Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • B1

TV I I LOTTERY PAGE B-2 TV PAGE B-3 OBITUARIES PAGE B-5 Questions about delivery or service? Call 1-800-228-NEWS (6397) NL E-mail: Phone: 412-263-1601 Web: Editor: Tim McDonough COVERAGE CLOSE TO HOME ews PAGE B-3ocal FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS COVERAGE AND BREAKING UPDATES, VISIT THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019 Section BEATING FROM HERE TO SCOTLAND Michael M. Colin Humphrey, of the North Side, plays the drums while enjoying the weather Wednesday at Allegheny Commons West Park on the North Side. Mr. Humphrey was practicing for the upcoming World Pipe Band competition on Aug. 17 in Glasgow, Scotland.

have a passion for he said. have a corporate job, but I want this to eventually be my full-time SEE FBI, PAGE B-5 By Shelly Bradbury Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The FBI in Pittsburgh has ar- rested two people in connection with local sex trafficking as part of a nationwide agency crackdown last month. if you think these crimes are happening in your neighborhood, I am here to tell you that they Tim Wolford, super- visory special agent, said Wednes- day during a news conference at the South Side headquarters. A task force of local law en- forcement arrested Amy Schifano, 43, of the South Side Slopes, on a prostitution charge, and Patrick Earl Lewis, of Oregon, 43, on a pro- moting prostitution charge on July 30. Nationwide, the FBI conducted 161 sex trafficking operations in July, Agent Wolford said.

Those op- erations yielded 67 arrests, the re- covery of 82 child victims of traf- ficking, and the identification of another 21 victims, according to the FBI. The FBI conducted operations on three days in July in Pittsburgh as part of the wider effort but did not arrest any traffickers of chil- dren or recover any child victims. The two arrests made related to adult sex trafficking, Agent Wol- ford said. He said Wednesday that while the Pittsburgh area has seen fewer instances of child sex trafficking than other cities, the FBI has seen an uptick in the number of cases in which adults sexually exploit chil- dren online. want parents and caretakers to know you police kids on computers the way you used to, with the family computer in the middle of the living he said.

are online on their phones away from the watchful eyes of their parents. And important that parents have open and con- structive dialogue with their chil- Such exploitation cases often start with the suspect posing as a child or young adult and befriend- ing the child victim online, he said. The suspect will often build up trust with the child and then ask 2 charged in sex trafficking crackdown In wake of Pittsburgh arrests, FBI warns parents to protect kids against online sex exploitation Steel Curtain rolling again after repairs over 4 days SEE COASTER, PAGE B-4 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The Steel Curtain, Kenny- newest and biggest at- traction, reopened Wednesday, four days after it had been shut down for maintenance. The roller coaster had been closed since Saturday as crews dealt with technical issues for the second time since the debut in July. Kennywood said the work was done with its maintenance crews and partners at which designed and built the coaster.

The Steel Curtain features nine inversions, which park of- ficials say is the most in North America, and the tallest inversion at 197 feet. Kennywood said downtime is given the ness, complexity and record- breaking a unique prototype ride, not unusual to have pe- riodic downtime as we have seen over The Steel first month of Ken- nywood said in a Facebook post. know that our pri- mary focus throughout this pro- cess is on the safety of the ride for you, our the post continued. aim to provide the best ex- perience possible on a visit to Kenny- wood, and safety is the first prior- ity in creat- ing that good experi- While some people seemed to be upset about the closure in their social media comments, experienced roller coaster enthusiasts were hardly thrown for a loop by the shutdown. is not unusual in the least bit.

actually highly com- said Bill Linkenheimer of Ross, who is a regional repre- sentative and past national president of the American Coaster Enthusiasts. real- ity is, this is common at parks all over the One example he has been sharing lately is the new ride at Islands of Adven- ture in Orlando, Fla. Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure that has been closed a lot, or open for reduced hours, due to technical issues since it opened June 13. a park like can have a problem, pretty much any park Mr. Linken- heimer said.

