Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 38
Record $2.5M spent at Westmoreland tax sale
Kimberly Brant of Adamsburg came to the Westmoreland County Courthouse with a pocketful of cash and hopes for a new home. Jon Wildi of New Kensington hoped for a miracle. Both saw their wishes come true Monday morning at the county’s annual sale of tax delinquent properties where a record...
Westmoreland political leaders eye state judicial contests to lure voters
Westmoreland County’s political leaders said Election Day 2023 could set the stage for the following year’s presidential election. With a ballot devoid of high-profile contested county races this fall, officials said they expect to work overtime to ensure voters are motivated to head to the polls or vote by mail...
Commissioner candidate has surgery for injuries suffered in 2021 Election Day attack
A Democratic candidate for Westmoreland County commissioner is temporarily off the campaign trail after having surgery Thursday to repair lingering injuries suffered during an attack at the polls on Election Day in 2021. Lisa Gephart, 56, of Mt. Pleasant Township remained hospitalized Friday and is recovering and expected to return...
Westmoreland home repair program filled before program launch
A new $1.6 million program to stop future blight has more than enough potential applicants even before Westmoreland County officials were ready to formally announce its launch. Brian Lawrence, executive director of Westmoreland County’s Redevelopment Authority, said referrals from other agencies have “overprescribed” what officials expect to be a popular...
Poker convictions flushed for Derry lawyer
Hunting wasn’t in the cards for Derry Township attorney Larry Burns. So Burns went to court to ask that he once again be allowed to participate in the hobby he enjoyed for decades before he was convicted in 2009 of gambling offenses. He was operating what authorities said were illegal...
Hempfield man convicted of wife’s murder returns to court for 4th appeal
A former Hempfield man serving a life prison sentence for the 2012 murder of his wife appeared before a Westmoreland County judge on Wednesday in a fourth attempt to appeal his conviction. David Stahl, 53, was found guilty of first-degree murder following a 2014 trial in which prosecutors said he...
Ligonier man pleads guilty to possessing child porn
A Ligonier Township man pleaded guilty Wednesday to disseminating and possessing child pornography. Mathew Louis Hoffer, 57, was charged last spring after state investigators linked his home computer to file-sharing programs that contained sexually explicit images of children. According to court records, police found at least 25 files on Hoffer’s...
Texas trucker pleads guilty to sexual assault
A truck driver from Texas was ordered to serve up to six years in prison for sexual assaults against three teenage girls in Rostraver. Clyde D. Clark, 43, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to charges in three cases in which he was accused of having improper sexual relations with girls ages...
Derry man found not guilty of resisting arrest
A Derry Borough man who has been in jail for more than a year after he was charged with resisting arrest last summer was found not guilty on Tuesday. Justin J. Jones, 38, was acquitted by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani of misdemeanor and summary counts following...
Immigration status halts guilty plea in Greensburg meat cleaver attack
A proposed plea deal for a man charged with attacking a co-worker last month in Greensburg with a meat cleaver was put on hold Tuesday over a judge’s concerns about the immigration status of both men involved. Westmoreland County prosecutors attempted to push through the unusually quick court disposition, less...
Madison, a town without a working government, gets court intervention to pay bills
Joe Borkovich doesn’t pay much attention to the inner workings of his hometown. He just knows tiny Madison Borough remains a nice place to live. Standing in the driveway of his home that overlooks the town’s park and playground, Borkovich, 81, said he sees no signs of Madison’s stagnant government...
Greensburg man not guilty in 2020 fatal Hempfield crash
A former Greensburg man was found not guilty of causing a fatal crash three years ago in Hempfield in which his longtime friend was killed. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger on Thursday issued a verdict to acquit Nick M. Rossi, 36, of felony vehicular homicide and two...
Retrial set for Unity couple accused in sexual assault case
After years of delays, a Westmoreland County judge ordered a married Unity couple to go to trial in early 2024 on allegations they were responsible for the sexual assault of a teenage girl a decade ago. “This needs to go to trial. It’s been eight years now,” said Common Pleas...
