Monday, February 18, 2013
Several felony theft charges have been dropped against Matthew Jankowski.
UPDATE: Jankowski will have a non-jury trial at the Allegheny County Courthouse starting on March 5 (continued to May 1). ... Several charges have been dropped against a mechanic accused of ripping off the Collier Township auto repair shop where he worked. Investigators withdrew three felony theft charges and four misdemeanor theft counts against Matthew R. Jankowski, 30, of Whitehall Borough, before his Oct. 15 preliminary hearing. However, Jankowski, who once served as the vice president of Baldwin Independent Fire Company No. 1, waived to trial three felony charges of theft by deception at his preliminary hearing before District Judge Maureen McGraw-Desmet. Collier Township police alleged that Jankowski, a former assistant manager at …
40.35372
-80.13556
295 Millers Run Rd, Bridgeville, PA
Magisterial District Court 05-2-21
/articles/some-charges-dropped-against-fireman-accused-of-bilking-auto-repair-shop
/locations/8949365
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Scott's replacement was an ineligible appointment. Also, more borough appointments and other notes to report.
Ann Scott Returns Former longtime Baldwin Borough municipal employee Ann Scott's replacement on the borough's all-volunteer Civil Service Commission in April should never have been appointed. The Baldwin Council officially recognized that mistake in October when it accepted the resignation of her replacement—James Behers. As a state constable, Behers was ineligible for a spot on the Civil Service Commission, something that no council member was aware of when he was appointed. At a meeting on Tuesday night, the council brought Scott back to the commission with a narrow, 4-3 vote, and she will serve there again until at least the end of April 2018. Behers' appointment in April was also met with a 4-3 controversy. Voting for Behers over Scott…
40.383751
-79.956454
Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/baldwin-council-appoints-new-officials
1253439
/locations/8417952
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Action at Tuesday night's borough meeting could mark the end for Becks Run.
While its chief and deputy chief await a formal Allegheny County arraignment for embezzlement charges, the Becks Run Volunteer Fire Department was officially decertified by the Baldwin Borough Council on Tuesday night. The council voted, 6-0, to approve the decertification, which terminates all authority previously granted to the department to perform duties associated with a volunteer fire department and revokes its official status as a volunteer fire department serving the borough. (Councilman Ed Moeller was absent for the vote but arrived later at Tuesday's meeting.) In light of the embezzlement charges, brought because Chief Leonard "Len" Novak and Deputy Chief Stephen Bonetti allegedly misused approximately $25,000 in public funds, …
40.383751
-79.956454
Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/becks-run-fire-department-decertified
1253439
/locations/8370130
40.409588
-79.962642
Becks Run Volunteer Fire Department
801 Becks Run Rd, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/becks-run-fire-department-decertified
1842152
/locations/8370131
Friday, September 21, 2012
Alex Vogel saved a fellow firefighter during a Churchview Avenue blaze in March.
Alex Vogel, a firefighter with Baldwin Independent Fire Company No. 1, is one of the six community heroes who were honored on Thursday at a 2012 American Red Cross Heroes Breakfast at Pittsburgh's CONSOL Energy Center. Vogel received the Professional Responder Hero Award for Southwestern Pennsylvania during the event in CONSOL's Lexus Club. Five other heroes were honored at the fourth annual event, which also serves as a fundraiser for the American Red Cross. From the time that Vogel was a child, he said that his family members knew that he would follow in his father's footsteps and become a volunteer firefighter. The Baldwin Borough resident became a firefighter at the age of 17 and has since become accustomed to the dangers that come …
40.438829
-79.990923
1001 5th Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
CONSOL Energy Center
/articles/baldwin-no-1-fireman-among-red-cross-6-western-pa-heroes
/locations/7881408
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
'Right now, we really don't know (how the funds are spent).' - borough Manager John Barrett
Less than three weeks after the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office charged two Baldwin Borough firemen with misusing approximately $25,000 from the Pennsylvania firemen's relief fund, the Baldwin Borough Council has begun discussing new auditing practices for its four fire companies. Though no specific mention was made during Tuesday night's council meeting of the embezzlement charges facing the chief and deputy chief of the Becks Run Volunteer Fire Department, the council members' discussion centered around preventing just such alleged fraud from happening again. During his administrative report, Baldwin Manager John Barrett suggested ways that borough administration could "better safeguard those public funds, or at least, try to…
40.383751
-79.956454
Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/baldwin-boro-council-reviews-firefighters-funding
1253439
/locations/8107927
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Collier police have accused Matthew R. Jankowski of stealing nearly $50,000.
