Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 19
Former President Bill Clinton to stump for Harris in Westmoreland County
Former President Bill Clinton will make three appearances Tuesday in Western Pennsylvania as the race for the White House reaches the homestretch. Clinton is scheduled to appear at events at the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus and in McKeesport and Johnstown on behalf of the Harris-Walz campaign. It’s a race...
Hempfield man pleads guilty to murder-for-hire plot against sister
A Hempfield man faces up to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday to attempting to hire a hitman to kill his sister. Police said Peter Cute, 64, met with undercover detectives and offered to pay them $1,000 to murder his estranged sister, who he claimed prevented him...
Casey, McCormick make final pitches as Senate race reaches stretch run
The most expensive Senate race in America is coming down to the wire in Pennsylvania. Three-term Democratic incumbent Bob Casey is attempting to fend off a challenge from Republican businessman David McCormick in a race that could tip control of the chamber. With just days until the Nov. 5 election, the...
Monroeville man charged in Rostraver tavern shooting pleads guilty
A Monroeville man was sentenced up to 15 years in state prison for his role in a shooting two years ago that left two men wounded in the parking lot of a now-shuttered Rostraver restaurant and bar. Darius Ronnel Hunter, 29, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of aggravated assault...
South Carolina man pleads guilty to attack on state troopers with giant seashell
A South Carolina man pleaded guilty Friday to assaulting to state troopers in the backyard of a Mt. Pleasant Township home with a giant seashell. Police said two officers sustained mild injuries when they were attacked while responding to a call from neighbors Aug. 31, 2022, about a naked man...
Police dogs working to sniff out potential threats mailed with ballots at Westmoreland courthouse
Police dogs are being used in the Westmoreland County Election Bureau and other courthouse offices to sniff out potential threats including drugs or explosives that could arrive among the thousands of mail-in ballots and other items arriving daily. “There were reports across the nation of elected officials receiving fentanyl-laced mail,”...
Drop box plan thwarted again by Westmoreland’s GOP commissioners
Westmoreland County’s Republican commissioners on Thursday rejected what likely was the final push before the Nov. 5 election to have at least one drop box at the courthouse for mail-in ballots. Commissioners Doug Chew and Sean Kertes declined to consider a proposal to allow voters to drop off ballots without...
Western Pa. counties prepare for Election Day as mail-in voting deadline looms
With less than two weeks to go until Election Day, Unity’s Joyce Jacobs was one of hundreds of people who lined up Wednesday to cast their ballots at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg. Jacobs, a 53-year-old Trump supporter, said she never cast a mail-in ballot before. But this year...
Dziados, Reschenthaler vie for District 14 seat in U.S. House
The two candidates seeking to represent Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District couldn’t be further apart on key issues. Three-term Republican incumbent Guy Reschenthaler has become a key member among the GOP’s power structure in the U.S. House, serving as deputy whip and an attack dog pushing his party’s agenda that he...
Raises doled out to Westmoreland retirees as pension fund nears record high
Westmoreland County government retirees will receive a 3.4% cost-of-living raise in 2025. The county’s retirement board on Tuesday approved the increased benefit for the 1,400 former employees who in 2024, for the first time in 13 years, were denied raises. “We’re not supposed to give raises out every year, but...
Suspect charged in North Huntingdon drug buy gets 4-10 year prison term
A Wilkinsburg man was ordered to serve up to 10 years in prison for his role in a drug deal thwarted by undercover state agents in the parking lot of a North Huntingdon convenience store. Harry E. Randall, 29, pleaded guilty to felony counts of conspiracy and drug possession after...
Westmoreland transit authority, union strike new 3-year labor deal
Westmoreland County Transit Authority board members last week ratified a three-year labor deal with the union that represents nearly 50 bus drivers and mechanics. The deal ends what had been contentious negotiations over the past five months that had seen one proposed deal scuttled by a vote of rank-and-file members...
