Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 74
Plea deal in the works for Excela Health program coordinator accused in thefts of scholarship funds
Attorneys told a Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday that a plea bargain is expected to be finalized this year for a New Stanton woman accused in the theft of money from Excela Health Latrobe’s medical residency program and a scholarship fund. Suzanne Strickler, 39, was charged in September 2020 with...
New Kensington man guilty in case of meth lab found in parent’s basement
The lawyer for a New Kensington man convicted last week by a Westmoreland County jury of six offenses in connection with a methamphetamine lab found in the basement of his parents’ home vowed to appeal the guilty verdict. Following two days of testimony, the jury on Oct. 8 found Sean...
Westmoreland Democrats prepare for last stand as Republicans seek full government takeover
It’s a last stand of sorts for Democrats in Westmoreland County. The once-dominant political party in November will try to hold on to its last vestiges of power as Republicans seek to claim every elected office at the courthouse. Four row office seats are up for grabs Nov. 2, including...
Westmoreland commissioners urged to spend ARP funds, public hearings set for Oct. 28
Westmoreland County commissioners will hold two public hearings in late October to receive input about how to spend $105 million in federal cash earmarked for covid-relief programs. The sessions will be held Oct. 28 at Science Hall on the Westmoreland County Community College campus near Youngwood, with one scheduled in...
Westmoreland commissioners oust airport authority board members over restaurant lease
Two members of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority board of directors, including the former right-hand man to Arnold Palmer, were replaced Thursday for supporting an extension of a restaurant lease at the Unity airport. Westmoreland Commissioners Doug Chew and Gina Cerilli Thrasher voted to install new members to the authority...
Westmoreland polling place changes for Nov. 2 election
Westmoreland County officials announced Wednesday that polling places in three precincts will be moved for the upcoming Nov. 2 election. North Huntingdon’s 1-1 precinct will be moved from the Westmoreland City Volunteer Fire Department to the Westmoreland City Primitive Methodist Church at 1246 5th St. Officials said the church will...
Former Westmoreland County sheriff’s retrial set for March
The public corruption retrial for former Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held is scheduled for March, more than two years after voters ousted him from office. The case against the two-term sheriff has been in limbo since Held’s first trial ended in December 2018 with jurors unable to reach a unanimous...
Westmoreland election bureau director post to remain vacant
Westmoreland County commissioners said Wednesday they will not hire a new election bureau director until after voters cast ballots in November. Officials said interviews are ongoing to fill the job that has been vacant since June, when commissioners fired the elections director after she served just 10 controversial months on...
Judge to decide jail or house arrest for New Kensington man convicted of neglect of mother’s corpse
A Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday said he can’t decide whether to send a New Kensington man to jail for neglecting to report to authorities that his mother died and left her sealed up alone in her home for two months. Robert Hawk, 49, through his defense lawyer asked to...
Guilty plea entered in North Huntingdon Valentine’s Day fatal crash that killed 4
Thu Thanh Carole Nguyen knew her mother was a slow driver and didn’t initially worry when she and her three friends were late in returning home after a Valentine’s Day special Mass at a Pittsburgh church. Months after she learned her mother and two friends were killed in a head-on...
Virginia couple waive extradition in case of missing girl
A Virginia couple appeared in Westmoreland County court on Monday, when they waived extradition to Virginia to answer charges filed earlier this month is connection with the disappearance of a 3-year-old girl. Travis R. Brown, 29 and Candi Jo Royer, 41, will remain in custody at the Westmoreland County Prison...
Westmoreland County assistant public defender suspended with pay after assault arrest
An assistant public defender in Westmoreland County was suspended with pay following his arrest this month in connection with allegations he assaulted a police officer. According to records obtained Monday, all three county commissioners signed off on the indefinite suspension of David Mulock, 36, of Murrysville. Mulock was charged Sept....
Covid cases reported at juvenile detention center; Westmoreland jail free of virus
Two children in the shelter program at Westmoreland County’s juvenile detention center tested positive for the coronavirus. Nicole Kamer, director of the Regional Youth Services Center in Hempfield, said Monday that two teens were in quarantine. Officials suspected they came into contact with the virus while attending school outside of...
