Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 82
4 district judge seats in Westmoreland County have contested primary races this spring
A quarter of Westmoreland County’s 16 district courts will see a new judge in 2022. Eleven candidates are seeking four contested seats on the local courts seeking to replace three retiring judges and fill one seat left vacant by a resignation. Judicial candidates are permitted to cross-file and all will...
Kittanning man’s police confrontations lead to 5-year prison sentence
A Kittanning man will serve up to five years in prison for two incidents last year in Allegheny Township and Vandergrift in which police said he became physical with arresting officers. Jacob John Zoeller, 27, pleaded guilty to charges of burglary, child endangerment and resisting arrest in connection with a...
Lawyer: No evidence to support homicide charge in Derry mother’s shooting death
The lawyer for a Unity man accused in the shooting death of a Derry mother contends murder charges should be dismissed for a lack of evidence. Police contend Nathan Quidetto, 21, sought revenge for a drug deal gone awry when at 4 a.m. July 20 he fired shots into a...
Westmoreland County puts out call for poll workers
Westmoreland officials said Tuesday that dozens of poll workers are needed to staff the county’s 307 voting precincts for the May 18 primary. In all, the county needs 11 judges of elections and as many as 50 poll workers, Election Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said. Judges of elections are needed...
Westmoreland officials seek answers for Mt. Pleasant Township ballot error
Westmoreland County elections officials on Monday continued to piece together how the race for a district judge’s seat was excluded from mail-in ballots sent to voters last week in four Mt. Pleasant Township precincts. “It’s my responsibility,” Elections Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said of the oversight that led to 189...
Former Mt. Pleasant police officer sentenced to prison for sexual assaults
A Westmoreland County prosecutor argued in court Monday that a former part-time Mt. Pleasant Borough police officer who used an escalating level of violence in sexual attacks against three women should spend up to 50 years in prison. “Law enforcement officials carry badges. If you look at it, it’s a...
Police standoff in Beltzhoover ends with no arrests
Pittsburgh police Sunday morning continued to look for a suspect that officials said was at the center of a standoff with officers late Saturday night in Beltzhoover. Officials said members of Pittsburgh’s SWAT team surrounded a house on the 100 block of Freeland Street just before 10 p.m. after a...
Incorrect ballots mailed to some Mt. Pleasant voters, Westmoreland County says
Westmoreland County officials acknowledged that more than 190 incorrect mail-in ballots were issued to voters in Mt. Pleasant Township. Ballots issued to voters in four precincts — Ridgeview, Mammoth, United and Westmoreland Homestead — erroneously omitted the race for district judge to replace Michael Mahady, who will retire at the...
Allegheny Township man pleads guilty to rape of teen
An Allegheny Township man will serve up to eight years in prison for the repeated rape and sexual assaults of a teenage girl. Kevin Carl Williams, 53, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and sexual assault for five incidents police said occurred in 2017 and...
Drop box added at Murrysville location ahead of May 18 primary
Westmoreland County officials say more than 15,400 mail-in ballots have been sent out to voters ahead of the May 18 primary. Another batch of more than 800 ballots is ready to go out, Elections Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said. The deadline to apply for mail-in ballots is May 11. They...
Former boyfriend pleads guilty to assault of Derry Township child
A Greene County man who police say beat and gave a date-rape drug to a toddler pleaded guilty Tuesday to assault and child endangerment charges. Cory Andrew Kuntz, 27, of Waynesburg was charged in 2016 after the mother of a Derry Township child reported her 2-year-old son was injured while...
Trial for Youngwood stabbing suspect set for September
After years of delays, the trial of a Youngwood man charged with criminal homicide and robbery of a drug dealer will start in September. Michael Covington Jr., 24, has been in jail without bond since his arrest in 2017 following the stabbing death of 50-year-old Matthew Genard in his Youngwood...
