Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 96

Westmoreland County officials on Monday confirmed that a third courthouse worker has tested positive for coronavirus. The latest staffer to test positive was reported to county officials on Saturday. Two other cases involving courthouse staff were disclosed last week. “The cases are unrelated, and we do not have any concern...

A Westmoreland County judge on Monday ruled the only way to protect the community from a Mt. Pleasant man accused of attempting to murder his girlfriend was for him to remain in jail. Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears rejected a request to release Charles Etling on nominal bond, saying...

Three members of a Western Pennsylvania numbers-running and sports-betting network pleaded guilty Monday in Westmoreland County to their roles in what state prosecutors contend was a major gambling ring with ties to organized crime that generated millions of dollars. Deputy Attorney General Mark Serge said the men were “low-level” operators...

The patriarch of a White Oak family and his three children were sentenced Monday for charges they oversaw more than 100 illegal video poker machines in North Huntingdon and the surrounding area. Robert Biros, 85, pleaded no contest to a felony charge of operating a corrupt organization while his two...

As Western Pennsylvania struggles with the coronavirus, officials say the pandemic is expected to have a dramatic, continued impact on tax revenue collected from hotel stays, which in turn is used to promote the region’s more than $7 billion travel industry. Virus fears resulted in fewer people coming to the...

Westmoreland County government and court offices will be closed Friday in observance of the July 4 holiday. Federal and state offices are also closed on Friday. All courthouse operations and court proceedings will resume on Monday, July 6....

The Westmoreland County Register of Wills will fully reopen to the public on Monday . The courthouse office, which oversees the filing of wills and estates and issues marriage licenses, has restricted public access since early April and has been operating by appointment only in response to the coronavirus pandemic....

A North Huntingdon man accused of trying to infect police with coronavirus by coughing on them will serve up to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to other offenses. Joseph R. Good Jr., 35, was arrested in April and, according to police, claimed he had coronavirus and...

A Bolivar man admitted Tuesday that he faked time sheets to showing he was working as a home health care assistant for nearly four years when, instead, he was working at a local business. Clark Michael Baird, 61, was sentenced Tuesday by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio...

A South Carolina man charged with the attempted murder of a police officer there will remain in the Westmoreland County Prison while he awaits trial for unrelated theft charges. Westmoreland County Judge Scott Mears last week set a $50,000 straight bond in the case against Brian Joseph Stoltie, who was...

A West Virginia man was paroled Monday after pleading guilty to causing a crash on Route 22 in Salem that killed a man and injured his wife and young daughter nearly two years ago. Brian Keith Clemons, 43, formerly of New Alexandria, pleaded guilty to charges of vehicular homicide, aggravated...

Juveniles held in Westmoreland County’s Regional Youth Services Center will be required to wear masks to deter the spread of the coronavirus. The facility’s oversight board on Monday said the new requirement is a precaution at the Hempfield facility, which serves as a juvenile detention center and shelter for troubled...

Westmoreland officials will consider testing all new inmates at the county lockup to help guard against coronavirus at the facility. Warden John Walton, during a meeting of the county’s prison board Monday, said although no case of covid-19 has breached the facility, the existing screening method to prevent spread of...

Westmoreland County is moving its annual tax sale off site. Commissioners on Thursday approved relocating the sale to the auditorium in Science Hall on the campus of Westmoreland County Community College, a move officials said is needed to account for social distancing required in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The...

The lawyer for suspended Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez said evidence collected by police during an investigation into sexual assault allegations were the product of an illegal search and should be barred from use by prosecutors in an upcoming trial. Vazquez, 28, has been in jail since September, when he...

Westmoreland County commissioners have had enough of paying out large sums of money to settle lawsuits filed against other elected officials. “We’re sending a letter to all of our row officers and elected officials telling them we want to hold them accountable,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes. Those comments came Thursday...

An Allegheny County man was sentenced Wednesday to serve life in prison without parole for a 2017 fatal shooting in Jeannette. Darrelle Tolbert-McGhee, 31, of Penn Hills, was convicted in January of first-degree murder for the April 13, 2017, daylight shooting of Michael Wilson on Clay Avenue. Police said Wilson,...

November’s general election in Westmoreland County will likely look much different than the relative calm of this month’s primary as a slate of incumbent lawmakers finally will face challenges. The county’s elections board on Wednesday precertified primary results. Barring any unexpected protests, they become official July 1. No write-in candidates...

At least one worker at Westmoreland Manor has tested positive for the corona­virus as state-mandated testing at the county-owned nursing home started this week. Officials said the employee, who was not identified, does not provide direct care of residents at the Hempfield facility. Westmoreland Manor management “immediately implemented steps to...

A lawsuit that claims a Ligonier physician and his wife were harassed and threatened by child welfare caseworkers will be litigated in Westmoreland County. Court documents filed this week revealed the six-count lawsuit filed last year in Somerset County was transferred to Westmoreland, where allegations of conspiracy, negligence and abuse...

A portion of Route 31 in Donegal Township was reopened Sunday afternoon after being closed for several hours following a collision between a motorcycle and another vehicle, according to state police in Greensburg. One person was flown to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown in critical condition following the 11:30...

Four people were seriously injured late Saturday afternoon in a crash along Noblestown Road in Scott Township. Allegheny County Police said a Ford Fiesta driven by a 47-year-old woman driving south at 4:45 p.m. on the 400 block of Noblestown Road when it crashed into stationary vehicle that was being...

The owners of Dad’s Pub and Grub restaurants announced Saturday that they have temporarily closed both locations after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus. According to a notice posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page, the owners said that locations in Monroeville and Braddock Hills as well as its food...