Crime & Safety

Whitehall Borough Police Briefs (Aug. 2-8)

Underage drinking, two cases of identity theft, and an argument turns violent at Whitehall Place.

Underage Drinking on Leona Drive

On Aug. 3 at approximately 10:14 p.m., police officers responded to a disturbance call from the 4800 block of Leona Drive that a man was using a parked vehicle on Leona to support himself. When officers arrived at the scene, they encountered the man in question leaning on the vehicle and reported detecting an odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath.

Police reported that the man admitted to hanging on the vehicle; though, the vehicle was not damaged.

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Officers spoke to residents in the area and learned that many of them have had an ongoing feud with the man, who was identified as Matthew Paga, 18, of 4894 Leona.

Officers escorted Paga from the scene and released him to a family member. He is being charged with underage drinking. 

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Identity Theft, Part I

On Aug. 4 at approximately 10:57 a.m., a resident from Parkline Drive in the came to the to file a fraud report. 

The victim said that, when she was reviewing her bank statement, she discovered a number of unauthorized charges (totaling $308.75) made between Aug. 3 and 4 in New York.

The victim notified her bank of the activity, and a fraud investigation is under way.

Identity Theft, Part II; Advice from Chief Dolfi 

On Aug. 6 at approximately 2:04 p.m., a resident from the 500 block of Dunn Drive came to the Whitehall police station to report more fraud.

The victim said that she recently discovered $241.42 being transferred from one of her accounts to cover unauthorized transactions made between Aug. 3 and 6 in Montreal.

The victim’s bank has been notified of the activity, and a fraud investigation is under way.

“I would strongly advise everybody to make it a habit to go over their banking statements very thoroughly,” Whitehall police Chief Donald R. Dolfi said in an attempt to curb possible effects of additional identity theft. 

Argument Turns Violent at Whitehall Place

On Aug. 7 at approximately 2:46 a.m., police reported to the 1800 block of Parkline Drive in response to a loud argument in a hallway there.

Officers arrived at the scene and made contact with the two people involved in the disturbance. Upon investigating, the officers determined that the argument had grown to be physical and arrested Michael Joel Castoreno, 31, of 1821 Parkline, Apt. 30. Castoreno was taken to Allegheny County Jail on charges of simple assault, criminal mischief and recklessly endangering another person. UPDATE: The recklessly endangering another person charge was .

The officers also summoned representatives from to transport the victim to Jefferson Regional Medical Center.


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