Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 44
School board races serve as culture war battlegrounds
Darlene Ciocca had served nearly a dozen years as a member of the Norwin School Board and, in February, faced a decision that on the surface seemed completely out of place — one that involved a political calculation to determine whether to seek another term in office. The divisive political...
Doctor testifies New Kensington child was physically, sexually abused
A pediatrician who examined Mikel Fetterman just days after he was hospitalized with serious head injuries in March 2020 testified Friday the child was the victim of physical abuse and potentially a sexual assault. Dr. Jennifer Clarke works at a hospital in New York, but three years ago, she was...
Westmoreland human service department expansion to focus on public health, welfare
Westmoreland County’s new human services department will be expanded to advocate for health and welfare concerns, including homelessness prevention, and programs to deal with food insecurity. Commissioners this week approved creation of four new positions and revised job descriptions for two others as part of an overall increase in the...
Westmoreland approves $12 million finance package for New Kensington-Arnold development
The Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday approved a $12 million financial package to support construction of a manufacturing development that straddles New Kensington and Arnold. The commissioners will allocate $1 million from the county’s covid-relief funds and another $3 million from the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. The money will...
Township lawsuit alleges zoning violation over revised use of golf clubhouse
Penn Township is accusing the owners of an event center and banquet hall of violating local zoning requirements by refusing to allow golfers access to a clubhouse, pro shop and social gathering space built for the links on the same property. The township, in a lawsuit filed Wednesday, contends The...
Judge calls out Westmoreland DA office over speedy trial rights violation
A Westmoreland judge has ruled that the county’s District Attorney’s Office failed to properly manage its caseload and violated the speedy trial rights of a Ligonier man charged in 2021 with drunken driving. Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger dismissed the case against 38-year-old Jesse Springer. In a 12-page ruling, Krieger...
New Kensington man claims jury erred in Arnold slaying case
The lawyer for a New Kensington man serving a life sentence for a 2020 murder argued his client’s claims of self defense were not properly considered by a Westmoreland County jury. Assistant Public Defender John Sweeney said evidence presented last year during a weeklong trial did not support the jury...
Kiski Township man sentenced for scuffle with police atop tractor-trailer in New Stanton
A Kiski Township man was sentenced Monday to serve up to 23 months in jail in connection with an incident in New Stanton where he jumped atop a tractor-trailer and scuffled with police as they attempted to take him into custody. Blair Jones Czitterberg, 40, pleaded guilty in September to...
McKeesport woman pleads guilty to escape from police custody
A McKeesport woman was ordered on Monday to serve at least six months in jail for escaping from police custody following an arrest last year on charges of robbery and theft from a Hempfield business. Kristy Richele Zalac, 33, slipped out of handcuffs as she was waiting to be processed...
Sequel set for GOP Westmoreland Commissioner primary
Westmoreland County’s Republican primary for commissioner is a sequel. Five of the same seven candidates who sought GOP nominations four years ago are again on the ballot this spring, with incumbents Doug Chew and Sean Kertes facing challenges from Patricia Fritz, Paul Kosko and John Ventre. The Republicans are vying...
Kertes top fundraiser among Westmoreland GOP commissioner candidates
Westmoreland County Commissioner Sean Kertes has amassed more than $181,000 in his bid for a second term, according to campaign finance reports filed Friday. Kertes was the top fundraiser among the five Republican candidates seeking two nominations in the May 16 primary and, in the six-week period between mid-March and...
Westmoreland DA defends summary charges for trooper accused in fatal Salem crash
The Westmoreland County district attorney Friday defended a decision to charge a Pennsylvania State Police trooper with summary traffic offenses for his role in a fatal accident last year. Tyler Strini, 27, of Homer City pleaded guilty Friday to four traffic offenses — speeding, reckless driving, driving at an unsafe...
Incorrect, undated mail-in ballots won’t be counted in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland voters will have to take extra care to ensure mail-in ballots are properly dated before being submitted for the May 16 primary. The county’s elections board on Thursday voted to segregate and set aside returned mail ballots that are undated or include an incorrect date returned by Election Day....
