The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

July 30, 2008

Man says he set up buy for pain killers

Testifies against 2nd man charged

By Courtney Anderson

MERCER COUNTY — One man charged by the Mercer County Drug Task force for alleged involvement in the sale of prescription pain killers testified against another at a preliminary hearing Wednesday before District Judge Ronald Antos, Farrell.

Bradley M. Difrischia, 22, of 129 Fairmont Drive, Hermitage, stipulated his case to Mercer County Common Pleas Court and then testified against Matthew S. Melhorn, 27, of 1309-1 Bend Road, Jefferson Township.

Police said Melhorn sold Oxycontin pills Feb. 13 in Hermitage through a deal set up by Difrischia.

Difrischia is charged with two counts each of possession with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance, conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility, according to court documents.

Melhorn is charged with possession of a controlled substance, delivery of a controlled substance and conspiracy.

Difrischia told the court that he called Melhorn to get pills for a friend who said he was “dope sick” and suffering from withdrawal because he didn’t have any. That friend was a criminal informant for the task force.

The men met in a parking lot of a North Hermitage Road business, where Difrischia gave Melhorn $100 for eight pills, Difrischia said. The criminal informant drove him there, he testified.

Melhorn’s attorney Dan Davis asked about the identity of the informant, but Assistant District Attorney Ryan Bonner objected with concerns about the informant’s safety. Antos agreed with Bonner for the purpose of the hearing, he said.

Difrischia made an immunity agreement with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony and said he was offered lesser charges, though he wasn’t sure what those were specifically and Antos denied his request to ask his lawyer, Randall Hetrick.

Davis asked Difrischia if he understood that he could do “quite a bit of time” if convicted, and Difrischia said that his lawyer, Antos and people at Mercer County Jail, where he’s being held on a probation violation, told him that.

Difrischia said he was on probation for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Police said Difrischia was also involved in delivery of five Roxicet pills March 19 in the city.

Difrischia and his father, Joseph C. Difrischia, 48, of the same address, were both charged in June.

A preliminary hearing for Joseph Difrischia originally set for Wednesday was continued to 10:30 a.m. Aug. 20 before Antos.

Police said Joseph Difrischia was involved with several sales of pain killers at his home and elsewhere in Hermitage. Police found a bottle of Roxycodone prescribed to Joseph Difrischia when they searched his home, police said.

The elder Difrischia is charged with seven counts of delivery of a controlled substance, four counts each of possession of a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility and one count of conspiracy.

Joseph Difrischia and Melhorn are free on bond, according to court documents.

Hetrick requested Difrischia’s recognizance bond be increased in this case so he could start earning credit time. Antos raised it to $5,000.

Text Only
Local News
  • Couple charged in bank robbery

    A Hubbard man with a Mercer County rap sheet and his girlfriend have been charged with robbing a New Wilmington bank on Jan. 24.

    February 3, 2012

  • eCenter officials eye ways to attract kids to tech careers

    When government officials talk about promoting their municipalities for businesses and entrepreneurs, it’s assumed they are hoping to attract adults.

    February 3, 2012

  • Board to seek tax hike OK from state

    For Sharon City School District officials and many others across Pennsylvania, the headaches and planning for the 2012-13 budget have already begun.

    February 3, 2012

  • Bond payment savings will exceed $1 million

    Back in October, when Hermitage Municipal Authority officials first started talking about refinancing two bond issues, they expected they could save $106,000.

    February 2, 2012

  • Alleged shooter accused of 2nd robbery

    Joshua L. Stewart, the alleged triggerman in the fatal shooting of William “Billy” Basilone Jr., has been charged with robbing the Wild Game Inn in Farrell on Dec. 28.

    February 2, 2012

  • Stealing grandma’s cash sends man to prison

    The stepdaughter of a woman who was allegedly abused and robbed by her grandson choked up as she asked the man why he would do something so heinous to his grandmother.

    February 1, 2012

  • KC grad robbed, beaten; home torched

    A woman with Jamestown roots remains in a Virginia hospital a couple weeks after a brutal attack in her home that police say was a random act of violence.

    February 1, 2012

  • Marin 3rd Democrat to plan Kelly challenge

    A third Democrat says he wants to challenge U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly for his seat, and this one, like the last, has tried for the spot before.

    February 1, 2012

  • Pair jailed in ’08 drug store heist

    Two men were arrested Monday and charged with calling in a bomb threat to West Hill Elementary School in 2008 so they could rob the Medicine Shoppe on East State Street while police were distracted, police said.

    February 1, 2012

  • NFG lowers rates 9.8%

    It’s going to be less painful in the pocketbook to turn up the thermostat as National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. turned down its gas rates 9.8 percent.

    February 1, 2012