Belle Vernon man charged with making threats to local hospital
Charges have been filed against a Belle Vernon man who allegedly threatened to blow up a local hospital because he was upset that an official there couldn’t tell him if his mother was a patient.
On Monday, Carroll Township Police filed charges of terroristic threats and threatening to use weapons of mass destruction against Mark Ashley Trombetta, 35, before Washington County Magisterial District Judge Mark Wilson.
Police started their investigation after a medical records employee from Monongahela Valley Hospital called to report and incident where Trombetta called the hospital at 9:26 p.m. July 25, asking if his mother is a patient there.
Because of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPA), the employee informed Trombetta that she was not permitted to divulge that information.
The employee told the police that Trombetta allegedly stated that he would just “blow the place up” and then hung up the phone.
The employee provided the police with the caller identification and callback number that appeared on the caller identification feature on the hospital’s phone system.
Police then called Trombetta on July 26 to hear his version of the events, according to court paperwork. Police said Trombetta told them he was dissatisfied with the hospital’s service and admitted to making the threatening statements.
A summons has been issued for Trombetta to appear before Wilson for a preliminary hearing scheduled at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 5.