GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to criminal homicide and other charges in a three-day crime spree in western Pennsylvania that included the ambush and murder of a couple in their driveway. The Tribune-Review reports that 54-year-old Victor Steban of North Huntingdon pleaded guilty Wednesday in Westmoreland County to more than 30 criminal charges in seven separate cases including the May 2021 deaths of 40-year-old Jacob Erdeljac and 27-year-old Mara Casale in Penn Township. Prosecutors dropped plans to seek the death penalty in exchange for the pleas. The Tribune-Review reports that Steban was sentenced to two life terms and concurrent sentences totaling 46 to 96 years.

WAYNE, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say two people were taken to a hospital after a small plane made an emergency landing on a golf course in eastern Pennsylvania. Police in Chester County say the plane came down just before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. David’s Country Club in Tredyffrin Township. The male pilot and female passenger were able to get out of the plane with help from witnesses on the golf course and were taken to Paoli Memorial Hospital with “injuries of unknown severity.” Police said the plane was on its way to Wings Field in Blue Bell from Fort Myers, Florida. Federal authorities are investigating.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A suburban Philadelphia man charged in the January 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol after he was turned in by an ex-girlfriend he reportedly insulted has pleaded guilty to a felony count. Richard Michetti, 29, of Ridley Park pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Washington to a charge of aiding and abetting obstruction of an official proceeding. He was originally also charged with trespassing, violent entry and disorderly conduct. FBI authorities said a former romantic partner of Michetti alerted authorities about his presence a day after the riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. Officials allege he sent her a text saying several hours after the siege began “If you can’t see the election was stolen you’re a moron.”

(Photo from New Brighton Area Police Department Facebook Page)

(Slippery Rock Twp., Pa.) Pa State Police in New Castle are reporting that they were called to the Dollar General on Route 422 in Slippery Rock Twp. last Friday, May 24, 2022, at 12;40 PM for a report of a counterfeit $100 Bill being used to purchase items.
Upon investigating it was learned that on Thursday May 23, 2022 at 7:31 PM a White male did purchase several items with a counter $100 Bill. Troopers said the investigation is ongoing.
This comes after New Brighton Area Police sent out a warning via social media last Friday warning local and surrounding businesses to please keep an eye for fake money being passed. The post said to call New Brighton Area Police Department if you see someone trying to pass fake money as real.

If you look closely the serial numbers are the same and the bill says copy on the upper left front and back and also has lines through the 100 on the upper right hand corner.

Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano is looking in the incident and will update us when she has more.

(North Sewickley Twp., Pa.) Pa State Police in Gibsonia are reporting that they were called to the scene of a one vehicle accident on the Pa Turnpike in North Sewickley at 8:05 AM on Tuesday, May 31, 2022.
Troopers said upon arriving on the scene an investigating it was learned that 29-year-old Patrick Yunker from Koppel fell asleep at the wheel of the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu that he was driving. Yunker’s vehicle left the roadway while traveling west bound and struck an embankment. Yunker wasn’t injured in the accident and was given a warning for not driving properly on roadways laned for traffic.

(File Photo)  

(Harrisburg, pa.) As workers, families and employers struggle under the weight of nationwide inflation, House Majority Policy Committee Chairman Martin Causer (R-Cameron/McKean/Potter) announced the committee will hold a series of hearings this month that will examine the cause and effect of inflation-induced cost increases.

“People are seeing sticker shock every which way they turn,” Causer said. “Whether it’s gasoline or groceries, utilities or other services, everything is going up in price while many of us are still struggling to recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Pennsylvania’s inflation rate was 8.4% between April 2021 and April 2022. Energy prices are up nearly 33% and transportation up nearly 21%. Gasoline alone is up more than 43% and vehicle costs up more than 18%.  Food prices are up 9.5% overall, with key staples of meat, poultry and eggs up nearly 15%. Housing costs have risen 7.9%, including fuels and utilities, household furnishings and rent.

“There is no question policies being implemented by Washington, D.C. Democrats and their allies in Pennsylvania are the driving forces behind inflation,” Causer said. “The goal of these hearings is to better understand the policies having the greatest impact, how working people and their families are dealing with inflation, and most importantly what we can do to combat rising costs in the long term.”

