Morning Roundup: Pittsburgh police investigate synagogue threat; Orthodox priest accused of stealing $117K from parish

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Dec. 1:

Pittsburgh police investigate reported threat against synagogue

Pittsburgh police said they are investigating a reported online threat made against a synagogue.

Officers checked and secured all of the city’s synagogues and will maintain a presence there, police officials said Thursday.

The threat appears to be unfounded, according to Pittsburgh police.

Police have a lead on an IP address, and the investigation is ongoing.

Canonsburg priest accused of stealing over $117K from Orthodox parish

A Canonsburg priest is accused of stealing more than $117,000 from his parish.

The Rev. George Athanasiou was suspended without pay from the All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in North Strabane after he was accused of making over 200 unauthorized ATM withdrawals from the church’s account, TribLive news partner WTAE reported.

Members of the church last month notified police about missing donation checks at the church. The investigation led police to a PNC Bank on Washington Road, where police said church donation checks were deposited into a personal account.

According to police, surveillance video showed Athanasiou making the deposits. Police said they also found more evidence at his apartment, and the priest later confessed to the taking the money.

He faces multiple charges, including theft and forgery.

Student to be disciplined for bringing AR-15 magazine bag to school

California Area School District Superintendent Laura Jacob said the district has identified the student who brought an AR-15 magazine bag to the high school earlier this week.

The owner of the magazine bag will be disciplined in accordance with district policy, Jacob said in a letter to district families Thursday. She did not identify the student.

“We appreciate the student coming forward this morning, and they stated they did not intend harm or panic,” Jacob said.

The superintendent said in the letter she could not disclose further details about the incident because of confidentiality concerns, but assured families that the administration and law enforcement handled the incident.

The high school was locked down Wednesday after a teacher found an AR-15 magazine round on her classroom floor. The incident prompted an increased police presence and locker and bag checks for students.

“We appreciate the patience and understanding with the lockdown yesterday and the bag checks this morning with all the students,” Jacob said. “We will continue to act with caution based on the facts we have at the time. Student safety remains our number one priority and we appreciate all of your support, cooperation and understanding as we implement appropriate protocol.”

McCandless police K9 to get new protective vest

The McCandless Police Department announced on social media that K9 Siraly will receive a protective vest from a nonprofit that supports police dogs.

Spike’s K9 Fund is donating the vest, and McCandless police are asking for donations to further support Spike’s K9 Fund.

The fund has provided more than 1,100 custom-fit ballistic vests for K9s, and offers training, donates heat alarms and covers cost for critical medical treatments.