Prosecution can’t say why gun failed to fire in Upper Burrell attempted homicide case
An attempted homicide charge against an Upper Burrell man who police said pulled the trigger of a gun with the intent to kill a woman last year likely will be dismissed because prosecutors cannot explain why the weapon failed to fire. Matthew Best, 32, was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated...
Penn Township man to serve up to 40 years in prison for firing rifle at police
A Westmoreland County judge on Monday said he had no choice but to sentence a Penn Township man to serve up to 40 years in prison for shooting at police during a 2016 standoff. But, even without a state legislative mandatory minimum sentencing requirement in place, Judge Scott Mears said...
Westmoreland Clerk of Courts candidates tout experience ahead of May primary
Westmoreland’s Clerk of Courts office in 2009 became the first domino to fall in the Republican Party takeover of most county row offices after more than a half-century of Democratic dominance. The office’s leadership is again in the spotlight. In the May 18 primary election, Clerk of Courts is the...
Westmoreland County Recorder of Deeds office to close Friday for computer upgrades
The Westmoreland County Recorder of Deeds office at the courthouse in Greensburg will be closed Friday as technical staff work to complete a $90,000 computer system upgrade officials say will improve public access to property records. The closure means the filing of deeds, mortgages and all other documents will be...
Mail-in ballot drop box locations approved in Westmoreland County
Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the hours of operations for the remote drop box locations. Westmoreland County voters will have four, and maybe five, regional ballot drop boxes available for the two weekends prior to the May 18 primary. County commissioners on Tuesday approved drop-box locations at...
Covid vaccine clinic held at Westmoreland courthouseVideo
As many as 600 coronavirus vaccines were administered Tuesday at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg. The clinic, open to county employees, their families and the general public, was held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Hayden’s Pharmacy in Youngwood oversaw the operation. Hayden’s owner Ed Christofano said about 200...
Greensburg office manager sentenced to probation, house arrest for theft
A former office manager for a Greensburg chiropractor was sentenced Monday to house arrest and probation for the theft of more than $60,000 to pay for casino excursions and other expenses. Cynthia Bisignani-Hill, 47, of Greensburg pleaded guilty in October to two felony counts of theft and charges of receiving...
Overdose antidote giveaway planned for released Westmoreland prison inmates
After a two-year decline in fatal drug overdoses, Westmoreland County officials said a slight uptick in deaths in 2020 will require a renewed effort to avoid a repeat of a nearly decade-long era of record-setting deaths attributed to opioid abuse. County prison board members said Monday doses of Narcan, a...
Westmoreland County to pay jail inmates to get covid vaccine
Westmoreland County will provide $25 in commissary credit to prison inmates who receive a covid-19 vaccine. Members of the county prison board approved the plan Monday. “We’re still working out the final details, but this will be for all inmates,” county Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher said. Vaccine doses will be...
Hospitality grants help ease pandemic strain on Westmoreland restaurants, bars and hotels
Heather Papinchak said the $20,000 hospitality grant she recently received from Westmoreland County will certainly help her business in the months ahead, but the financial hardship caused by coronavirus pandemic over the past year will linger for some time. “It’s been an unbelievable challenge to operate, being in the hospitality...
Westmoreland courthouse to host vaccine clinic on Tuesday
The Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg will host a covid-19 vaccine clinic on Tuesday. County officials announced that county employees, their families and the general public are eligible to participate in the clinic, which will be conducted in the commissioners’ public meeting room off the main lobby of the courthouse....
Lawsuit filed in death of Penn-Trafford baseball star
The parents of a Penn Township teen who died after a crash last year on Route 130 near Jeannette filed a wrongful death lawsuit against four energy companies and PennDOT, claiming installation of a natural gas pipeline created dangerous road conditions that caused the fatal collision. The estate of Maclean...
Westmoreland municipal authority opens new garage, office building in New StantonVideo
Just months before it is required to vacate office space in Hempfield, the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County moved into a nearly $10 million building on its New Stanton campus that will be home to its water distribution system. The new 41,000 square-foot building, officially opened Wednesday, will replace the...
