Westmoreland sheriff's arrest echoes earlier case
Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held charged with campaign violations
Attorney Ryan Tutera says Westmoreland Sheriff Jonathan Held not guilty of three criminal charges filed Monday alleging campaign improprieties.
Monday's arrest of Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held is a case of history repeating itself.
Nearly two decades ago, Pennsylvania's attorney general filed criminal charges against Westmoreland County's former sheriff, the last piece of a four-year investigation that involved allegations of politicking on duty and the illegal sales of confiscated weapons.
Gary Uhrin, a Democrat, resigned from his job as county sheriff in 1997 as investigators descended upon his courthouse office after several of his top deputies were charged with illegal gun sales and other crimes.
Uhrin, who left his elected post to teach criminal justice classes at Westmoreland County Community College, was charged by state agents in 2000 with 14 offenses related to his time as sheriff, including charges of theft, perjury and performing campaign work while on duty.
All but one of the criminal counts against Uhrin were dismissed following his preliminary hearing after a district ruled judge ruled too much time had passed after the alleged crimes occurred until charges were filed in early 2000.
One last ethics law violation charge was dropped by the attorney general's office a year later.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.