Each of the hearings is slated to take place at the Capitol in Harrisburg. The schedule is as follows:

• Wednesday, June 8, at 9 a.m. – What Causes Inflation?
• Thursday, June 9, at 9 a.m. – How Radical Liberal Policies Have Driven Inflation to Historic Highs.
• Tuesday, June 14, at 9 a.m. – The Impact of Inflation on Working People and Their Families.
• Tuesday, June 21, at 9 a.m. – Driving Investment and Creating Growth: The Long-term Solution to Rising Costs.

All hearings will stream live at www.PAGOPPolicy.com.

(Photo provided with release)

Keystone State News Connection

June 2, 2022

Emily Scott

As the number of Pennsylvania students with disabilities rises, a new report says the share of state education funding has declined. Education advocates say state lawmakers can use this year’s budget surplus to support the students.

In 2008, Pennsylvania contributed close to one third of the total cost of special education, but by 2020 that amount dropped to 22%.

And meanwhile, costs have gone up for every school district, according to Sharon Ward – senior policy advisor with the Education Law Center, which published the report.

She said this hurts students in lower-wealth districts most and can lead to them missing out on services such as individualized education programs.

“What we hear from parents is that there are delays in the development of IEPs,” said Ward. “If you can get to kids in the early grades and help them address a lot of their learning needs, it means they’re going to have a more successful student career.”

There were an estimated 308,000 students receiving special education services in the 2019-20 school year, up 14% from the 2008-09 school year.

The report adds that a lack of adequate special-education funding denies students access to individualized support, assistive technology and other interventions.

The report also includes policy recommendations for state lawmakers and education officials, such as adding $200 million in special education funding for the 2022-23 school year.

Ward added they’d like to see the state close the charter-school loophole, where districts must provide charter schools a fixed amount of funding per student regardless of disability.

“We’d like the charter schools to be held to the same cost-based system as district schools,” said Ward. “Frankly, school districts are sending money to charter schools to serve students with disabilities and they’re not, they’re using those dollars for other purposes.”

The Education Law Center, Public Interest Law Center and O’Melveny law firm were recently in the courtroom presenting their case that the way schools are funded in the state violates the education clause and equal-protection provisions of the state Constitution.

(File Photo)

(Pittsburgh, Pa.)  A former Allegheny County resident has been sentenced in federal court to 54 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of federal supervised release on his conviction for violating the federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced on Wednesday.

United States District Judge Robert J. Colville imposed the sentence on Nehemiah Fisher-Egleston, 28, formerly of McKees Rocks, PA, following his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute a quantity of heroin, fentanyl, and fluorofentanyl (an analogue of fentanyl) – all of which are scheduled controlled substances under federal law – which occurred from in and around September 2021 and continued through in and around February 2022 in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court, agents with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation’s Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force investigated drug trafficking activity in Pittsburgh’s Northside neighborhood (and elsewhere), and beginning in September 2021, as part of that investigation, agents began intercepting the wire and electronic communications of telephones used by codefendants charged in the same indictment as Fisher-Egleston. Through those intercepted communications and other investigative methods, the Government would have proven that codefendants obtained “bricks” (a slang term used to describe 50 individual dosage units
containing substances such as heroin, fentanyl, and analogues of fentanyl) which were distributed to Fisher-Egleston. In intercepted communications with other codefendants, Fisher-Egleston expressed his intention to redistribute the “bricks” of heroin, etc., to various individuals in Washington, Pennsylvania. By pleading guilty, Fisher-Egleston admitted to conspiring with other named codefendants to distribute scheduled controlled substances like heroin, fentanyl, and fluorofentanyl.
Assistant United States Attorney Jerome A. Moschetta prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. United States Attorney Chung commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, which led the multi-agency investigation that also included the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, the Allegheny County Probation and Parole Office, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, the Monroeville Police Department, and Ligonier Township Police Department. The prosecution of Fisher-Egleston was a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)
investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.