Laurels & lances: Shooting, sentencing and structure

Laurel: To surviving. Oakmont is not the kind of place where a mid-afternoon shooting is commonplace. It was certainly not what Greg Scampone was expecting at the Fox’s Pizza Den he owns on Allegheny River Boulevard.

But it’s what happened when the shop was robbed Sunday. A man walked in, pulled out a gun and demanded cash. Scampone handed over the register’s cash, but it wasn’t enough.

“I told him, ‘We’re a pizza shop here. We don’t keep thousands of dollars on hand,’” Scampone said.

The gunman threatened to shoot if he didn’t get more. When there was no more to give, the gunman did just that.

Scampone took six bullets, fracturing both femurs and a knee as well as taking hits to the abdomen and chest. His spleen had to be removed and his liver repaired. More surgeries are ahead, but he has survived and is in good spirits and grateful for the outpouring of support he has received.

“The number of people who are helping is a bit overwhelming,” he said. “I want to get back to the restaurant as soon as I can.”

Lance: To truth in advertising. In a 2014 YouTube video, Dan Muessig promoted his skills as a criminal defense attorney, with numerous actors portraying people doing criminal acts and thanking Muessig for getting them out of jail. It was a service, he said, he offered for anything from murder to drug crimes. He touted his ability to “think like a criminal.”

Muessig, 40, of Squirrel Hill, no longer practices, but he could have used a lawyer just like that.

On Tuesday, Senior U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab sentenced him to a mandatory five years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, charges he pleaded guilty to in November.

“Consequences, they sure suck, don’t they?” Muessig said in the video.

Depends on which side of the bars you are sitting.

Laurel: To urgent action. The last thing Southwestern Pennsylvania needs is to have the dramatic Fern Hollow Bridge collapse followed by a courthouse crumbling to the ground.

That’s why it’s a good thing that Westmoreland County commissioners are taking recommendations seriously and moving with haste after engineers found deteriorating structure beams in the parking garage under the courthouse.

“The report said it was time to address this, but they couldn’t tell us if it would collapse or, if it would collapse, when it would collapse,” said Greg McCloskey, public works director.

The repairs are expected to take about six months and cost about $7 million. The primary entrance on Main Street and the courtyard have been closed.

“We’re doing our due diligence,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes.