Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 69
Eastmont Estates shooting suspects seeks transfer of attempted murder case to juvenile court
A Cheswick man who turned 18 a month after he was charged last year with the attempted murder of three people during a shooting outside of a Greensburg apartment building contends he should be prosecuted as a juvenile. The lawyer for Jaron Malik Haten-McCoy filed court documents Tuesday that argue...
Testimony begins in trial of Pittsburgh man charged in 2019 fatal shooting in Arnold
A Pittsburgh man told a Westmoreland County jury on Tuesday he was less than 5 feet away when he watched a man pull out a gun and fire multiple shots into the back of a friend who had started to run away down an Arnold alley nearly three years ago....
Trial begins for Rostraver man charged with sexual assault of child
Testimony started Monday in the trial of a Rostraver man accused of repeated sexual assaults of a 7-year-old girl. Westmoreland County prosecutors contend Robert Taylor Parks IV, 24, had sexual contact with his accuser at least five times dating back to 2015. Parks was charged in December 2020 with two...
Driver shortage results in Westmoreland transit service cuts
Despite a recent uptick in ridership, Westmoreland County Transit Authority will need to cut some commuter bus service to account for an ongoing driver shortage, officials said. Keeping and retaining drivers has been an issue for the authority since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and that shortage has left...
Additional damages sought for pool injury as Washington Township homeowners appeal $19M verdict
The lawyer for a Vandergrift man who won a $19 million verdict this month from a Westmoreland County jury has asked a judge to order a Washington Township couple found responsible for his injuries to pay another $3.8 million in delayed damages. The verdict, the largest ever awarded in Westmoreland...
Westmoreland’s clout in Harrisburg cut through redistricting
For the past decade, state Rep. George Dunbar’s 56th District local office has operated in a building just south of Clay Pike, near the Circleville Volunteer Fire Hall in North Huntingdon. For a while last week it was unclear whether the veteran state lawmaker would be able keep his office...
Former Westmoreland deputy sheriff pleads guilty to sex crime; sentenced to probation
A former Westmoreland County deputy sheriff pleaded guilty Friday to charges he bribed female inmates with tobacco products in return for sexual favors. Daniel Aaron Gradischek, 34, of Unity, was charged in late 2019 with five counts alleging that over a 10-year period he used his position as a deputy...
Former Westmoreland deputy sheriff pleads guilty to sex crime; sentenced to probation term
A former Westmoreland County deputy sheriff pleaded guilty Friday to charges he bribed female inmates with tobacco products in return for sexual favors. Daniel Aaron Gradischek, 34, of Unity, was charged in late 2019 with five criminal counts alleging that over a 10-year period he used his position as a...
Bonuses approved for Westmoreland 911 call takers
Westmoreland County will use cash in an attempt bolster its roster of 911 dispatchers and call-takers. Commissioners have agreed to a $486,000 financial package to award raises to dozens of county employees in multiple departments and award bonuses to 911 staffers, as well as new hires. “This is a public...
Appeal rejected in 2013 Donegal Township murder case
A Westmoreland County judge this week rejected the appeal of a Washington County man serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of his father-in-law in Donegal Township. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani, in a 12-page opinion, ruled there was no evidence to support claims made by Michael Martin...
Rental assistance grants lag in Westmoreland County; $28 million available to help
Westmoreland County has millions of dollars at the ready to help residents pay their back rent and bills, with much of that cash yet to be spent. The county has received another nearly $3.4 million from the state to bolster the ongoing rental assistance program authorized through federal coronavirus relief...
Former Westmoreland sheriff Jon Held pleads guilty to theft charge, gets probation
Jonathan Held, the former Westmoreland County sheriff once tried by state prosecutors in a public corruption case, pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor theft charge. A judge sentenced him to serve six months on probation. Held, 48, formerly of Hempfield, lives in Cape Coral, Fla. As part of his plea...
MAWC seeks damages for contamination of water system
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County has filed a lawsuit against more than two dozen chemical companies, accusing them of manufacturing toxic substances and contaminating the local water system. The six-count lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County seeks damages associated with chemicals that leached into the water supply but also for...
