Tony LaRussa stories, Page 3
Police: Stolen guns, cocaine found in New Kensington home of convicted felon
A SWAT team helped local and county detectives raid a home in New Ken Manor where, police say, three illegal guns, a half ounce of cocaine and evidence of drug dealing were seized. Detectives from New Kensington, Arnold and the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office arrested Demetres Ellis Beck, 28,...
Building the Valley: Frankie’s Sausage in Sharpsburg making its mark on local food scene one link at a time
Frankie Marckisotto and Mike Conte weren’t looking for business partners when they met after Conte’s sister, Macrae, and Marckisotto began dating several years ago. But their partnership quickly bloomed with the realization that the unfulfilled dreams they both had were remarkably similar. The result was the launch of Frankie’s Sausage...
Man accused of holding woman captive ordered to stand trial
A homeless man accused of forcing his way into a Tarentum woman’s apartment, beating her and holding her captive for nearly two hours before fleeing naked, has been ordered to stand trial. David Matthew Weston, 36, was charged with felony counts of burglary and criminal trespass along with counts of...
Man accused of slapping 5-year-old Harrison boy faces felony charge
Harrison police accused a man of slapping a preschooler, who told him he had a “crush” on another boy at school, so hard in the face that it left raised welts in the shape of his fingers. Ronald L. King, 38, of Uniontown was charged with a felony count of...
New Kensington man gets 25 years in prison for distributing child pornography
A federal judge on Friday sentenced a New Kensington man to 25 years in prison for distributing child pornography, including more than 100 photos showing infants and toddlers being sexually abused. Robert Pacek, 53, pleaded guilty in December to seven counts of distributing images of children being sexually abused using...
Proposed 2024 Hampton budget would keep property tax rate unchanged for a 7th year
Hampton council is expected to vote Dec. 13 on a 2024 preliminary budget that will keep the property tax rate at its current level while increasing spending in several key areas. At about $16.23 million, the proposed budget unveiled at the council meeting on Nov. 15 includes about $10.2 million...
Man accused of raping Pine woman who refused his advances ordered to stand trial
A Mt. Washington man accused of raping a Pine woman — who told police he slapped her in the face when she repeatedly refused his advances and then forced her to have sex — has been ordered to stand trial. In September, Northern Regional Police charged Tassy Fils-Aime, 32, of...
Man wanted on drug, gun warrants in 2 counties arrested in Harrison
A man wanted for warrants in Allegheny and Armstrong counties was arrested by Harrison police Tuesday night after fleeing from officers and trying to ditch a stolen gun and drugs, according to authorities. Warren Paul “Boo” Greenleaf Jr., 39, of College Avenue, Mt. Pleasant, was charged with two counts of...
2 men arrested during SWAT raid at New Kensington home
Two men who are awaiting trial on drug charges were accused of making and selling crack cocaine at a New Kensington home raided by a SWAT team Tuesday morning. Police charged the homeowner, Andrew Michael “Sly” Slywczuk, 39, of the 400 block of Charles Avenue, with two felony counts of...
Traffic stop leads to drug charges for Arnold woman
Lower Burrell police accused a woman who had a warrant out for her arrest of dealing drugs after she was pulled over for a traffic violation and offered to let police search her vehicle. Michelle Lynn Dzugan, 45, of the 1500 block of Horne Boulevard in Arnold was charged with...
Atlanta man to go to trial in Westmoreland County over accusation of car insurance fraud
A Georgia man has been ordered to stand trial in Westmoreland County Court on charges that he falsified the date of a collision by a month so he could add the crashed car to his policy and file a claim. An agent with the state Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section...
Police say Harrison man used stolen driver’s license, bank card to withdraw $7K
A Harrison man is accused of using a stolen driver’s license and bank card to withdraw more than $7,000 from the owner’s bank accounts. Rodney Gaschler, 57, of Walnut Street was charged Thursday with felony counts of forgery, theft by deception, receiving stolen property and access device fraud, along with...
Iron City taps into region’s history with 1870s-style rye whiskey at East Deer distillery
Pittsburgh has long been known as a shot-and-a-beer town. And for more than 160 years, much of the beer consumed here was made by Pittsburgh Brewing Co. Now the iconic company is making the shots to go with its beer. After years of sitting in oak barrels until just the...
