January 10, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A West Mifflin man has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for his role in what prosecutors have described as one of the largest mortgage fraud schemes in Western Pennsylvania.
James Nassida IV, 50, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose in federal court in Pittsburgh, said Scott W. Brady, U.S. Attorney, in a prepared statement.
Between 2002 and 2009, Nassida was president of Century III Home Equity in Baldwin. Prosecutors described it as one of the largest mortgage brokerages in the Pittsburgh area, and said it arranged "hundreds of millions of dollars" of home loans with more than a dozen banks.
But prosecutors accused the brokerage --- which advertised that it had "a loan for everyone," including people with "slow or no credit" --- of committing fraud to obtain many of those mortgages.
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January 10, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
The owner of a now-closed Versailles gun store was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for possession of illegal firearms, tampering with evidence and tampering with a witness.
Erik David Lowry, 38, of Versailles also faces a $30,000 fine and three years' probation, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said in a prepared statement.
The sentence was handed down in federal court in Pittsburgh by U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab.
Lowry, who owned Pittsburgh Tactical Firearms on Walnut Street, pleaded guilty to the charges in June 2017. He also pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to illegally selling firearms.
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January 09, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Carnegie Library of McKeesport has posted programs for January, including a talk by a local author, a new current affairs discussion group, and the latest installment for its "Reading Social" book club.
For more information about these programs or any event at the library, call (412) 672-0625 or visit www.mckeesportlibrary.org.
All events are at the main library, 1507 Library Ave., unless otherwise noted.
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January 09, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, White Oak News
(Submitted photo courtesy Mon Yough Chorale)
Mon Yough Chorale will hold an open house for prospective members from 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 21 at Sampson's Mills Presbyterian Church, 1665 Lincoln Way, White Oak, a spokeswoman said.
Anyone who enjoys choral singing is invited to attend, including former and current high school and college choir or chorus members, church choir members who want to branch out in the type of music they sing, and former and current music teachers, she said.
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January 08, 2018 |
By Lynne Glover | Posted in: Politics & Elections
Residents of Clairton, Duquesne, Lincoln, McKeesport, Munhall, South Versailles Twp., Versailles, Whitaker, White Oak and parts of West Mifflin will go to the polls on Jan. 23 to select a replacement for former state Rep. Marc Gergely. Tube City Almanac is profiling both of the candidates.
To read about Fawn Walker-Montgomery, click here.
Twenty-eight-year-old Austin Davis says he’s always been interested in service. “I’ve always wanted to be helpful,” says Davis of his interest in politics.
At 16, he was chairman of the Mayor’s Youth Council in McKeesport. “There were not a lot of people that looked like me in terms of diversity,” says Davis, who is African American.
Then—and now—Davis says he would ask himself: “What’s the best way to give back? How can I make the community a better place?”
Davis says running for office was a natural step toward taking public service to the next level for the people he cares about.
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January 08, 2018 |
By Lynne Glover | Posted in: Politics & Elections
Residents of Clairton, Duquesne, Lincoln, McKeesport, Munhall, South Versailles Twp., Versailles, Whitaker, White Oak and parts of West Mifflin will go to the polls on Jan. 23 to select a replacement for former state Rep. Marc Gergely. Tube City Almanac is profiling both of the candidates.
To read about Austin Davis, click here.
Born and raised in McKeesport, Fawn Walker-Montgomery wasn’t always a Republican.
The 37-year-old, who served as campaign organizer in the Mon Valley during Obama’s presidential run, says she isn’t a Trump supporter either.
She is, however, the first African American woman to run for state legislature in the 35th Legislative District.
She switched parties in 2016 to run against then-incumbent state Rep. Marc Gergely, who subsequently beat her write-in campaign by nearly 6,500 votes, before he pleaded guilty to charges resulting in a sentence of 18 months under house arrest for his role in illegal gambling operations.
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January 08, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Photos special to Tube City Almanac)
Parts of two Downtown streets remain closed today after a brick pillar fell from the Executive Building.
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko hopes the incident, which occurred last week, is the catalyst that convinces its New York owner to either invest in the troubled office building --- now vacant --- or sell it.
The final tenants moved out of the five-story yellow brick building at the end of last year.
"I'm trying to find out if I can find anyone interested in investing in the building," Cherepko said. "We've not been happy about the situation at all."
The bricks that fell into the sidewalk along Ringgold Street appear to be decorative, not structural, Cherepko said. No one was injured and no other damage was reported.
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January 06, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Above: After two weeks of temperatures hovering in single digits, ice has formed all the way across the Youghiogheny River at McKeesport. A warming trend is expected this week. (Almanac photo)
As temperatures rise above freezing for the first time in two weeks, doctors, nurses and support staff at UPMC McKeesport hospital should receive a slight respite.
Between the bitter cold and the flu season "we've been extremely busy," says Dr. Rani Kumar, who chairs the hospital's emergency department. "We're bursting at the seams sometimes, but we're here to help."
According to the National Weather Service, average temperatures in the Mon-Yough area in December were about 4 degrees below normal. As of this weekend, the last time the temperature in the McKeesport region went above freezing was Dec. 25, when the high recorded at Allegheny County Airport was 33 degrees.
Temperatures dropped below zero for four of the first six days of 2018, according to the weather service in Moon Twp. The average temperature so far for January has been 7 degrees.
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January 05, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A medical marijuana production facility in McKeesport has been declared operational by the state Department of Health and has permission to begin growing its first plants within 60 days.
But in the meantime, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and state Sen. Jay Costa of Forest Hills are angry at U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his decision --- which was long rumored to be in the works --- to reverse the Obama Administration's guidance on prosecuting federal marijuana laws, including against medicinal users and growers.
April Hutcheson, communications director at the state Health Department, told Tube City Almanac that PurePenn LLC was inspected and deemed operational on Dec. 22.
The facility, located at the RIDC Industrial Center of McKeesport on the former U.S. Steel National Works site, is now cleared to begin growing cannabis plants from either seeds or "clones" --- essentially, cuttings from other plants --- within 60 days.
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January 05, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Duquesne News
The swearing-in of new Duquesne Mayor Nickole Nesby this week marked the end of Phil Krivacek's 18 years in that office.
Krivacek previously worked for the city as a firefighter and as city clerk for 14 years. Before becoming mayor, Krivacek served as school board president for six years and as a city council member for five years.
The former mayor called himself "fortunate to work with a lot of people who have done their job well.
“I’ve been here all my life and there are a lot of good people in this town that do a lot of good things,” Krivacek said. “I’m sure Mayor Nesby and her incoming council will do great working together for Duquesne and those who live here. Things will be good.”
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