North Huntingdon man accused of disrupting township meeting

A North Huntingdon man who has verbally lashed out at township commissioners, administrators and the police department is charged with disrupting a public meeting last month.

Nicholas A. Carrozza, 35, is charged with one misdemeanor count of disrupting a commissioners’ meeting July 16, according to the affidavit filed by township police Wednesday, Aug. 13.

Police stated in the affidavit that Carrozza refused to stop commenting after five minutes — the township’s time limit for the public to speak at meetings. When requested by a commissioner to end his comments, Carrozza continued to talk and was removed by police after six minutes.

When contacted about the charge, Carrozza defended his actions.

“They don’t have a right to put a time limit on serious things,” Carrozza said.

For the past several months, the township has stationed two officers to monitor the audience at the twice-monthly meetings. Police have escorted Carrozza from the meetings more than once. He also has ignored warnings from township officials to refrain from using profanity when speaking at them.

Carrozza has criticized police Chief Robert Rizzo over the department’s handling of a high-speed head-on crash on Clay Pike on July 7, 2024, in which his young son and the boy’s mother were injured. The driver of the other vehicle, Nolan P. Mullen, 22, of North Huntingdon, was charged with aggravated assault by vehicle, recklessly endangering another person, careless driving, causing serious bodily injury and driving 55 mph over the speed limit.

Mullen faces a pretrial hearing Aug. 29 before Westmoreland County Judge Michael J. Stewart II.

It is the second time in less than a month that Carrozza has been charged by township police.

He and Dustin Logue, 22, of North Huntingdon were charged with two counts each of defiant trespass and conspiracy to commit defiant trespass after an incident at the police department.

A preliminary hearing in that case is set for Sept. 19.