Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 63
Probation ordered for Mt. Pleasant man who said teen bullying led to revenge porn
A Mt. Pleasant man told a judge Friday he posted nude pictures of a former girlfriend to the internet because she and her friends bullied him years earlier while in high school. Frank Sebek II, 25, was ordered to serve three years on probation as part of a plea deal...
Lawyer for Greensburg shooting suspect claims self defense
The lawyer for a man awaiting trial for attempted murder told a judge his client acted in self defense when he fired one shot during a melee outside Rialto Cafe in Greensburg. Defense attorney T. Brent McCune said 23-year-old Evan Curley of Greensburg was acting to protect himself as bullets...
Unity man convicted of child rape, sexual assaults
A Unity man was convicted Tuesday of the rape of one child and sexual assault of another. Following a four-day trial, a Westmoreland County jury found Steven M. Cope Jr. guilty of 10 counts including rape of a child and multiple charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault...
Westmoreland deputy sheriff suspended after out-of-state arrest
A veteran Westmoreland County deputy sheriff was suspended with pay on Monday after he was charged with crimes following an incident last week in another state. Police in Louisville, Ky., charged Samuel D. Pilato, 59, of Hempfield with public intoxication and disorderly conduct in connection with a incident outside of...
Westmoreland commissioners say costs, not politics, behind regional drop box cuts
Republican commissioners in Westmoreland County said it is money, not politics, that’s behind a decision to eliminate regional drop boxes for mail-in ballots in next month’s primary election. Commissioners Doug Chew and Sean Kertes voted Monday to install one drop box at the lower park Pennsylvania Avenue entrance to the...
Vandergrift woman’s murder trial ends with plea deal to lesser charge
A Vandergrift woman pleaded guilty Monday to third-degree murder, putting an end to her homicide trial during which prosecutors claimed she intentionally fired three shots, killing her cousin in 2018. Ashley Marie Croft, 38, will serve a 15- to 30-year prison sentence under terms of the plea deal. Croft did...
Westmoreland transit garage construction costs $3 million under budget
Westmoreland County Transit Authority board members this week awarded more than $7.4 million in contracts to build a new bus storage facility in Hempfield. Officials said the price tag for the project came in more than $3 million below estimates. “We were planning for a higher number,” said Authority Executive...
Westmoreland County poised to scale back mail-in ballot drop boxes
Westmoreland County commissioners are expected to scale back the use of regional drop boxes for mail-in ballots in next month’s primary election. A special meeting of the county’s Election Board is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday when commissioners will vote on a proposal to place just one drop box at...
Greensburg man found guilty of child rape
Prosecutors said a Greensburg man faces up to 372 years in prison after he was convicted Friday of the rape of a 5-year-old child and recording videos he took of a woman engaged in sex acts with the boy. Westmoreland County jurors deliberated just more than two hours before returning...
Allegheny Township man’s ‘reign of terror’ ends with rape, sexual assault convictions
Jurors on Friday found an Allegheny Township man guilty of four rapes and the sexual assaults of two other woman in crimes prosecutors said dated back to the early 2000s. Eric Wright, 50, could receive up to 100 years in prison for the rape offenses, according to Westmoreland County District...
Attorney: Prescription drugs, marijuana led Vandergrift woman to kill cousin
The lawyer for a Vandergrift woman told a Westmoreland County jury Thursday that marijuana, combined with medications she takes for ongoing mental health issues, left her unable to form an intent to kill her cousin nearly four years ago. “She was suffering from an altered state of consciousnesses,” defense attorney...
Closing arguments expected in retrial of Allegheny Township man accused of 6 rapes
The Allegheny Township man who prosecutors say raped and sexually assaulted six women dating back to the early 2000s told a Westmoreland County jury Thursday he is not guilty of the allegations. Eric Wright, 50, testified during the third day of his trial . He denied having any improper sexual...
Trial for Vandergrift woman accused in killing of Greensburg cousin to begin Thursday
Testimony in the murder trial of a Vandergrift woman accused in the 2018 shooting death of her cousin is expected to begin Thursday morning. A jury was seated Wednesday in Westmoreland County to hear evidence in the case against Ashley Croft. Prosecutors claim Croft, 38, shot and killed her 31-year-old...
