Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 12
Trial begins for Greensburg man accused in nephew’s overdose death
Daniel Rebosky insisted to a Westmoreland County jury on Tuesday that his son, Christopher, was not a drug addict. “He had a routine. He’d get up, go to church. He was a true believer and was someone who never missed a family event. He hosted dinners at this home and...
Conservator appointed to dissolve Latrobe attorney’s practice as criminal case continues
A Westmoreland County judge has appointed an overseer to close the practice of a Latrobe lawyer accused of bilking a client. Common Pleas President Judge Christopher Feliciani assigned North Huntingdon attorney John Eric Bumbaugh to review case files and communicate with current and former clients of John Allen Roth, who...
Voting machine testing gets underway in Westmoreland
Westmoreland election officials want assurances that each vote cast during the Republican and Democratic primaries next month are accurately recorded. To that end, Election Bureau staff on Monday started what is expected to be a weeklong process to test each of the county’s 900 touch screen voting machines and 350...
Greengate Mall remembered as community gathering spot
Chad Altman couldn’t help himself. One day in 2003, he saw a chance to preserve a piece of his youth — and went for it. With a flashlight attached to his forehead, he walked through the tunnel entrance of the empty Greengate Mall. And he started collecting. “I grabbed things...
1 man injured in Wilkinsburg shooting
Allegheny County police are investigating a shooting early Sunday morning in Wilkinsburg that left one man hospitalized. Authorities said the unidentified man was found inside a residence on the 500 block of North Avenue at 2:40 a.m. with gunshot wounds. He was listed in critical but stable condition, according to...
Long waits continue for murder defendants seeking Westmoreland County trials
There are 17 defendants facing homicide charges in a dozen pending cases in Westmoreland County. None of them will go to trial when the next criminal term begins Monday. According to the county’s court administration office, five homicide trials have been pending for at least three years. One, a death...
Rain doesn’t dampen opening day of trout season
The first day of trout season has always been a big deal for the Gombosh family. It became more so after 15-year-old Joey Gombosh fell ill and died in 1995 after he returned from a fishing outing at Northmoreland Park. “This keeps his memory alive,” said Bob Gombosh, who along...
Protesters rally at Westmoreland County Courthouse to oppose Trump agenda
Andrew Wilson said he never attends political protests. On Saturday, he and about 600 others gathered in front of the Westmoreland County Courthouse for one of the hundreds of rallies conducted across the country, including a similar event in downtown Pittsburgh, to protest President Donald Trump and his administration’s actions...
Judge to hear arguments in sheriff’s challenge of Westmoreland vehicle policy
A judge will hear arguments next month in a lawsuit that seeks to invalidate a policy requiring GPS tracking of all Westmoreland County government vehicles. Sheriff James Albert challenged the policy, claiming it violates his right as an independent elected official to manage his office and contends the tracking could...
East Huntingdon solar farm ordinance faces court challenge from Erie-based company
An Erie-based energy company is suing East Huntingdon, claiming a new ordinance effectively bans solar farms in the township. GreenKey Development Inc. says in its lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County court that East Huntingdon supervisors hastily and improperly adopted an ordinance in February to set specific and strict requirements for...
Mt. Pleasant drunk driver sentenced to jail term for 2020 crash that injured 2 pedestrians
Vincent Polito’s life was changed forever when he was struck by a drunk driver along the side of a Mt. Pleasant road nearly five years ago. Polito, 23, now requires around-the-clock care as a result physical and cognitive injuries sustained when a vehicle driven by 35-year-old Elizabeth Sirianni hit him...
Westmoreland commissioners quickly fill vacant HR director’s post
Westmoreland County commissioners on Monday named Amanda Bernard as the county’s new director of human resources, starting April 28. It’s a return engagement for Bernard. She served in the position for about two years before she left for another job in 2020 and was replaced by Alexis Bevan, who formally...