A volunteer firefighter from Baldwin Borough faces numerous theft charges after investigators said that he stole nearly $50,000 worth of parts and labor from the Collier Township tire retailer where he was working. Matthew R. Jankowski, 30, of Whitehall Borough, faces six felony theft charges and four misdemeanor theft counts after Collier Township police arrested him last month and accused him of ripping off Mr. Tire Auto Service Center on Washington Pike. Jankowski was recently the vice president of Baldwin Independent Fire Company No. 1. The former assistant manager at Mr. Tire, he is accused of stealing around $49,792 worth of parts and labor from the business during a five-month period from December to May. Police said in a criminal …
40.36774
-80.10406
1134 Washington Pike, Bridgeville, PA
Mr. Tire Auto Service Centers
/articles/baldwin-no-1-fireman-charged-with-theft
/locations/8833808
40.39027
-80.13065
2418 Hilltop Rd, Presto, PA
Collier Township Police Department
/articles/baldwin-no-1-fireman-charged-with-theft
/locations/8833809
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
A public meeting on Tuesday brought out various ideas for increasing participation and revenue.
Lack of attendance at its 2012 Community Day celebration led the Baldwin Borough Council to hold a public meeting on Tuesday night in order to generate ideas for drawing bigger crowds in future years. The council turned to the experts themselves—community members—to find out how to make the event better for everyone. And at the meeting, residents, council members and the Community Day committee brainstormed about several different solutions to the attendance problem, including adding new events like a carnival, a swimming tournament and/or performances by schoolchildren. "We all want it to be the best possible community function it can be," said Councilman Ed Moeller, who has been appointed to oversee the Community Day committee. "It's …
40.383751
-79.956454
Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/baldwin-council-asks-how-do-we-make-community-day-more-fun
1253439
/locations/7903084
Saturday, July 21, 2012
We will reveal the answer on Monday.
The Baldwin-Whitehall Patch has partnered with the Baldwin Historical Society to bring you a weekly trivia question that delves into our area's colorful past. Pat Lombardi and Patty Woehler, co-presidents of the society, generously write the questions and provide the pictures. Here is this week's question: The Baldwin Independent Fire Company No. 1 hosted an Allegheny Fireman's Convention in 1933. Firefighters at this convention participated in a parade and a carnival, which was located on Ruthwood Avenue between Melvina and Andrade streets. The firemen in this picture, from left to right, are Ed Klensing, Alfred "Lefty" Arand, Ed Eibs (a Brentwood Borough fireman) and Tom Osborne. The A. J. Feld's Confectionery Store, seen behind the men…
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Fire officials can utilize International Fire Code, adopted in 2000.
A lengthy discussion over lock boxes had between Baldwin Borough firefighters and council members has ended up being, well ... "moot," as Councilman Bob Collet called it. After the two groups debated both sides of the important issue at a borough meeting on July 10—does requiring the boxes improve public safety or violate Fourth Amendment rights?—borough Manager John Barrett revealed on Tuesday night that the council had already authorized the boxes' use in Baldwin years ago. In 2000, the Baldwin Council passed an ordinance that adopts the International Fire Code, Barrett said after doing some research on the topic between council meetings. And part of that fire code—Chapter 5 to be exact—allows for officials to require that lock boxes be …
40.383751
-79.956454
Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/baldwin-leaders-have-authority-to-install-lock-boxes
1253439
/locations/7440732
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
And other remaining notes from a July 10 borough meeting.
Firefighters, Council at Odds Over Lock Boxes Fed up with trying to track down business owners to unlock doors while responding to emergency calls, local fire officials are asking that owners place lock boxes at their businesses for off-hours access. The officials—Chad Hurka, president of the South Baldwin Volunteer Fire Company; Jim Barbour, assistant chief of the Option Independent Fire Company; Bill Connors, deputy chief of Baldwin Independent Fire Company No. 1; and Kenneth Guerra, Baldwin's emergency management coordinator, appeared before the Baldwin Borough Council on Tuesday night to ask for the council's help in mandating cooperation. But council members are hesitant to force business owners' hands. Council member Michael …
40.383751
-79.956454
Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/baldwin-fire-officials-pursuing-lock-boxes
1253439
/locations/7412480
Robert Edward Healy, III
5:42 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Jankowski's non-jury trial has been continued to May 1. more ›