Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 69

Nicole Ziccarelli knows her successful campaign that ousted six-term Democrat John Peck is only the beginning. The hard part begins in January, when she takes over as Westmoreland County District Attorney. “I’m glad I have two months to prepare,” Ziccarelli said Wednesday, hours after she received more than 57% of...

Westmoreland County prosecutors this week dropped a felony charge of drug delivery resulting in death against one of three men charged in connection with a 2018 fatal drug overdose in New Kensington. Matthew Covey, 50, formerly of Missouri, pleaded guilty to a lesser drug possession charge as part of a...

A New Stanton man will serve up to 10 years in prison for an armed robbery during which he assaulted two clerks at a local gas station in 2019. Anthony David Gillingham Jr., 33, pleaded guilty Tuesday to multiple charges in four different criminal cases including the incident three years...

Scottdale’s Tim Carson on Tuesday went from caterer to coroner and ended the political dynasty that has held the Westmoreland County office for nearly a half century. With 100% of the vote counted, the Republican appeared to defeat five-term incumbent Democrat Ken Bacha. The owner of Carson’s Premier Catering in...

For the first time in more than a quarter century, Westmoreland County will have a new top prosecutor. With 100% of the county’s 307 precincts reporting Wednesday morning, Republican Nicole Ziccarelli erased an early lead held by six-term Democratic incumbent John Peck and claimed the race for district attorney. Peck...

A Jeannette man charged with murder and arson in connection with a deadly fire in 2018 that killed one person and injured another rejected a proposed plea bargain that would have spared him from a life prison sentence. Brian Rendon would not accept a deal to plead guilty to a...

Westmoreland County paid more than $8,100 for postage to correct errors that appeared on 151 mail-in and absentee ballots sent out to voters in two Mt. Pleasant Borough precincts. Officials on Monday confirmed the ballots erroneously instructed voters to choose one of two candidates seeking council seats in the borough’s...

More than 200,000 Westmoreland County voters — or more than 80% of those registered — cast ballots during last fall’s Presidential Election. A year later, turnout for Tuesday’s election is expected to be just a fraction of that, election officials said. “We’re saying it will be be around 30%,” said...

Westmoreland is one of five counties in Pennsylvania without a permanent election director heading into Tuesday’s balloting, but local officials insist operations have never run better. With days before voters head to the polls Tuesday and results are tallied, the fury and confusion that plagued the county election bureau a...

The Westmoreland County Courthouse office that processes U.S. passport applications will have extended hours one day a week, officials announced. Beginning Nov. 4, the fifth floor Prothonotary Office at the courthouse will be open two additional hours every Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. to process passports. It’s a...

Westmoreland County residents have a big shopping list for federal coronavirus relief funds but one unified message: “Do the right thing.” That was the common refrain from the dozens who testified Thursday during two public hearings held at Westmoreland County Community College about how county leaders should spend $105 million...

Westmoreland County residents have a big shopping list for federal coronavirus relief funds but one unified message: “Do the right thing.” That was the common refrain from the dozens who testified Thursday during two public hearings held at Westmoreland County Community College about how county leaders should spend $105 million...

The Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday unanimously confirmed Kelly Tua Hammers to fill the remaining two months in the term of Derry Magisterial District Judge Mark Bilik, who retired in August. Hammers, 49, a Democrat from Derry, won both the Democratic and Republican primaries in May and is unopposed on the...

A second expert will be sought to review ballistics as part of an appeal to be filed for a former Indiana County man on death row for the killing of his mother, sister and elderly aunt in 2009 at a family-owned automotive glass repair shop in Loyalhanna. Westmoreland County Common...

Westmoreland commissioners will conduct two public sessions Thursday to hear recommendations as to how the county should spend $105 million in federal funds allocated for coronavirus recovery programs. “We just want to hear from residents who have opinions and what thoughts they have,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes. Both sessions will...

For years the clock that sits in front of the Westmoreland County Courthouse offered the correct time just twice a day. The four-sided timepiece has sat at the edge of Courthouse Square for three decades, having been donated to the city in 1991 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the...

A Vandergrift man accused in the attempted rape of an Allegheny Township woman in May claims he was improperly questioned by police when he told them he acted to fulfill his accuser’s “rape fantasy.” Defense attorney Duke George, during a court hearing on Tuesday, argued his client, James Randall DeFilippi,...

A Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday rejected an appeal from a Greensburg woman who was sentenced to serve a 14-year prison term for the sale of heroin that caused the fatal overdose of a woman last year. Jamie Lynn Dickant, 35, sought to rescind her guilty plea and contended she...

Covid-19 vaccinations will soon be administered in-house to inmates at Westmoreland County Prison. Warden Bryan Kline said Monday that the jail’s medical provider has been granted permission to administer shots, a move local officials hope will increase the vaccination rate at the Hempfield lockup. “Vaccinations will be offered to all...

Every inmate at Westmoreland County Prison will have access to new tablets on which they can conduct video visits, make calls or watch movies. Westmoreland Commissioners on Monday approved a new contract extension with the private company that provides communication services to the jail that officials said will generate more...

A former Jeannette man serving three consecutive life sentences in connection with the 1993 deaths of his wife and two young children in a house fire appeared Monday in a Westmoreland County courtroom as part of his ongoing appeal. James C. Young, 54, has maintained since his 1995 trial that...

For the first time in a quarter century, Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck has a race on his hands. Republican Nicole Ziccarelli, fresh off a razor-thin defeat in a bid for state Senate last fall, insists it’s time to change leadership in the county prosecutor’s office. “I respect the...

Megan Loughner was on a different career path in 2010 when she went to work for Bryan Kline, the newly elected Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts. Loughner was 24 with aspirations to work as an intelligence officer. She was awaiting a final job offer with the U.S. Department of Justice...

Nicole Ziccarelli, the Republican candidate with designs on unseating six-term Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck, holds a substantial edge in campaign fundraising and spending heading into the Nov. 2 election. The lastest campaign finance reports, filed Friday, show Ziccarelli since June has spent more than $141,000 — an amount...

A Monessen man will serve up to 20 years in prison for the rape of a preteen. Quentin Timothy Simpson, 24, pleaded guilty Friday to charges of rape, indecent assault and other offenses in connection with a sexual assault last year. According to court records, police said Simpson showed pornographic...