The Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA

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June 28, 2012

Morning Briefing | Police: Woman stole $62K from Altoona credit union

ALTOONA — The former manager of a central Pennsylvania credit union has been charged with stealing nearly $62,000 by taking cash from her drawer and then claiming the money was spent on other items, including building maintenance, marketing and office supplies.

Online court records don't list an attorney for 53-year-old Linda Holland, of Altoona.

The Altoona Mirror reports Thursday she has been arraigned on dozens of felony theft charges for allegedly stealing money on 58 occasions from the Your Choice Federal Credit Union from June 2008 and April 2011.

Altoona police say the thefts ranged from $33 to $4,500.

Holland did not immediately return a call to her home for comment.

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Coroner sets inquest in woman's fire death

WASHINGTON — A southwestern Pennsylvania coroner has scheduled an inquest into the death of a woman earlier this year in a house fire.

Washington County Coroner Tim Warco on Wednesday announced the inquest into the death of 59-year-old Elaine Manack.

Manack's body was found inside her Union Township home following the March 3 fire. Warco had ruled her death caused by smoke inhalation.

The inquest is scheduled for July 20.

Police say the cause of the fire is undetermined. A 63-year-old man was also injured in the blaze.

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Woman, then 17, seeks lesser murder sentence

GREENSBURG — A 20-year-old woman serving a life sentence without parole for instigating the torture killing of her mentally disabled former friend wants a new sentence based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Angela Marinucci, of Greensburg, was only 17 when 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty was killed in February 2010 at an apartment about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh.

Marinucci's age made her ineligible for the death penalty, which three of five other co-defendants still face. But the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports Marinucci now contends her age at the time of the killing also makes her ineligible for a life sentence without parole.

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that sentencing juveniles to life in prison without parole amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

Marinucci was convicted of first-degree murder last May.

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Greensburg couples wed by magistrate doing double take

GREENSBURG — Hundreds of couples married by a careless western Pennsylvania district judge who has since died four years ago should double check with the county to ensure their marriage licenses have been legally recorded.

That's the message Westmoreland County Register of Wills Michael Ginsburg is sending to anyone married by the late Raymond Tubbs. Tubbs was district judge in North Huntingdon Township from 1975 to 1989, when he was booted out of office in a ticket-fixing scandal.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports Tubbs often failed to record licenses for marriages he performed.

So far, 30 couples have gone to the county courthouse 30 miles east of Pittsburgh and four of them were found to have invalid marriages.

Ginsburg says his office is streamlining the process to help couples file court affidavits to obtain valid marriage licenses.

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Mom gives birth on side of Interstate 79

MCKEES ROCKS — A western Pennsylvania couple started their drive to the hospital with two kids in the car. It wasn't long before they had three.

Erika Garcia gave birth to her third child Wednesday morning on the side of Interstate 79 in Kennedy Township, Allegheny County. Husband Marcus Thomas went from the driver's seat to the hot seat after Garcia told him the baby was on her way.

So Thomas pulled over and helped Garcia's speedy delivery along. Son Marcus Jr. tells WPXI-TV he held the baby's hand while his dad swaddled the newborn.

Thomas jokes the couple considered naming the baby Kennedy after her birthplace but the settled on Catalaya.

Garcia and Catalaya were taken immediately to a hospital. Officials there say mom and daughter are doing fine.

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Pittsburgh police find 2 men dead in parked car

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh homicide detectives have been called to the scene where two men have been found shot to death in a parked car.

Emergency dispatchers say the car was discovered about 6 a.m. Thursday in the city's Perry South neighborhood.

Police have not made any arrests or named any suspects.

The victims' names have not been released.

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Man told police he 'snapped' before killing

SHARON — A 19-year-old man will stand trial on charges that he murdered a western Pennsylvania woman by stabbing her roughly 30 times after he inexplicably "snapped."

The Herald of Sharon reports Thursday that a district judge ordered Anthony Argenziano, of Sharon, to stand trial or first- and second-degree murder charges and criminal homicide in the death of 42-year-old Tracey Goga.

She was found dead in her apartment in Sharon on June 9, though police in that city about 60 miles northwest of Pittsburgh believe she had been killed two days earlier.

Police detective Sgt. Steven Ray says Argenziano initially denied killing Goga, but broke down and acknowledged that he "snapped" and later told his mother he had done something "terrible."

Argenziano has pleaded not guilty.

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Man guilty in post-party vodka stabbing

SMETHPORT — A 26-year-old northwestern Pennsylvania man was found not guilty of attempted homicide, but has been convicted of aggravated assault and other charges for stabbing a man during a post-party fight over a bottle of vodka.

The Bradford Era reports testimony at the McKean County trial that ended Wednesday showed 26-year-old Randon Black, of Bradford, took the vodka with him when he left a birthday party at the house of 39-year-old David Kelsey, who survived seven stab wounds in the Sept. 7 altercation.

Black took the liquor because he claimed it belonged to a friend, while Kelsey claimed it became his once Black's friend left it behind after leaving the party.

Black's attorney argued his client was only defending himself, but prosecutors contend text messages show Black was spoiling for a fight.

No sentencing date has been set.

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Small plane crash damages 2 other planes

WEST CHESTER — A New Jersey man was injured when his small plane crashed while landing at a suburban Philadelphia airfield, striking two other planes and narrowly missing a parked fuel truck.

Officials at Brandywine Airport say the single-engine plane crashed during landing Wednesday. Airport manager John Taylor said a stiff crosswind may have contributed to the crash.

Airport officials identified the pilot as Howard Cooper of Maplewood, N.J. He was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

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Duquesne Brewing resurrecting another Pa. brand

LATROBE — A brewery created to resurrect a popular Pittsburgh-area beer brand two years ago is getting ready to revive another: Fort Pitt Beer.

Duquesne Brewing Co. says it still start selling Fort Pitt Beer in August.

Fort Pitt Brewing Co. was one of several major Pittsburgh breweries in the 20th century, but went out of business in 1958.

Duquesne Beer was brewed in Pittsburgh's South Side from 1899 until 1972 and in the 1950s was the state's biggest-selling brand.

Mark Dudash, a Pittsburgh-area attorney, revived the Duquesne brand two years ago when he formed Duquesne Brewing and struck a deal for the beer to be brewed at City Brewing Co. in Latrobe, about 40 miles east of the city.

Fort Pitt Beer will also be brewed at the same location.

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Feds: Woman sold children's identities

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia-area woman faces federal charges for allegedly selling children's identity information to a tax preparer who used them as fake dependents for clients.

Federal prosecutors say 46-year-old Shirl Robinson obtained the names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of children and sold them to a Philadelphia tax preparer. They alleged Wednesday that information was then used to list bogus dependents on income-tax filings.

A superseding grand jury indictment filed Tuesday says Robinson, of Darby, made about $650 for each child, whose parents or guardians wouldn't be claiming them as dependents.

Robinson's public defender didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Authorities say the investigation is continuing.

 

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