Greensburg’s Main Street reimagined with mix of housing, retail, restaurants
An ambitious attempt to revitalize some century-old buildings on Greensburg’s Main Street will likely involve some future scholars to reach its maximum potential. The Westmoreland County Housing Authority intends to convert the century-old First Commonwealth Building and adjoining PNC Bank buildings into housing, retail, office and meeting spaces in what...
Republicans axed from Norwin school board race
Three Norwin School Board candidates were removed Wednesday from the May primary ballots. A Westmoreland County judge ruled technical errors rendered nomination petitions submitted by incumbent Alex Detschelt, along with Republican hopefuls Tammy Moreno and Randall Pedder, as invalid. Detschelt, a controversial first-term member of the board who has twice...
Lawsuit claims Ligonier Valley police failures led to man’s death after 2020 crash
Surviving family members of a Latrobe-area man paralyzed in 2020 car crash in Ligonier Township claim failures of local police led to his eventual death, according to allegations raised in a lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County. The family claims that Ligonier Valley police detained Donald R. Hall, 49, outside a...
Westmoreland eyes surcharge to tax sale, sheriff’s sale buyers
Properties sold at tax auctions and sheriff sales will be assessed an additional $250 surcharge under a plan likely to be approved this week by Westmoreland County commissioners. The proposed ordinance is expected to generate about $75,000 to bolster funds available for demolition and rehabilitation of abandoned property. The surcharge...
Latrobe woman charged in knife attack pleads guilty to lesser charge
A Latrobe man told a Westmoreland County judge Tuesday he no longer wanted to see his former girlfriend prosecuted for stabbing him in the chest last year. “We had a long relationship and I did a lot of things that wasn’t reported. My last case was dismissed, so this should...
‘I had a bad year’: Arnold man pleads guilty to gas station robbery
An Arnold man faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday to the robbery of a New Kensington gas station. Chad William Fitzgerald, 34, was charged last year in connection with an Aug. 14, 2024, heist at the Sunoco gas station on Tarentum...
Jeannette, Monessen mayoral candidates removed from primary ballots
Three mayoral candidates in Jeannette and one in Monessen were removed Monday from May’s primary ballots. Following a series of court hearings, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Harry Smail Jr. ruled Democrat Robin Mozley and Republicans Ron Kastner and Ed Day failed to submit the proper paperwork needed to run...
Judge sets bond in New Kensington attempted murder case
A Westmoreland County judge on Friday set a $500,000 straight cash bond for a former Ohio man charged in connection with an alleged shooting two years ago in New Kensington. Iven Cashua Miller Jr., 37, who was previously identified as being from Cleveland and now lists a New Kensington address,...
School board hopeful bounced from ballot; more candidate challenges on tap
A Republican candidate seeking a spot on the Penn-Trafford School Board was removed Friday from the primary ballot, and a decision on another candidate vying for a seat on the Franklin Regional School board was deferred. Additional court hearings are scheduled for Monday on challenges of three Jeannette and one...
South Greensburg nursing aide sentenced for 2022 attack on elderly resident
A South Greensburg woman was ordered to serve up to two years on probation for an assault of an elderly nursing home resident in 2022. Donna Marie Flock, 57, on Wednesday pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of striking, shoving, kicking and making threats against a resident at Newhaven...
Westmoreland County water authority board allocates funds for fire hydrant replacements
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County on Wednesday allocated $250,000 to install and replace fire hydrants throughout its five-county service area during the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Officials said the program is part of the authority’s annual effort to upgrade the water system through a variety of capital improvements such as new...
Westmoreland Human Services moving to put scattered staff under 1 roof
Staff who comprise the county’s consolidated Westmoreland Human Services department could be relocated to a centralized location. County officials confirmed Tuesday preliminary talks are underway for a project that could see the county move more than 300 employees to the site of the county housing authority’s former headquarters on South...
Westmoreland housing authority says federal budget cuts unlikely to impact local services
Westmoreland County Housing Authority officials said Tuesday they expect cuts in federal funding to have no immediate impact on local services. The authority receives about $24 million annually from the federal government to operate its public housing program, pay for capital improvements and fund vouchers for subsidized housing. The continuing...
