2 women in New Stanton charged with prostitution
David Genard has lived in New Stanton for more than 50 years and remembers when drugs and prostitution were not to be found in the small borough.
So when he heard about recent arrests there of two women on prostitution charges, he said he was glad something is being done to curb the crime that has been foreign to him.
“I'd like to see it brought back to the way it was years ago,” Genard said as he picked up mail at the post office on West Pennsylvania Avenue. “Most of this stuff only used to happen in Pittsburgh. It's here now, super big-time. I've never seen it before like this.”
State police vice and criminal investigation units used a website advertising women for “intimate services” to make the arrests in a crackdown on the “growing prostitution problem in New Stanton,” according to a criminal complaint.
Trish M. Waggoner, 33, of McKeesport was charged with solicitation Aug. 7 in a sting operation in which police contacted her on the website and arranged to meet her at a New Stanton hotel.
“During her visit, a solicitation for sex in exchange for money was made,” investigators said in the complaint.
A similar sting at the hotel led to the arrest of a 21-year-old Pittsburgh woman on prostitution charges. Details of that arrest were not available.
Waggoner said she began turning tricks “several months ago to support her (drug) habit,” according to the criminal complaint.
Women hooked on drugs often turn to prostitution, Westmoreland County Detective Tony Marcocci said.
“We're seeing it more and more with the advent of heroin,” he added.
Criminals are attracted to New Stanton because of its proximity to Interstate 70, the Pennsylvania Turnpike and other highways, council members, law enforcement sources and residents said. Many visitors come from Allegheny County or outlying areas.
“It's been said many times, we're the hub here, and you read about state police picking up all these drug haulers on the turnpike,” Councilman Tom Smith said.
The increase in crime has caught the attention of borough council.
During the summer, the board turned to detectives in the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office for help to stop drug-dealing and other illegal activity — especially in hotels clustered in the center of the town of about 2,200 residents.
The community has no police force and relies on state police for protection. But council has begun talks to bring in part-time coverage through the Southwest Regional Police Department, based in Belle Vernon.
“This is a great start,” council President Scott Sistek said about the prostitution arrests. “I just hope it continues until we're rid of the problems.”
Residents have complained to him about drugs and prostitution in the borough, he said.
“This might be a deterrent for some criminals ... that they'll take their business elsewhere and leave New Stanton,” Sistek said.
Resident Edward Popyak said he hopes that is the case.
“You've got to clean up things,” Popyak said. “You can't have a bad community. It leaves you with a bad name.”
Bob Stiles is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-836-6622 or bstiles@tribweb.com.