Greensburg woman testifies former boyfriend recorded video of sex acts with young child
A Greensburg woman testified Wednesday both she and her former boyfriend had sexual relations with a 5-year-old boy and recorded a video of at least one of the sessions. That testimony came during the first day in the rape trial of Charles Jason Hunter, who police claim participated in sexual...
First of 6 accusers testifies as rape trial of Allegheny Township man begins
A Westmoreland County prosecutor on Tuesday told jurors the case against an Allegheny Township man charged with rape and sexual assault based on allegations from six accusers was “messy.” “This is a case of a sexual predator who hid in secret for more than a decade who was brought down...
Torrance patient pleads guilty to aggravated indecent assault, gets prison time
A longtime resident at Torrance State Hospital told police he raped a fellow patient last year as a means to leave the Derry Township facility, where he has lived since 2010. His plan succeeded, in part, this week after a Westmoreland County judge ordered Keith L. Saltonstall to serve up...
Unity couple’s retrial delayed over dispute with lawyer
A retrial of a Unity couple convicted in 2018 was delayed after one of the defense lawyers withdrew from the case. Jury selection was to begin Monday in the case against Bruce Palmer, 37, and wife, Marie Ann Farabaugh Palmer, 43, whose convictions were later overturned. Prosecutors claim Bruce Palmer...
Derry Township man pleads guilty in 2018 crash that injured motorcyclist
A Derry Township man pleaded guilty Monday to being under the influence of marijuana and causing a crash that severely injured a motorcyclist more than three years ago. Orrin W. Burbank, 42, was charged last summer with aggravated assault with a vehicle and driving under the influence in connection with...
Jury seated in retrial of Allegheny Township man accused of multiple rapes
A Westmoreland County jury was seated Monday to hear evidence in the retrial of an Allegheny Township man accused of the rape and sexual assault of six women. Prosecutors claim Eric Wright, 50, was a serial rapist who committed crimes for nearly two decades. Originally charged with more than 50...
Grow Westmoreland, nonprofit started by Commissioner Kertes, seeks scholarship applications
A North Huntingdon-based nonprofit announced it will award $16,000 in scholarships to students seeking nursing degrees and skilled labor jobs. Grow Westmoreland, an organization created last year by Westmoreland County Commissioner Sean Kertes, said it raised private donations that will be used to award scholarships to local students between the...
High-tech manufacturer expands presence at Westmoreland County industrial park
Fossil Industries, a high-tech manufacturing company, plans to more than double its footprint in Westmoreland County. The company — which builds barbecue grills, fireplace components, aftermarket automotive parts and supplies the military — said it plans to build a new 52,000-square-foot facility at the Westmoreland Technology Park II, which is...
Westmoreland commissioner defends rehiring of juvenile detention center director
Westmoreland Commissioner Doug Chew this week defended the decision to rehire the county’s former juvenile detention center director. Commissioners announced Wednesday the county rehired Rich Gordon, who ran the Regional Youth Services Center in Hempfield between 2013 and 2015 before leaving for a job in Allegheny County and eventually serving...
Westmoreland commissioners settle federal lawsuit filed by jail nurse
Westmoreland County commissioners have agreed to settle a federal discrimination lawsuit filed by a former nurse at the county jail. Commissioners unanimously approved a $8,500 payout to Sophie Puskar, who sued the county and Wexford Health Sources, the private medical provider at Westmoreland County Prison. Puskar contended she was sexually...
Westmoreland County hires back former Shuman Juvenile Detention Center director
Westmoreland commissioners rehired the man who ran the county’s juvenile detention center nearly a decade ago before he took the helm of the of the now-shuttered Shuman Juvenile Detention Center in Pittsburgh. His new salary will pay him 64% more than the woman he is replacing. Rich Gordon served as...
Jeannette Manor residents demand county commissioners help correct bug, mold issues
More than a half-dozen Jeannette Manor residents appeared at the Westmoreland County commissioners’ public meeting Wednesday to ask for help with what they claim is an ongoing insect and mold infestation in their building. Residents claim they have yet to receive any acknowledgement from the Westmoreland County Housing Authority —...