Jury deadlocked, mistrial declared in rape and sexual assault trial of Allegheny Township man
A mistrial was declared Friday in the cases against an Allegheny Township man accused of rape and sexual assaults by five women and a teen. Jurors deliberated nearly 14 hours over two days and reported they were at an impasse and unable to reach verdicts on all 24 counts in...
Jury deliberations to resume in sexual assault and rape trial of Allegheny Township man
A Westmoreland County jury will continue deliberations Friday morning in the rape and sexual assault trial of an Allegheny Township man. Jurors in the cases against Eric Alan Wright, 49, deliberated more than eight hours Thursday before they were sent home for the night by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge...
Chiropractor guilty of animal cruelty for 2019 shooting of dog in Monessen
A Rostraver chiropractor was convicted Thursday of two misdemeanor offenses in connection with the shooting of a dog two years ago in Monessen. A Westmoreland County jury deliberated nearly 11 hours over two days before reaching a mixed verdict that found James Scirotto, 48, guilty of animal cruelty and reckless...
No verdict Wednesday: Jury considers animal cruelty charges filed against Rostraver chiropractor
A Westmoreland County jury was sent home Wednesday night without reaching a verdict in the animal cruelty case filed against a Rostraver chiropractor charged with shooting a dog in Monessen two years ago. During the three-day trial, prosecutors said James Scirotto, 48, recklessly fired as many as seven shots from...
Prosecution rests in rape and sexual assault trial of Allegheny Township man
Two more women told a Westmoreland County jury on Wednesday they were raped by an Allegheny Township man. Their testimony came during the third day in the trial of Eric Wright, 49, who prosecutors claim sexually assaulted and raped three juveniles and three adult women, dating back to the early...
Monessen woman testifies wounded dog not aggressive, disputes claim it attacked neighbors
Carley Layhue told a Westmoreland County jury she still doesn’t understand why her dog was shot after he escaped the backyard of her Monessen home two years ago. “He is the best dog. I couldn’t ask for a better dog for my children,” Layhue testified Tuesday during the second day...
3 more women testify they were sexually assaulted by Allegheny Township man
A pediatrician testified Tuesday that no signs of physical abuse were discovered during an examination of a pre-teen girl who claimed she was raped multiple times by an Allegheny Township man in 2019. Dr. Jennifer Wolford, a child abuse specialist at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, told jurors that lack...
Self-defense claimed in Monessen dog shooting
The lawyer for a Rostraver chiropractor charged with animal cruelty and related offenses told a Westmoreland County jury on Monday that his client shot a barking mixed-breed dog to protect his family. Defense attorney Christopher Blackwell contended a neighbor’s canine snarled, barked and was set to attack children and adults...
Trial begins for Allegheny Township man charged with sexually assaulting 3 children, 3 adults
An Allegheny Township man charged with the sexual assaults of three children and three adults over two decades showed no emotion Monday as the first of his accusers struggled to testify about the alleged abuses she claims she suffered in 2019. The now 14-year-old girl from New Kensington, who prosecutors...
Campaign for drug treatment, recovery programs unveiled for Westmoreland, eastern Allegheny residentsVideo
The U.S. Justice Department on Monday announced a new public campaign to promote local addiction and recovery programs to combat the still climbing numbers of drug overdoses and deaths in Western Pennsylvania. The Press Play PA program will target Westmoreland County and eastern Allegheny County communities to highlight efforts being...
WCCC trustee says he’s being punished for speaking out about school mask policy
Controversial statements that criticized a mask mandate at Westmoreland County Community College could result in the ouster of a member of the school’s board of trustees. A majority of trustees met behind closed doors this month to discuss potential censure of Doug Weimer, who publicly questioned the college’s mask policy...
Municipal Authority approves water sale for fracking site
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members on Friday approved a deal to sell raw, untreated water to a local energy company for a new gas well expected to be drilled next year in Upper Burrell. The deal will allow Olympus Energy of Canonsburg to purchase up to 2.2 million...