Questions surface over East Huntingdon candidates’ eligibility to serve in office
Two candidates for public office in East Huntingdon who have prior felony convictions may not be able to serve if elected. Jonathan Newill Perkey, a Republican candidate for township supervisor, and Tina Curry-Bashioum, a Republican who is running for a seat on East Huntingdon’s board of auditors face potential legal...
Westmoreland Commissioner Kopas calls for cap on raises for elected county officials
Westmoreland Commissioner Ted Kopas on Tuesday proposed capping annual raises awarded to county elected officials. Kopas, a Democrat who took office at the beginning of August, pitched a revision to a county ordinance approved nearly two decades ago that guarantees yearly cost-of-living pay hikes to commissioners and row officers based...
New Kensington man sentenced for child sex assault
A New Kensington man was ordered to serve up to 13 years in prison for the sexual assault of a child. Chester Elmer Green Jr. 63, was convicted in June by a Westmoreland County jury of molesting a 9-year-old girl in 2013 and 2014. Green was found guilty aggravated indecent...
Whistleblower claims Westmoreland prison inmates lack sufficient mental health treatment
A former behavioral health clinician claims inmates at Westmoreland County Prison received substandard mental health care and that she was fired when she reported her allegations to the facility’s private medical provider. In a whistleblower lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, Carla Rhodes, a licensed social worker, says...
Prosecution says speeding caused 2020 fatal Hempfield crash
Nick Rossi said he was asked to drive his friend’s car nearly three years ago because he knew the location of the destination they never reached. Westmoreland County prosecutors said Rossi was speeding as he drove on Arona Road in Hempfield, drifted up an embankment and crashed into a tree....
Delmont man, 83, sentenced to state prison for attempted murder of neighbor
An 83-year-old wheelchair-bound Delmont man was sentenced Friday to serve up to eight years in state prison for the 2019 attempted murder of his neighbor. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger said prison confinement was not the preferred option but was the one that offered the best choice to...
Murrysville mayor loses lawsuit but retains seat through 2025
Murrysville Mayor Regis Synan can remain in office through 2025, a judge ruled Friday. Common Pleas Court Judge Jim Silvis dismissed Synan’s lawsuit, filed in April, that sought to force the county election bureau to put the mayor’s race on the November ballot. Synan contended elections officials erred two years...
Terminally ill convicted arsonist gets early release from prison
A former Derry Township man who has served more than two decades in prison for hiring an arsonist to set fire to three properties will be allowed to die at home, a judge ruled Thursday. Donald Queer, 66, was convicted in 2001 of multiple counts of arson and related offenses...
Democrats nominate committee stalwart to run for Westmoreland commissioner
Westmoreland Democrats nominated a Mt. Pleasant Township woman to run for a seat on the county board of commissioners. Party officials on Thursday announced that longtime committee member Lisa Gephart will fill a vacancy on the November ballot to run alongside Commissioner Ted Kopas as Democrats seek to reclaim a...
Mt. Pleasant man to remain on probation under new sentence for armed robbery
A Mt. Pleasant man convicted of armed robbery will remain on supervised release, according to a new sentence imposed Tuesday. Jake Daniel Franklin, 20, was given credit for more than two years he served in jail before he pleaded guilty this year to charges related to his role in the...
Greensburg’s Rialto to reopen as gastropub
The restaurant and bar in downtown Greensburg that was closed last year after a series of violent incidents is expected to reopen this fall with a new name and new owners. “There’s definitely a deal in place,” said Rich Butcher, who along with his wife, Danielle, are finalizing the purchase...
2 plead guilty to charges in downtown Greensburg shootout
Two men involved in shootout in downtown Greensburg last year pleaded guilty to reduced charges on Wednesday. Police said Evan Curley, 24, of Greensburg and Stevin German, 28, formerly of Uniontown, exchanged gunfire following a confrontation inside the Rialto Bar & Bistro on Jan. 31, 2022. Curley sustained two gunshot...
