Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 25
Westmoreland repositions county website as part of security upgrades
Westmoreland County has a new address. While the county courthouse remains at the same location in downtown Greensburg where it has stood for the last century, it has a new home on the web. In what officials said is a move to enhance security, the county announced it transitioned to...
Jeannette man to serve probation for assault on Vandergrift police
A Jeannette man asked for and received a chance to turn his life around when he was sentenced Monday to house arrest and probation for an assault against a Vandergrift police officer. The officer suffered what likely are career-ending injuries during an escape attempt by Chad Foster nearly three years...
Jury finds New Kensington man not guilty of 1st-degree murder, deadlocks on remaining homicide counts
Following marathon deliberations that lasted more than 14 hours over two days, a New Kensington man was found not guilty of first-degree murder while the jury failed to reach a verdict on remaining counts that included allegations he shot and killed another man during a botched robbery four years ago....
Jury acquits Jeannette man in Rialto stabbing
Anthony J. Sharp pumped his fists and embraced dozens of cheering family members and friends moments after a Westmoreland County jury found him not guilty of attempted murder and other offenses in connection with the stabbing of a man outside of the former Rialto Bar and Bistro in Greensburg. Jurors...
Jury in New Kensington murder trial will resume deliberations
The jury in the case against a New Kensington man accused of a murder 4½ years ago will continue deliberating Friday morning. They are deciding the fate of Latresse Williams, who is accused of slaying Anthone Williams in New Kensington in January 2020. The attorney for Latresse Williams, 33, on...
Defense says new video backs self-defense claims in Rialto stabbing
A defense attorney claims new video shown to a Westmoreland County jury on Thursday supports the claim that his client was justified when he repeatedly stabbed another person during a melee outside of the former Rialto Bar and Bistro in downtown Greensburg. The video depicts the moments after Joseph Williams...
Delmont man convicted of attempted sexual assault
A Delmont man was convicted Wednesday of the attempted sexual assault of a woman whom investigators claimed he later threatened in a failed effort to prevent her from testifying against him. A Westmoreland County jury deliberated about an hour before it returned guilty verdicts against Brandon Pyle, 28, in connection...
Police defend investigation into stabbing at former Rialto in Greensburg
A Jeannette man told police he had a knife and was prepared to defend himself from a former high school friend as the two fought outside the former Rialto Cafe in downtown Greensburg. Jurors, during the third day in the attempted homicide trial of Anthony Sharp, 23, watched video of...
Prosecutors: Arnold man’s murder a robbery gone bad
Westmoreland County prosecutors said DNA evidence will prove a New Kensington man attempted to rob and kill an Arnold man in a vacant parking lot more than four years ago. “Anthone Williams was set up by the defendant to be robbed of drugs and money. At an abandoned projects, there...
Stabbing victim testifies in Rialto attempted murder trial
Joseph Williams told a Westmoreland County jury he had no memory of the seconds that preceded a violent encounter outside the former Rialto Cafe in downtown Greensburg that left him hospitalized with as many as 10 stab wounds. Williams, 24, testified Tuesday during the second day in the trial of...
Unity man gets up to 16 years for role in Latrobe woman’s 2019 deadly overdose
A Unity man was ordered to serve up to 16 years in prison for selling drugs that caused a fatal overdose of a Latrobe woman in 2019. Chad E. Ghrist, 46, pleaded guilty Monday to drug delivery resulting in death and other felony counts in connection with the death of...
Jeannette man claims Rialto stabbing justified as self-defense
The lawyer for a Jeannette man accused of the attempted murder of a former high school friend with a pocket knife said Monday his client acted in self defense. Defense attorney Stephen Colafella told jurors that Anthony J. Sharp was tackled and flailed with a knife to break free from...
Former Arnold cop pleads guilty to filing false report
A former Arnold police pleaded guilty Monday in connection with allegations that he lied to investigators after he staged what he called a hit and run crash of his city-issued SUV. Ryan Matthew Clark, 33, of Sarver, told a Westmoreland County judge he was ready to move on with his...
