Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 56
Trump set for campaign rally at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to return to Westmoreland County just days ahead of the Nov. 8 general election. According Trump’s Save America website, the former president will hold a campaign rally Nov. 5 at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity. Details of the rally have yet to be...
Police get DNA from Belle Vernon man accused in New Year’s road rage killing
DNA from three people was found on the gun used to kill a motorist in a New Year’s Day road rage incident in Rostraver, a Westmoreland County detective testified Tuesday. Since August, investigators have attempted to secure a DNA sample from Anthony Hairston, who was charged with first-degree murder and...
Derry Township man convicted of attempted murder
A Derry Township man told a judge on Tuesday he just wanted to scare a man who he believed had started a fire near his camper when he fired a series of “warning shots” across a rural field. But at least one round struck Jonathan David Corey in the buttocks...
Experts: Fetterman’s health unlikely to impact the Pa. Senate race
Tuesday night’s debate between Democratic Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz will be the first and only meeting of the two candidates before the Nov. 8 election. Its outcome could go a long way in deciding who wins a seat that political pundits say could determine...
Westmoreland transit halts drug testing of administrative staff
The Westmoreland County Transit Authority board has eliminated a requirement for members of the agency’s administrative team to be subjected to random drug testing. The board signed off on a request after officials said the requirement was unnecessary. Its elimination also could save money, officials said. “No one has ever...
Pay hike approved for Westmoreland DA spokesperson, finance department
A monthslong search for a public information officer for Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli is nearly over after commissioners agreed to a 50% salary increase before the job is even filled. The county’s salary board, which includes all three commissioners and Controller Jeff Balzer, approved raising the salary for...
Westmoreland commissioners launch program to link students to local jobs
The Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday approved the creation of what they termed a “groundbreaking” program to invest in the future of local students. Commissioners allocated $949,000 toward a newly formed Westmoreland Workforce Development Plan that will be available at all 17 county school districts to promote occupational guidance and...
New Kensington man claims self-defense for 2020 shooting in Arnold
A New Kensington man accused in the shooting death of a man inside an Arnold home more than two years ago told a Westmoreland County jury Wednesday that he fired the fatal shots in self-defense. Mario Matthew Gatti, 33, was the lone defense witness to testify during his two-day trial....
Westmoreland waives residency requirement for county jobs
The Westmoreland commissioners said a residency requirement for all county employees will be lifted in an effort to find candidates for more than 200 vacant government jobs. Officials said the county has struggled to replenish its workforce and suggested that the residency requirement, which has been in place for years,...
Salem man on trial for attempted rape of teen
The lawyer for a Salem man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl told a Westmoreland County jury on Tuesday that alcohol consumed by his client’s accuser renders her an unreliable witness. Zachary Saflin, 23, is charged with attempted rape, two counts of aggravated indecent assault, false imprisonment, indecent assault...
Prosecutors: Arnold fatal shooting took less than 30 seconds
Westmoreland County prosecutors said it took a New Kensington man less than 30 seconds to park his car in an Arnold alley, walk into a townhouse wielding a gun, push over a woman, shoot and kill an unarmed man and return to his car. Assistant District Attorney Katie Ranker told...
Construction issues slow rebuild of Westmoreland courthouse garage
A series of setbacks is blamed for delays in completing a $7 million project to rebuild the two-story underground parking garage at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg. Public Works Director Greg McCloskey said the work, which began in April, is now expected to be finished in February. “We’ve had...
McKees Rocks woman charged with shooting boyfriend through closed door
Allegheny County police said a McKees Rocks woman fired 13 shots at a boyfriend following a domestic incident Sunday morning. Tiffany Johnson, 36, was charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in connection with the shooting that left a man with gunshot wounds to his foot and wrist, according to...
North Side residents fed up, as 3 people killed, 1 injured in Saturday night shooting
Robert Steadman has had enough. A longtime resident of Pittsburgh’s North Side, Steadman has seen too much violence, and hours after three people were killed and another wounded during a shooting Saturday night near Allegheny Commons, Steadman said it is time for action. “You get tired of it. It’s just...
Pittsburgh teen killed by vehicle in Ross identified
A teenager was killed Saturday in a Ross Township parking lot. The Allegheny County medical examiner has identified the victim as Christopher X. Lucas, 15, of Pittsburgh. The teen was hit by a vehicle at the North Hills Village shopping plaza along McKnight Road late Saturday afternoon, according to Tribune-Review...
Arrest made in McKees Rocks shooting that left victim in critical condition
A McKees Rocks man was arrested Saturday for an early morning shooting in the borough that left one man seriously injured. Edmond Fields, 49, was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, false identification to law enforcement and carrying a firearm without a license. As of Saturday evening, he was being...
Belt makers among longest tenured vendors at Fort Ligonier Days
For more than four decades, Maureen and Fred Light watched the crowds grow as Fort Ligonier Days blossomed from a small-town fall street festival to a weekend event that draws tens of thousands of visitors. Under sun-drenched skies with red and brown leaves drifting down from the trees, the Lights...
Boyfriend pleads guilty for intentional crash that left 4 trapped in overturned vehicle
Just before Jamar Freshley was escorted out of a Westmoreland County courtroom he turned to tell his girlfriend, “I love you.” Freshley, 33, of New Kensington, pleaded guilty Wednesday to aggravated assault and other offenses. Police said he slammed his car into the vehicle driven by his girlfriend last Oct....
Details of theft probe of Victor Steban’s home to remain under wraps
Helen Mongelluzzo knows her longtime friend Victor Steban isn’t likely to ever be released from prison. Still, she appeared Tuesday in a Westmoreland courtroom seeking information about allegations raised last year that motorcycles and other belongings were stolen from his home following his arrest on murder and other charges. Mongelluzzo,...
Judge dismisses insurance fraud charge from Bell arson case
A Westmoreland County judge has ruled there was not enough evidence to support a criminal charge of insurance fraud against a former Bell woman accused in the torching of her home two years ago. Following a pretrial hearing Tuesday, one felony count was dismissed in the ongoing case against Britny...
Allegheny Township woman tasered in police stop pleads guilty to assault
An Allegheny Township woman was ordered to serve up to 23 months in jail in connection with an incident last year in New Kensington in which she punched and kicked a police officer. Cally Jade Mills, 30, pleaded guilty in four criminal cases, including an incident last Nov. 30 that...
Mail-in ballots sent to Westmoreland voters
Westmoreland County has sent out the first batch of more than 14,000 mail-in ballots to voters, the election bureau director said Friday. “Our goal was to get them in the mail (Friday), and, starting today, people should start receiving them in their mailboxes,” Greg McCloskey said. As of Friday, Westmoreland...
Greensburg shooting suspect seeks separate trial
The lawyer for a Greensburg man charged in connection with a shootout earlier this year in downtown Greensburg wants a separate trial from another man with whom police said he exchanged gunfire. In court documents filed this week, attorney Brent McCune said the defenses of his client, Evan Curley, and...
Defense: Confession in East Huntingdon man’s fatal overdose improperly obtained by police
A Fayette County man charged with providing drugs to a former high school friend who died two years ago from an overdose claims his confession was a result of improper questioning by police. Steven Shively, 33, of Everson is awaiting trial on charges of drug delivery resulting in death and...
New Florence man charged in police assault seeks release from jail
A former New Florence man acquitted in the fatal shooting of a police officer in 2015 claims his speedy trial rights were violated as he awaits trial on charges that he assaulted police at his home last year. Ray A. Shetler Jr., 38, wants to be released on a nominal...
