Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 39
Jeannette man pleads guilty to strangling woman, smuggling phone into county jail
A Jeannette man was ordered to serve up to 23 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to charges in five separate cases, including allegations that he strangled a woman and smuggled a cellphone into the Westmoreland County Prison. Leon D. Fair, 24, was sentenced Tuesday to serve at least...
Whistleblower lawsuit claims Pa. state police bypassed spouse of fellow officer for promotion
A state police trooper is claiming she was passed over for promotions on the force in retaliation for her husband’s role as a whistleblower. Lauren Spallone of Unity, a 14-year veteran with the Pennsylvania State Police and a sergeant since 2019, claims in a lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County court...
Murrysville man pleads guilty to arson of Route 22 landmark
The Spaghetti & Steakhouse and Hot Rod Lounge operated more than a half-century in Murrysville before it burned to the ground in 2021. Two years later, the man who police said set fire to the Route 22 landmark pleaded guilty to arson. Brian P. Lucas, 45, of Murrysville, offered no...
Former Seward police chief jailed for sexual extortion
Former Seward Police Chief Robert I. Baldwin Jr. was sentenced to a short jail term on Friday. Baldwin, 52, was ordered to serve at least 30 days behind bars in connection with charges that he offered two women leniency in exchange for sex. Baldwin had been free on a $25,000...
Appeal reinstated for man convicted in 1993 fatal Jeannette house fire
Pennsylvania’s Superior Court has reinstated the appeal of a former Jeannette man serving three life sentences for the 1993 murder of his wife and two young children. James Young, now 56, contends his conviction to three counts of first-degree murder were based on since-revised investigatory techniques. Investigators said the fire...
Westmoreland commissioners settle juvenile detention center discrimination lawsuit
Westmoreland County will pay $90,000 to the deputy director of the county’s shuttered juvenile detention center to end a federal discrimination lawsuit. Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew voted to authorize the settlement with Nicole Kamer, who claimed she was passed over for the top job at the Hempfield facility...
New restaurant planned for Westmoreland courthouse
The chow line at the Westmoreland County Courthouse is expected to reopen this fall. Commissioners on Thursday approved a contract with the owners of Caffe Barista in Greensburg to operate the cafeteria space on the Upper Park level of the courthouse that since 2016 has been a Subway restaurant. Subway...
Westmoreland officials hopeful Amazon warehouse portends future growth
Amazon’s plans to open a massive warehouse in New Stanton may be just the first step in a wave of economic development, Westmoreland officials said Wednesday. Amazon confirmed Tuesday it will occupy a 1 million-square foot warehouse in what has become an industrial hub for the county near the intersection...
Westmoreland law librarian remembered as friendly helping hand to all
Shelves of books and manuals lined the walls and aisles in the law library at the Westmoreland County Courthouse, but it was the puzzles and the librarian who set them out that became the main attraction. Lawyers, county employees and citizens routinely stopped their busy days in Greensburg to add...
Doctor testifies Delmont child was victim of ongoing abuse, torture
Five-year-old Landon Maloberti suffered bruises over most of his body and massive brain bleeding and was the victim of torture at the hands of his adoptive mother and her husband, according to testimony Tuesday by a physician and child advocate. Dr. Michelle Clayton testified during a preliminary hearing for Lauren...
Democrats scrambling after Hovis withdraws from Westmoreland commissioner race
Westmoreland Democrats are scrambling to fill a vacancy on the November ballot after learning through a social media post Monday that one of the party’s two candidates for county commissioner withdrew from the race. Sydney Hovis, 28, of Scottdale announced via Facebook she formally petitioned to have her name removed...
East Huntingdon couple to serve probation for handling of elderly aunt’s estate
Blair and Chester Loffer wanted an apology. Instead, the brothers will receive more than $91,000 in cash and the deed to their dead sister’s Scottdale home as part of a deal with Westmoreland County prosecutors to end the case against the Loffers’ niece and her husband. John and Jane Kiliany,...