Penn Township man to serve 10-year prison sentence for jewelry heist
A Penn Township man will serve up to 10 years in prison for stealing a neighbor’s jewelry in 2019. Michael Joseph Lapaglia, 31, was convicted in November by a Westmoreland County jury of felony burglary and trespassing as well as misdemeanor counts of theft and receiving stolen property. According to...
Parking tickets pile up for Westmoreland Sheriff’s Department due to courthouse garage project
It took five days and $300 in parking tickets before Westmoreland County reached an agreement for Greensburg parking enforcement officers to stop citing inmate transport vans for parking in metered spaces outside the downtown courthouse. “They are adding up,” Sheriff James Albert said Tuesday about the tickets being incurred by...
Drug dealer’s 10-year prison sentence includes 1 month hiatus from confinement
A Clairton man convicted of running a major drug trafficking operation in Westmoreland County has been granted a one month hiatus from prison. Lindsey R. Wright, 42, who was sentenced late last week to serve up to 10 years in prison, will be released to house arrest before his newly...
Accuser says 2-year minimum sentence not justice for sexual assault
A Penn Township woman told a Westmoreland County judge on Monday that the two-year minimum sentence for the man who sexually assaulted her while her young child was in another room in her home wasn’t long enough. “A two-year sentence for what he has done is not justice. My life...
Suspended Latrobe therapist accused of sex charges wants 7 trials for allegations raised by 10 former clients
A suspended mental health therapist wants seven separate juries to hear evidence from 10 former patients who claim they were victims of sexual assaults, harassed, groped or subjected to other inappropriate behavior during counseling sessions over the last decade. Gregory P. Miscik, 60, of Latrobe was first charged in November...
Structural failures elsewhere spur call for emergency repairs at Westmoreland courthouse
It had been a month since the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh’s East End collapsed, and the memory was fresh in the mind of Westmoreland County Public Works Director Greg McCloskey as he gathered his bosses around a conference table to meet with an engineer. It was at that Feb....
Westmoreland jury awards $19M to swimming pool injury victim
A jury on Friday awarded $19 million in damages to a Vandergrift man left paralyzed from an accident in a friend’s swimming pool, in what is believed to be the largest verdict ever issued in Westmoreland County. Jurors found that Washington Township homeowners Robert and Laura O’Black were negligent and...
Jury to deliberate Friday in paralyzed Vandergrift man’s lawsuit over swimming pool injury
A Westmoreland County jury will begin deliberations Friday to determine if a Washington Township couple is responsible for injuries that left their son’s best friend paralyzed after he broke his neck in 2013 in their backyard swimming pool. Lawyers for Michael Fraser, 29, of Vandergrift contend Robert and Laura O’Black...
Delmont woman charged with threats against judge
A Delmont woman was charged amid allegations that she threatened to hang the Westmoreland County judge who is overseeing her ongoing custody dispute. Detectives said Jennifer Gesuale, 42, posted a YouTube video on March 7 in which she is alleged to have called for the murder of Westmoreland County Common...
Westmoreland County Prison fills a dozen vacancies at job fair
The county job fair at Westmoreland Mall was a big success, officials said. More than 40 applications were received for 50-plus vacant jobs in county government, according to Sam Miller, associate director of the human resources department. “It seems to have been a successful event,” Miller said. The goal of...
Westmoreland courthouse structural concerns identified in January; collapse threat not imminent
Engineers in late January found deteriorating structural beams in a parking garage below the Westmoreland County Courthouse in downtown Greensburg. County officials said Tuesday that while urgency is needed to make repairs, there is no imminent threat of collapse. Core samples taken in October found evidence of deteriorating beams from...
Structural repairs to closing of Westmoreland Courthouse entrance, courtyard
Courthouse Square and the Main Street entrance to the Westmoreland County Courthouse will be closed for at least six months to repair structural issues on the lower two underground parking levels below the government complex in Greensburg. Commissioners on Tuesday are expected to award a $7 million emergency contract for...