Register of wills conservator no stranger to Westmoreland courthouse
Jim Antoniono’s travels have taken him from Cold War-era Germany to the Westmoreland County Courthouse, through thousands of miles of mountain trails and into courtrooms and boardrooms. After a more than a half- century, Antoniono, 78, of Unity, will return to his roots in county government when on Tuesday he begins...
Bids to demolish Jeannette’s Fort Pitt Brewery range from $335K to $1.4M
It will cost less than expected to raze the former Fort Pitt Brewery complex in Jeannette. Proposals from 10 demolition companies were opened Friday for the job that when completed will remove the industrial complex that has been a presence in the city for more than a century. Bids for...
New veterans clinic planned for Westmoreland County
Veterans in Westmoreland County will have a new, larger outpatient medical clinic to serve them by 2026. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed Thursday a new 33,000-square-foot facility will replace what officials said is an outdated, smaller clinic that opened in 2007 behind Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield. A location...
Judge sets $250K bond for Jeannette man facing child porn charges
A Jeannette man charged this month with possessing and distributing images of sexual assaults against infants and toddlers can pay a $250,000 cash bond to be released from jail as he awaits trial, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Wednesday. Anthony Cortazzo IV, 38, was charged May 8 by Greensburg police...
Defense seeks dismissal of charges for father charged with son’s murder in New Kensington
Lawyers for a Brackenridge man who faces a potential death penalty for the alleged murder of his 9-year-old son in New Kensington claim prosecutors violated the state’s standard for a speedy trial. They asked a Westmoreland County judge Tuesday to dismiss homicide and other related charges against Jean Charles, 44,...
Greensburg woman ordered to serve additional prison sentence for spouse’s overdose
A Greensburg woman was ordered Tuesday to serve up to an additional three years in prison for her role in the 2020 overdose of her spouse. Mary Crimboli-Baker, 37, has been in jail after her probation and parole were revoked in March for a series of violations that included repeated...
Assault on unborn child charge dismissed as part of New Kensington man’s plea deal
A New Kensington man pleaded guilty to the simple assault of his pregnant girlfriend last year and nearly a year later to ransacking the home of a former girlfriend in Monessen. Jamar Al Gee Jr., 22, was ordered to serve up to two years on probation after he pleaded guilty...
Theft ringleader’s role as mother of 3 spares her prison sentence, judge says
A judge said Monday he had little choice but to offer leniency to an Indiana County woman who pleaded guilty earlier this year for her role in a series of catalytic converter thefts throughout Westmoreland County. Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears said the prospect of having three young children placed...
Westmoreland register of wills ordered to pay about $500K in fees to county
Embattled Westmoreland County Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton was ordered to transfer an estimated $500,000 in funds collected by her office over the last four months to the controller’s office by May 28. The register of wills office — which oversees the filing and processing of adoptions, guardianships, wills...
Westmoreland residents need to log internet speed if county is to qualify for federal cash
Westmoreland County is looking at internet speed, and fast. County officials put out a last-minute call urging residents to participate in online testing of existing internet services as part of a necessary requirement to qualify for funds needed to enhance local broadband infrastructure. Testing needs to be completed before Thursday...
Former Valley High School music teacher to remain in jail pending new sentence
A former Valley High School music teacher who pleaded guilty in 2022 to sending sexually themed text messages to two teenage students will remain in jail while he awaits a new sentencing hearing. Westmoreland County prosecutors said Sean Timothy O’Neil, 37, of North Apollo could face a potential state prison...
Register of wills yet to turn over $500K in revenue to Westmoreland County
As much as $500,000 in revenue generated through fees and other payments made to Westmoreland’s Register of Wills Office during the first four months of 2024 has yet to be turned over to the county treasury, officials said Thursday. Controller Jeffrey Balzer said the register of wills and other county...
