McKeesport mayor arrested, jailed in Nashville

The mayor of McKeesport said he’s embarrassed about being jailed early Sunday after Nashville police said he was drunk and became belligerent with staff at a city gastropub.

Michael Cherepko, 46, was “causing a scene” outside the Nashville bar/restaurant Whiskey Row and accused staff of stealing his credit card shortly after 2:10 a.m., according to an affidavit in the case. Bar security said Cherepko had closed his tab there around 1:15 a.m.

“Police could smell alcohol on the defendant. The defendant had slurred speech and admitted to being ‘messed up,’” Metro Nashville police wrote in the affidavit.

Police and security told Cherepko to leave and not return that night to Whiskey Row, the affidavit said. Cherepko returned at 2:28 a.m.

Police said Cherepko “was clearly too intoxicated to reason with” and “deemed him to be a danger to himself,” the affidavit said. He was charged with public drunkenness and criminal trespassing.

He posted $250 bond and was released Sunday, court records show. He has a hearing scheduled in Nashville on Jan. 5.

Cherepko on Monday told TribLive the incident “is an embarrassing situation.”

“I’d like to apologize to my family and my constituents,” Cherepko said. “What started as a misunderstanding over my missing credit card could have been handled the next day with the establishment or my bank.”

“I should not have allowed myself to be in a situation like this, and unfortunately, I have to deal with the consequence,” he added. “That means having my day in court and hopefully being absolved of any charges once the facts are explained.”

Cherepko, a Democrat, is a former city councilman and teacher elected to McKeesport’s top elected post in 2011. He was reelected to a third term in 2020.