Elon Musk town hall event fills McKees Rocks theater in support of Trump campaign
Elon Musk told an Allegheny County audience Sunday that democracy is in peril. Musk brought his super PAC sponsored tour through Pennsylvania to the Roxian Theater in McKees Rocks to enlist support for former President Donald Trump and promote voter registration and mail-in balloting ahead of the November election and...
Voting probe launched in Westmoreland County over 2020 fraud claims pitched by GOP lawmakers
Lauren Elliott suspected the worst when she listened to a voice message left for her last week by a Westmoreland County detective. When she was told the reason for the inquiry, her worry turned to anger. Elliott was among the handful of voters contacted last week as part of an...
MAWC recovers over $826K in stolen funds, upgrades cybersecurity efforts
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials said the water and sewer utility has recovered more than $826,000 that was stolen in what it called a “vendor impersonator scheme.” The authority was targeted in June by scammers who posed as a vendor awaiting payment for work as part of the agency’s...
Veterans court offers redemption chance for former service members
John Novotnak knew he needed help. The U.S. Army serviceman whose eight-year career included a tour of duty in Iraq, struggled after he was discharged from the military in 2008. Novotnak, 43, of North Huntingdon was charged in 2022 for the second time with drunken driving when he finally concluded...
Judge rejects prosecutor’s request for lengthy sentence for Delmont man
A Westmoreland County prosecutor said rehabilitation was not a viable option for a Delmont man convicted this year of the attempted sexual assault of a woman. Assistant District Attorney Mike Pacek, during a sentencing hearing Tuesday for Brandon J. Pyle, 28, argued that his lengthy history of inappropriate and criminal...
Seward man pleads guilty to attempted child rape
A Seward man pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges relating to attempted sex with an underage girl. Anthony Ronald Laughard, 43, was charged last year following an undercover sting operation conducted by the state police. According to court records, Laughard made contact with a person through online communication he believed to...
Bolivar man ordered to serve 10- to 20-year prison sentence for sexual assaults of child
A Bolivar man was sentenced Tuesday to serve 10 to 20 years in prison for the repeated sexual assaults of a young girl. Jerry Boring, 60, was convicted by a Westmoreland County jury in April of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault in connection with accusations...
Immigration, border security among top issues that will decide presidential race
It can be tough to determine exactly where the presidential candidates stand on the issues after being barraged by headlines, rallies, campaign events and political ads. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are making personal appeals, having visited the Pittsburgh region more than any place in the...
Plan to track Westmoreland County-owned vehicles with GPS on hold because of sheriff’s lawsuit
Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office vehicles won’t be tracked by GPS until a lawsuit challenging a policy requiring the devises on county vehicles is resolved, a judge ruled. The policy, enacted this summer by the commissioners but not yet put into practice, requires around-the-clock tracking of all county owned and leased...
Charges withdrawn against 3 of 4 Blackburn Center staffers
Criminal charges were withdrawn Thursday afternoon against three of the four Blackburn Center staffers that police had said obstructed efforts by the state police to enforce an emergency custody order issued this month by a county judge. According to a statement issued by Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli, the...
Westmoreland election bureau office extends hours; voters expected to get mail ballots this weekend
Westmoreland County voters will begin seeing mail-in ballots arrive at their homes as early as Saturday, election officials said. More than 42,000 mail-in ballots have been sent to voters this week. Those who have yet to apply can do so at the courthouse, which, since Monday, has started same-day voting....
North Huntingdon man to serve jail time for possessing child porn
A North Huntingdon man was ordered to serve at least nine months in jail after he was sentenced Tuesday for possession of child pornography. James Frederick Molzer, 32, pleaded guilty in July to 11 felony counts in which investigators said he possessed multiple images of children performing sex acts. According...
Judge says New Kensington murder case likely to move forward
A Westmoreland County judge said Tuesday a New Kensington man charged last summer with the murder of his former roommate has been found to be mentally competent. Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears said a psychological evaluation appears to have cleared the path for the prosecution of Nico Lee Harris,...
