Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 86
Westmoreland poll workers awarded big raises
Civic duty hasn’t quite been the lure Westmoreland elections officials had hoped to attract people to work the polls on Election Day, so county commissioners will offer more cash as an incentive. Commissioners, acting as the elections board, on Friday issued massive raises to reward those who worked at the...
Jury finds Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Vazquez guilty of sexual assault of a teen girl
A Westmoreland County jury late Thursday found former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez guilty of sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl. The jury found Vazquez guilty on 15 counts, including the most serious charges of statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact or communication with a minor, indecent assault and corruption of...
Technical issue, ballot reviews cause reporting delay of Westmoreland election results
It took more than 22 hours after Westmoreland County polls closed Tuesday night before complete unofficial results from the hundreds of primary races were posted to the county’s website. Updated results to reflect totals from all 307 precincts and the nearly 13,000 mail-in ballots that arrived at the courthouse by...
Pirates pitcher testified teen accuser sent him fake ID to make him believe she was of age
Suspended Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez told a Westmoreland County jury Wednesday that he religiously sought confirmation of the 50 woman he met online to ensure they were above the age of consent during the two years prosecutors said he conducted a sexual relationship with a teenager. Vazquez, 29, served...
Hammers, Mahady, Tyburski and Fanchalsky appear to win district judge races
Westmoreland County voters in November will officially elect new magisterial district judges to preside over courts based in Derry, Penn Township, Unity and Youngwood. But it appeared from unofficial election returns that all four races had already been decided. Each district had contested races Tuesday in which candidates cross-filed to...
Acting Westmoreland Clerk of Court jumps out to strong lead in GOP primary
Westmoreland County’s Acting Clerk of Courts Megan Loughner held a wide lead in Tuesday’s Republican primary to run for a full four-year term to run the office to oversee the county’s criminal court records. With 288 of the 307 precincts reporting, Loughner, 36, of Unity, had 65% of the votes...
Investigator testifies Pirates pitcher Vazquez knew Scottdale girl was ‘too young’
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez, during a police interrogation at his Strip District apartment in September 2019, initially claimed he knew his teen accuser was young and told investigators her age was why he refused to communicate with her over the previous two years. Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Michael Thompson,...
Former WCCC accountant pleads guilty to theft from school
A former accountant at Westmoreland County Community College was ordered to serve five years of probation for the theft of more than $54,000 from the school’s student government account. Shirley Ferrenberg, 60, of Unity, pleaded guilty Monday to one felony theft count in connection with the funds police say were...
Teen testifies to sexual relationship with ex-Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez, says initial contact was ‘super cool’
A 17-year-old girl testified Monday she thought it was “super cool” when Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Felipe Vazquez responded to her social media message in which she wished him a happy birthday in July 2017. Six weeks later, with her parents away for the day, Vazquez had sex with her...
A ‘Tony’ for Tony: County detective honored for commitment to Westmoreland drug court
For months as the coronavirus pandemic raged, Westmoreland County drug court participants quarantined at home and away from the much-needed counsel and treatment for their addictions. That’s where Tony Marcocci, a detective with the county District Attorney’s Office, stepped up, according to the two judges who oversee the special court...
Masks no longer required for vaccinated staff, visitors at Westmoreland courthouse
Westmoreland officials on Friday said anyone who is fully vaccinated against coronavirus will no longer be required to wear masks at the courthouse and in most other government buildings. “We are all looking forward to getting back to normal,” county Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher said. According to a memo released...
Jury seated in Pirates pitcher’s sexual assault trial, testimony to begin Monday
Testimony in the sexual assault trial of former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez will begin Monday morning in a Westmoreland County courtroom. Twelve jurors and two alternates were seated Friday for what is expected to be a three-day trial after Vazquez was accused of having sexual relations with a 13-year...
Westmoreland elections office to open over weekend for mail-in ballots
Westmoreland County’s Election Bureau will be open this weekend to distribute ballots to voters who requested but not received their mail-in and absentee ballots for Tuesday’s primary election. The courthouse office will operate from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday to reissue ballots, said Election Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani....