Westmoreland courthouse plaza to reopen Monday
After months of construction delays, the main entrance and plaza in front of the Westmoreland County Courthouse will reopen Monday. Workers have spent the last several days adding the finishing cosmetic touches and landscaping to finish a 16-month project to rebuild a two-story underground parking garage and refurbish the front...
Jury convicts Lower Burrell man of sexual assault, gun counts
A Westmoreland County jury convicted a Lower Burrell man of sexual assault and weapons offenses in connection with allegations raised in 2020 by a preteen. Jurors found Edgar Lee Williams, 42, guilty of all eight charges following two days of testimony and more than three hours of deliberations Thursday. Williams...
Lower Burrell man denies sex assault, gun charges
A Lower Burrell man denied to a Westmoreland County jury on Wednesday that he had sexual contact with a preteen girl who claimed she was molested. “I did nothing close to anything like that,” Edgar Lee Williams testified during the second day of his trial in which a now teen-age...
Lower Burrell man on trial for sex assault charges against child
A mother’s questioning of her 10-year-old daughter over suspicions of stolen rent money led to allegations of sexual improprieties against a neighbor, a Westmoreland County prosecutor said Tuesday. Assistant District Attorney Judi Petrush told jurors that instead of admitting to theft of the cash the child unexpectedly disclosed reports of...
Third state probe of Westmoreland juvenile center finds potential riot averted despite inadequate staff training
A state agency Tuesday disclosed findings from a third investigation of operations at Westmoreland County’s temporarily closed juvenile detention center. The investigation resulted in an additional violation related to a physical altercation this year between a staff member and a teen that officials feared created a potential for a riot...
Herminie man pleads guilty to finger gun threat
A Herminie man pleaded guilty Monday to allegations he made a gun-pointing gesture with his fingers at potential witnesses during a court hearing last year. Michael Wichelmann, 60, was sentenced to up to 23 months in jail in connection to the July 7, 2022, incident in a Westmoreland County courtroom....
State issues violations against closed Westmoreland juvenile detention center
State investigators issued multiple violations against Westmoreland County’s juvenile detention center after two teens suffered injuries while incarcerated, officials confirmed Monday. Controller Jeffrey Balzer, who serves as chairman of the county’s Juvenile Detention Board, said the violations focused on staffing issues at the Regional Youth Services Center in Hempfield. “It’s...
Avonmore man sentenced to prison for attacks on girlfriend, police
An Avonmore man was ordered to serve up to four years in prison in connection with a knife attack inside an Avonmore home last year and an unrelated confrontation with police. Richard William O’Brien, 47, pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated simple assault, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest related to...
Salem gun threat nets prison sentence
A Washington County man was ordered to serve up to five years in prison for threats made during a confrontation last year with a former girlfriend in her Salem home. Robert Wisdom, 36, of California pleaded guilty to simple assault, terroristic threats and reckless endangerment in connection with allegations that...
Police pension fund audits find accounting errors
Accounting errors were identified in new state audits of South Huntingdon and Ligonier Township police pension funds. According to findings released this week by Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor both townships saw funding discrepancies associated with contributions made to the pension funds. Two errors were identified related to Ligonier’s...
Discounted court fees result from stalled state budget
Divorce-seekers are in line for a discount. Costs to file court documents in Pennsylvania are more than $20 cheaper, for now. An under-the-radar casualty of the state’s financial uncertainty related to a monthlong budget impasse is an annual surcharge added to fees for the filing of most court documents. That...
Indiana DA finds police justified in fatal in shooting
State police were justified in the fatal shooting of a 51-year-old man killed following a traffic stop last month near Homer City, Indiana County District Attorney Robert Manzi Jr. announced Wednesday. Manzi said the monthlong investigation into the circumstances of the July 3 fatal shooting of John V. Dye determined...
Judge OKs access to mental health records in firearms prosecution of Trump defender
Westmoreland County prosecutors will have access to the mental health records of a Hunker man who was charged with illegal gun possession at a Delmont restaurant where he claimed he was defending former President Donald Trump. Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger authorized the release of records as part of a...