And parks do, as they work out issues with com- puters and sensors that control rides. Ross officer fired, charged with illegal computer use SEE ROSS, PAGE B-2 By Lacretia Wimbley and Jonathan D. Silver Pittsburgh Post-Gazette A Ross police officer charged with computer crimes was fired Monday by township commis- sioners. Mark E. Sullivan, 39, of Franklin Park, had been on ad- ministrative leave since Janu- ary.

Agents from the state attor- ney office charged him July 22 with two felony counts of unlawful use of a com- puter; he was arraigned the next day and released on his own recognizance. Mr. Sullivan declined com- ment Wednesday. His prelimi- nary hearing had been moved from earlier in the day to Sept. 11.

His lawyer could not be reached for comment. The office is accusing Mr. Sullivan, an eight-year vet- eran with the Ross police, of log- ging into his com- puter system as an administra- tor and accessing files belong- ing to Chief Joseph Ley and Lt. Matthew Grubb without their permission. Mr.

Sullivan, who was an as- sistant to the officer who han- dles the informa- tion technology, denied being involved in one of the two breaches for which he is being charged. He provided an Another weekend of traffic woes along Parkway East, Boulevard of the Allies SEE TRAFFIC, PAGE B-4 By Ed Blazina Pittsburgh Post-Gazette It will be another orange barrel weekend along the Parkway East and the Boulevard of the Allies be- ginning Friday evening. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced Wed- nesday there will be single-lane re- strictions in both directions on the Boulevard of the Allies from 8 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday between the Birmingham Bridge and Bates Street.

Traffic will be reduced to 10- foot-wide lanes in each direction so crews can mill and pave the road surface. Crews also are expected to mill and pave the right-hand north- bound lane of the road between the bridge and Jumonville Street. That work likely will occur on Saturday. Access from the boulevard to and from intersection streets will be maintained during the work, but there could be short closures to allow asphalt to cool before drivers use the repaved road. Flaggers and off-duty police offi- cers will be at key intersections to keep traffic moving smoothly.

Access to the emergency room at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital will be provided on Craft Avenue or Craft Place. On the Parkway East, inbound ramps will be closed for dam re- placement work on ramps from the Boulevard of the Allies to the park- way and from the parkway to Second Avenue from 8 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday. In addition, the far right inbound lane of the park- way will be closed during the work, but the other two inbound lanes Pam A HEALTHY HANDFUL From left, Bryah Yancey, 18, of Braddock, and Darnda Spells, 16, of the North Side both interns with the Brad- dock Youth Project and Cassie Staub, with the Key Service Corps Americorps, pick vegetables from the Braddock Youth Youth Garden on Wednesday.

The summerlong program involves 60 area youth in community projects in Braddock. Pa. man charged with buying guns stolen from U.S. facility SEE THEFT, PAGE B-4 By Torsten Ove Pittsburgh Post-Gazette A Bedford County man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of buying hun- dreds of guns and thousands of gun parts from a former security guard at a West Virginia gun dis- posal facility maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Richard Adam Schreiber, 38, of Everett, was named Tuesday in a multiple-count indictment handed up in U.S. District Court in Johnstown. He remains free on a $10,000 bond pending an Aug. 27 hearing in federal court. Mr.

Schreiber is accused of buying guns, gun components and ammunition from Christo- pher Lee Yates, a former contract security guard at national disposal facility in Martinsburg, W.Va. ATF uses the facility to collect guns and ammo that have been seized by law enforcement agen- cies in criminal cases and desig- nated for destruction. Yates was indicted in March in West Virginia, and he pleaded guilty in April to steal- ing thousands of guns and fire- arm parts. He is awaiting sen- tencing. reality is, this is common at parks all over the Bill Linkenheimer, American Coaster Enthusiasts XQjgq.