Community Corner

The Biggest Stories in Moon

Patch takes a look back at this week's biggest headlines for March 27.

Former Pittsburgh police officer arrested in prostitution sting

 arrested a former Pittsburgh Police detective and his girlfriend Wednesday night after an undercover prostitution sting at a local hotel. 

Former city narcotics Det.  Talib Kevin Ghafoor, 55, of Pittsburgh, was charged with three counts of felony prostitution and criminal conspiracy and  one count of misdemeanor possession of  instruments of crime. 

Find out what's happening in Robinson-Moonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

An undercover detective also arrested a woman who identified herself as Ghafoor's fiancee, Sabina Earlene Sailer, 43, of Florida. The detective contacted Sailer and arranged to meet her at the hotel on Cherrington Parkway last week. 

Sailer was charged with three counts of felony prostitution and criminal conspiracy and one count of misdemeanor prostitution. 

Find out what's happening in Robinson-Moonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Moon Police Chief Leo McCarthy said 54 people were charged with prostitution-related offenses in Moon last year. He said the department has been stepping up its enforcement of sex crimes since closing three brothels on University Boulevard in 2008. 

Local airmen deployed to Libya 

Local members of the have been deployed to serve in the U.S. military operation in Libya. 

Airmen from the 171st Air Refueling Wing of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard in Findlay Township are taking part in Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya. 

Air National Guard Capt. Dicie Hritz said she could not confirm the number of airmen from the unit who had been deployed, but said more members could be sent as part of the mission.

Construction on new Kenny Ross dealership under way

 soon will be setting up shop down the street from its current  University Boulevard location.

The dealership is slated to move into a new facility on the same street later this year. That 48,000-square-foot facility will open on the corner of University and Port Authority Drive next to the on December 1.

The dealership plans to add 40 jobs when the new facility opens. Construction on the project began at the beginning of March. 

Port Authority cuts to begin today

After days of protests, a and last-ditch efforts to negotiate concessions with its employees, the Port Authority of Allegheny County will move forward today with a 15-percent service reduction and 180 employee layoffs.

On Friday, a representative from Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85, which represents Port Authority workers, said County Executive Dan Onorato rejected a proposal offered by the union aimed at staving off the cuts. The union, in turn, turned down two alternative proposals from Onorato.

The reduction is Port Authority's way of addressing rising costs and a loss of state funding. Twenty-nine  bus routes throughout the region will be eliminated, including the 25 Moon route.

Former Moon resident killed in Franklin Park car crash

A 1991 graduate of was early Monday morning in a car crash following a police chase. 

Bryan Viviani, 37, of Sewickley, was ejected from a vehicle in a crash at 2 a.m. on Wexford Run Road, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. 

Initial reports indicated that the crash occurred after a brief police chase. Viviani was a race car driver and the owner of Viviani Motor Sports in Bellevue. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here