Jeannette man convicted of first-degree murder, jury rejects self-defense claim
A Jeannette man on Thursday was convicted of first-degree murder for killing his friend, who police say was gunned down on a city street two years ago. After four days of testimony and nearly four hours of deliberations, a Westmoreland County jury rejected a defense argument that Stuart Ali was...
Trafford man found guilty of aggravated assault in attack on girlfriend
A Westmoreland County jury Wednesday convicted a Trafford man of aggravated assault and other offenses in connected with the violent assault against his estranged girlfriend. The jury convicted Alfred Tournay III, 55, of 12 counts, but acquitted him of three felony aggravated assault charges in connection with attacks on two...
Jeannette man on trial for homicide tells jury: ‘I pulled the trigger’
A Jeannette man testified Wednesday he felt he had no choice to shoot and kill a friend who punched him in the face during a car ride through the city. Stuart Ali, 47, told a Westmoreland County jury that he feared for his safety when 43-year-old Marcus Davis lunged toward...
Son testifies that father pointed gun prior to fatal Jeannette shooting
The son of a Jeannette man accused in the execution-style slaying of a friend testified Tuesday that he watched his father point a gun at the man just seconds before the fatal shots were fired on a Jeannette street two years ago. Taqua Ali, 22, told jurors he spent the...
Trafford man on trial for assaults against girlfriend, neighbors called ‘Tasmanian Devil’
Kelly Ferraro was outside warming up her car on a snowy morning in December 2020 when she spotted her neighbor’s live-in boyfriend yelling on the steps outside of his Trafford home. She instantly knew something as wrong, she told a Westmoreland County jury Tuesday. “Her boyfriend was standing on the...
Self-defense claimed as trial starts in Jeannette fatal shooting
A fatal shooting on a Jeannette street two years ago started as an argument between two friends over the potential robbery of two strangers, a prosecutor told a jury Monday. Westmoreland County Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar said Stuart Ali, 47, of Jeannette fired as many as 10 shots at...
Westmoreland seeks drivers for veterans transportation program
A program that provides free rides to Westmoreland County veterans needs drivers. Veterans Affairs Director Matt Zamosky said the van service that offers transportation to medical facilities in and near Pittsburgh is understaffed and in urgent need of volunteers to continue. “Before covid, we had six to seven drivers and...
Westmoreland again expected to be major factor in 2024 presidential race
Eyes could once again be on Westmoreland County as a key indicator ahead of the 2024 presidential election. With President Joe Biden’s announcement last week that he will seek a second term in office, political observers said the county is expected to play an outsized role in determining who wins...
Derry man sentenced to long probation term for sexual assaults
A Derry Township man will serve 21 years on probation after he was sentenced Friday for sexual assaults against three children and an adult. John M. Coiner, 60, pleaded guilty in February to multiple felony counts of indecent assault and misdemeanor offenses of indecent exposure. Coiner is accused of having...
Former Monessen man convicted of 1973 murders, rape as teen awaits new sentencing hearing
A former Monessen man convicted of the brutal murders of two young children and the rape of their mother in 1973 could be in line for a new sentence after serving more than 50 years in prison. The lawyer for John Veltre, 67, told a Westmoreland County judge on Friday...
Dravosburg man pleads guilty to high-speed chase, drug offenses
An Allegheny County man was ordered to serve at least six years in prison after he pleaded guilty Thursday to charges in connection to his role in a seven-mile high speed chase through parts of Westmoreland and Fayette counties in 2020. Nicholas Haluschak, 42, of Dravosburg, pleaded guilty to felony...
Lawsuit claims Westmoreland prison inmate died of overdose while in custody
The surviving family members of a Butler County woman who died while incarcerated in 2019 in the Westmoreland County Prison claims staff at the lockup failed to prevent her from overdosing while she was in their custody. According to an amended complaint filed this month in U.S. District Court in...
