Police: 2 workers smoked pot outside county home

BEAVER, Pa. (AP) — Two men face criminal charges and have been suspended without pay for allegedly smoking marijuana outside the county-owned nursing home where they work in western Pennsylvania.

Brighton Township police say visitors saw 27-year-oold Nicholas Merendo, of Monaca, and 27-year-old James Vallese, of Brighton Township, smoking in a vehicle before their shift at Friendship Ridge on Jan. 17. Police say blood tests confirmed they were smoking marijuana and that Merendo admitted as much.

Both are charged with disorderly conduct and marijuana possession. Both men are dietary workers at the Beaver County facility.