Judge grants new trial
A federal judge has granted a Uniontown man convicted of aiding and abetting an arson a new trial. In a brief order handed down on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose granted Jesse J. Risha the new trial. Risha’s attorney claimed that prosecutors did not disclose a deal given to a commonwealth witness in exchange for his testimony.
Authorities alleged that Risha, 54, of 160 Misty Meadow Lane arranged for someone to set fire to the G.C. Murphy Co. building in Clairton, Allegheny County. He was storing poker machines in the building when the May 11, 1998, fire started, although his attorney had claimed that the machines were sold before the blaze was set.
Ambrose set Risha’s new trial for Nov. 6.