Westmoreland officials say voters who receive mail-in ballots this weekend should use drop boxes
Westmoreland County elections officials said Thursday that all 18,000-plus mail-in ballots requested for Tuesday’s primary have been sent. Election Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said the last batch of ballots, requested in the final days before the May 11 deadline, were mailed Wednesday and should arrive by this weekend. As of...
Westmoreland to get $105M in covid relief funds, could use money for capital improvements
Westmoreland commissioners said the county will receive $105.3 million in federal coronavirus relief funds that will be used to fund a variety of needed capital improvements and ultimately negate the need for a tax hike. Commissioners on Thursday formally applied for the money allocated through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue...
4 district judge seats in Westmoreland County have contested primary races this spring
A quarter of Westmoreland County’s 16 district courts will see a new judge in 2022. Eleven candidates are seeking four contested seats on the local courts seeking to replace three retiring judges and fill one seat left vacant by a resignation. Judicial candidates are permitted to cross-file and all will...
Kittanning man’s police confrontations lead to 5-year prison sentence
A Kittanning man will serve up to five years in prison for two incidents last year in Allegheny Township and Vandergrift in which police said he became physical with arresting officers. Jacob John Zoeller, 27, pleaded guilty to charges of burglary, child endangerment and resisting arrest in connection with a...
Lawyer: No evidence to support homicide charge in Derry mother’s shooting death
The lawyer for a Unity man accused in the shooting death of a Derry mother contends murder charges should be dismissed for a lack of evidence. Police contend Nathan Quidetto, 21, sought revenge for a drug deal gone awry when at 4 a.m. July 20 he fired shots into a...
Westmoreland County puts out call for poll workers
Westmoreland officials said Tuesday that dozens of poll workers are needed to staff the county’s 307 voting precincts for the May 18 primary. In all, the county needs 11 judges of elections and as many as 50 poll workers, Election Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said. Judges of elections are needed...
Westmoreland officials seek answers for Mt. Pleasant Township ballot error
Westmoreland County elections officials on Monday continued to piece together how the race for a district judge’s seat was excluded from mail-in ballots sent to voters last week in four Mt. Pleasant Township precincts. “It’s my responsibility,” Elections Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said of the oversight that led to 189...
Former Mt. Pleasant police officer sentenced to prison for sexual assaults
A Westmoreland County prosecutor argued in court Monday that a former part-time Mt. Pleasant Borough police officer who used an escalating level of violence in sexual attacks against three women should spend up to 50 years in prison. “Law enforcement officials carry badges. If you look at it, it’s a...
Police standoff in Beltzhoover ends with no arrests
Pittsburgh police Sunday morning continued to look for a suspect that officials said was at the center of a standoff with officers late Saturday night in Beltzhoover. Officials said members of Pittsburgh’s SWAT team surrounded a house on the 100 block of Freeland Street just before 10 p.m. after a...
Incorrect ballots mailed to some Mt. Pleasant voters, Westmoreland County says
Westmoreland County officials acknowledged that more than 190 incorrect mail-in ballots were issued to voters in Mt. Pleasant Township. Ballots issued to voters in four precincts — Ridgeview, Mammoth, United and Westmoreland Homestead — erroneously omitted the race for district judge to replace Michael Mahady, who will retire at the...
Allegheny Township man pleads guilty to rape of teen
An Allegheny Township man will serve up to eight years in prison for the repeated rape and sexual assaults of a teenage girl. Kevin Carl Williams, 53, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and sexual assault for five incidents police said occurred in 2017 and...
Drop box added at Murrysville location ahead of May 18 primary
Westmoreland County officials say more than 15,400 mail-in ballots have been sent out to voters ahead of the May 18 primary. Another batch of more than 800 ballots is ready to go out, Elections Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said. The deadline to apply for mail-in ballots is May 11. They...