Brackenridge man accused of speeding while high with 2 kids in the car, trying to elude arrest
State police accused a Brackenridge man of smoking pot while he was driving with two kids in the car and then trying to elude arrest when a trooper clocked him going 90 mph on Route 28 in Harmar. Altamese Kharon Thompson, 29, was charged with two counts of endangering the...
Vandergrift teen accused of assaulting 63-year-old man, beating him with his own walking stick
Vandergrift police accused a teenager of beating a 63-year-old man until he fell to the ground then continuing the assault by grabbing the walking stick the man was using and repeatedly striking him. Jackson Mills, 15, of the 200 block of Holmes Street in Vandergrift was charged Tuesday with felony...
Lower Burrell man accused of forging check from Wexford business
A Lower Burrell man who is serving probation for selling a fatal dose of drugs in 2018 is accused of stealing nearly $3,000 from a Richland business by altering and cashing a check he stole from its mailbox. Northern Regional Police charged Donald Keith Lewandowski, 39, of the 100 block...
West Deer police accuse woman of forging, cashing check from pump supply company
A Monroeville woman who pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge in April for forging a check is accused of doing the same thing to steal from a business in West Deer. Police charged Chelsea Renee Chase, 34, of the 200 block of Holt Lane with felony counts of theft...
Trial ordered for Tarentum sisters, boyfriend accused of staging August robbery at Asay’s newsstand
Two sisters and one of their boyfriends will stand trial on charges they conspired to stage a robbery at Asay’s newsstand in Tarentum in late August. Investigators say April Baczynski, who worked as a clerk at Asay’s, and Leah Baczynski came up with the idea with Leah’s boyfriend, Connor Whited,...
Police accuse Vandergrift man who claimed he was assaulted of being the perpetrator
A Vandergrift man awaiting trial on charges that he assaulted police officers when they tried to arrest him in January for skipping a court hearing has been accused of trying to run over a man and threatening to shoot him because he is black, according to investigators. Thomas Henry Suppers,...
Springdale police accuse 2 women who offered escort services online of being prostitutes
Springdale police accused two women of working as prostitutes after they offered to exchange sex for money with a police officer who was working undercover, according to investigators. Alexis Radovitch, 36, of the 500 block of Walnut Street in Springdale was charged with a felony count of promoting prostitution along...
Lower Burrell police accuse 3 people of altering game-of-chance payout slips to inflate winnings
Three people are accused of stealing more than $5,000 from businesses in Lower Burrell and Allegheny Township by using computers to alter the payout slips from games-of-chance machines to a higher amount. Lower Burrell and Westmoreland County detectives said the suspects had computers and a printer in their vehicle so...
Police say man escaped serious injury after car went off road, down hillside in Plum
The driver of a vehicle escaped serious injury Monday after he went off the road and down a hillside along Coxcomb Hill Road in Plum. The crash near the intersection of Kerr Road was reported around noon, according to Plum police Detective Joe Little. Initial reports from emergency dispatchers said...
Contractor already facing fraud trial accused of taking money, not doing work in Lower Burrell, New Kensington
A home remodeler who is awaiting trial for allegedly committing contractor fraud last year was accused this month of taking money from residents in New Kensington and Lower Burrell for work he never did. Jason Raymond Mager, 47, of the 400 block of Ridge Avenue was charged Tuesday by Lower...
Ex-Fawn supervisor found guilty of harassing former township police officer at his new job
A former Fawn supervisor who was sued for allegedly orchestrating the firing of a police officer was found guilty of harassing the officer at his new job in Armstrong County. David A. Montanari, 64, of the 1600 block of Bull Creek Road in Fawn was issued a citation by Manor...
Hearing set for man accused in 2021 New Kensington raid that netted fentanyl, crack
A New Kensington man who was charged with selling fentanyl and cocaine nearly 18 months after his home was raided is scheduled to appear before a district judge. Christoper Simmons, 36, of the 1100 block of Constitution Boulevard was detained during a Dec. 30, 2021, raid by a team of...
