk in the office before she retired last summer. The office records adoptions, files wills and estates and issues marriage licenses. She now has the title of acting...
Westmoreland County seeks $1.5M share of Pa. casino revenue
Westmoreland County commissioners want a bigger piece of the state’s gambling profits. Commissioners submitted an application for $1.5 million in funding through the Commonwealth Financing Authority. The money is collected through assessments on slot machines and table games at Pennsylvania’s casinos, including Live Casino Pittsburgh at Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield....
Westmoreland County waives residency requirement for government workers
Westmoreland County commissioners waived for one year a residency requirement Thursday for all government employees, and officials suggested the change could become permanent. A policy was enacted decades ago to ensure that employees at the courthouse and other county facilities were county residents. It was previously waived for certain essential...
Westmoreland County fires purchasing managers after payroll irregularities discovered
Westmoreland County commissioners fired the director and assistant director of the county’s purchasing department Thursday over alleged payroll irregularities. Authorities suspended Purchasing Director Kristopher Cardiff and his deputy, Kristen Coyne, on Aug. 15 after allegations surfaced that they approved — without authorization — additional pay for themselves and the department’s...
Jury acquits woman in alleged Scottdale vehicular assault
Nicole Louise Moore doubled over and let out a cry of joy as a Westmoreland County jury acquitted her Wednesday of allegations that she drove over and severely injured a woman two years ago in a Scottdale parking lot. Following two days of testimony and more than two hours of...
Neighbors, hotel owners spar over planned event venue in Ligonier
A fight is brewing in Ligonier between the future and the past. Owners of the historic Thistledown at Seger House, just two blocks from the Diamond, received a building permit to erect a 2,000-square-foot pavilion that its owner says will host large events and bring new visitors to the borough....
Former friends testify in Scottdale vehicular assault trial
Nicole Moore and Tiara Stout and their children once vacationed together in Virginia Beach. A year later, Moore was in jail, charged with running down Stout with her car outside a Scottdale apartment building. Both women testified Tuesday during the second day of Moore’s trial in Westmoreland County. Moore is...
Buyers eye deals at Westmoreland County’s tax sale
Mellissa Gardina wants to move out of her Vandergrift neighborhood. She was looking for a deal and over the summer found her potential new home in nearby Oklahoma Borough, not through a real estate listing but in a booklet of Westmoreland County’s tax delinquent properties that the county publishes each...
Mt. Pleasant woman claims self defense in 2022 Scottdale hit and run
A prosecutor told a jury Monday there is no reasonable way to explain why a Mt. Pleasant woman ran over another woman two years ago outside of a Scottdale apartment building. Nicole Louise Moore, 28, is accused of aggravated assault, hit and run, and other offenses in connection with an...
Food, music highlight Latrobe Italian Festival
Lucy and Terry Lappi certainly didn’t have to worry about stopping for a bite to eat Sunday afternoon on their way back home to Somerset. The Lappis were among those drawn to this weekend’s third annual Latrobe Italian Festival, where more than 50 merchants and food vendors lined the streets...
Woman dies in Carrick house fire
A 72-year-old woman rescued from a house fire late Saturday night in Carrick has died, police said. Officials said Pittsburgh city fire crews responded to a residential structure fire in the 100 block of Minooka Street, where a 72-year-old woman was found on the first floor of the home. Medics...
Bushy Run Battlefield reopens after June tornado
Anna Watson couldn’t wait to return to the walking trails at Bushy Run Battlefield in Penn Township. “We didn’t realize how much damage it did,” said Watson, 33, of Sewickley of the June 26 tornado that cased what officials estimated to be about $1 million in damage to the historic...
Red sand used to bring awareness to human trafficking in Westmoreland County
For Sister Mary Norbert Long, the red sand being spread on sidewalks in Greensburg represents a mission to ensure that the issue of human trafficking is one that remains on the front burner. Long, 85, a nun with the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill and a member of Westmoreland...
Trump set to return to Westmoreland County
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to return to Southwestern Pennsylvania this month to speak at an event in Westmoreland County. On Saturday, the Trump campaign announced Trump will address The Projecting America Initiative, a nonprofit group led by former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grennel. The group says it...
Housing authority plans for new senior apartments in Rostraver
Westmoreland County Housing Authority officials confirmed Wednesday that a property agreement has been reached for the planned construction of a 50-unit apartment complex in Rostraver. Authority board members are expected to consider the proposed $600,000 purchase this month of six acres near Willowbrook Plaza on Route 51. It would be...
Delmont man pleads guilty to sex assault of second teen
A Delmont man pleaded guilty Tuesday to the sexual assault of a teenage girl, months after he was sentenced to house arrest and probation for a similar offense against another juvenile in 2022. Dezhane Markel Emm Amey, 24, will be eligible for parole in early October after he was ordered...
Hamilton out as Westmoreland County Register of Wills, first deputy takes over as office head
The tumultuous tenure of Westmoreland County Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton ended Tuesday. Hamilton, 47, of Hempfield, officially walked away from the elected position she has held since January 2016, leaving a vacancy in the courthouse office that issues marriage licenses and oversees wills, estates and adoptions . Her...
Commissioners say low turnout casts doubt on future of road meetings
Westmoreland commissioners’ road tour, which took public meetings from Allegheny Township to Youngwood and finally to Rostraver this year, ended with sparse crowds, raising doubt about the future of the program that was restarted after a two-decade hiatus. Commissioners met Thursday night in the activity center at Cedar Creek Park...
Proposed cap on raises for elected officials stalls in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland’s Democratic minority commissioner claims his proposal to cap pay raises for elected county officials is being blocked by his Republican colleagues. Commissioner Ted Kopas has lobbied for imposition of a 2.5% cap on all annual raises awarded to the county’s elected officials, saying the current system that controls future...
Payroll irregularities lead to suspension of Westmoreland purchasing director, deputy
Westmoreland County’s director of purchasing and his deputy are suspended without pay over allegations they and four staffers were paid for extended workdays without prior approval. Purchasing Director Kristopher Cardiff and his deputy, Kristen Coyne, have been off the job since Aug. 15 after county commissioners authorized suspensions for both...
Lyft driver pleads guilty to North Huntingdon 3-vehicle crash
An Allegheny County woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to being drunk when she caused a three-vehicle crash in North Huntingdon that injured six people. Police said Slobodanka Bulatovic, 48, of North Versailles, was a driver for ride-sharing company Lyft and was en route to North Huntingdon for a fare when she...
