Wayne County Sheriff Conducted Illegal Gun Lotteries From County Courthouse

by Douglas DiPalma - August 12, 2026

HONESDALE, Pa. - The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office conducted illegal gun lotteries inside the county courthouse in 2024 and 2025 to raise money for its K-9 fund. But the canine at the center of that fundraising is not certified for service and, according to the county, has not performed a single documented law enforcement function since it was acquired nearly three years ago.

Chief Deputy Danene Van Horn is the handler for the canine, Onyx, which was acquired by the Sheriff's Office on January 11, 2024. Van Horn reports directly to Wayne County Sheriff Chris Rosler, who has been in the office since 2022.

Promotional materials for the lotteries, posted on social media and elsewhere, stated that the funds would be used specifically for the care of Onyx.

How Some of the Funds Were Used

NEPA News has learned that at least $18,000 that was allocated for the K-9 unit was used by Van Horn for major improvements to her Beach Lake property. Those improvements included driveway gravel, an insulated shed and fencing.

Photo Showing Improvements Made to Van Horn’s Property Using County Funds

Several receipts related to the canine showed expenditures at Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Bagel Love Cafe and Texas Roadhouse, as well as a filet mignon dinner over a two-day period (January 10-11, 2024). It's believed these expenditures were related to Van Horn's trip to acquire the canine.

The Unlicensed Lotteries

Sheriff’s Office employees sold tens of thousands of dollars in lottery tickets directly to the public, according to records reviewed by NEPA News. The tickets cost $50 each in 2024 and $30 each in 2025, with winners determined by the Pennsylvania Lottery’s daily Pick 3 number.

NEPA News purchased a ticket from a Sheriff’s Office employee on Oct. 16, 2025.

On a January 8, 2026, NEPA News asked the Sheriff’s Office for its Small Games of Chance license. Chief Clerk Andrew Seder - the Agency Open Records Officer - responded in an email that same day:

"After reviewing your request I am approving it. The Beach Lake Fire Company holds and maintains these licenses [and] has allowed the Sheriff's Department to use their license (serving as a sponsor) once a year to hold this fundraiser. This is allowable and permissible under the small games of chance law but the county Sheriff's Department itself does not hold or maintain such licenses. Therefore, we have no responsive records to provide."

NEPA News then sought clarification from Seder, noting that Section 307(c) of Pennsylvania's Local Option Small Games of Chance Act requires gaming licenses to be publicly displayed at the location where games of chance are conducted. NEPA News asked whether the Sheriff’s Office was stating that it never possessed the license while selling raffle tickets.

On January 12, Seder responded:

"My role as a right to know officer is to provide requested responsive records, not to answer questions. We have no responsive records to provide. Copies of the licenses they operated under are currently on file with the Wayne County Treasurer. I believe the originals are held by Beach Lake Fire Company. I can't tell you where those documents were when the Small Games of chance was conducted in 2024 and 2025..."

January 12 response from Seder

NEPA News asked the county for Small Games of Chance license No. 2207, the license number printed on the lottery tickets. In response, the county provided NEPA News with a license issued to the Beach Lake Volunteer Fire Company. The bottom of the license has text that reads:

"This permit is NOT TRANSFERABLE and MUST BE POSTED IN A CONSPICUOUS PLACE."

Small Games of Chance License No. 2207

Seder’s unsolicited explanation that the arrangement was “allowable and permissible under the small games of chance law” conflicts with the license itself, which expressly states that the permit is “NOT TRANSFERABLE.”  

The one-year license was issued to the Beach Lake Volunteer Fire Company and expired on February 28, 2025, while the Sheriff’s Office conducted lotteries and raffles using that license number.

In our investigation, NEPA News found no evidence that the Beach Lake Volunteer Fire Company conducted the lotteries, sold tickets, advertised the fundraisers or otherwise operated the gaming events, other than simply granting the Sheriff’s Office permission to use its non-transferable license. 

Under Pennsylvania law, Small Games of Chance licenses are issued only to eligible nonprofit organizations and authorize those organizations to conduct licensed gaming activities.

PA Department of Revenue REV-1750 (SU) 02-25

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office does not hold its own Small Games of Chance license because, by law, it is not permitted to do so. Instead, the Sheriff’s Office printed License No. 2207 - belonging to the Beach Lake Fire Company - on its lottery tickets, creating the false impression that the Sheriff’s Office was legally authorized to conduct the lottery.

The license not only belonged to another organization, but it had also expired by the time of the November 2025 gun lottery.

Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 5512(b), it is illegal to:

1. Establish or maintain any lottery;
2. Manufacture, print, or sell unlawful lottery tickets; or
3. Publish advertisements for an unlawful lottery.

Each one of these offenses is a first-degree misdemeanor.

Section 5512 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code

Gambling without a license is also illegal under 18 Pa.C.S. § 5513, which classifies that offense as a first-degree misdemeanor. 

Section 5513 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code

The Sheriff’s Office engaged in each of those activities by organizing the fundraiser, promoting the gun lotteries, selling tickets to the public, and awarding firearms through the lottery drawings. The lotteries were promoted on Facebook and via email, according to records obtained by NEPA News.

Sheriff Chris Rosler was not only aware of the conduct; he personally participated in promoting the illegal lottery on Facebook.

The Sheriff’s Office has also blocked a Facebook account belonging to a NEPA News reporter from accessing its canine Facebook page. The page remains accessible to other Facebook users but is unavailable to the blocked account. The account was blocked while NEPA News was gathering information about the Sheriff’s Office’s K-9 program and fundraising activities.

NO BANK STATEMENTS AVAILABLE - FINANCIAL RECORDS OVERWRITTEN

On two occasions, NEPA News sought bank statements for the K-9 fund through Right-to-Know requests. Both requests were unsuccessful, despite NEPA News referencing a Dec. 5, 2024, Facebook post from the Sheriff’s Office acknowledging the account. 

Wayne County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post acknowledging the existence of the Canine Account

In response to one request, Seder wrote:

"After reviewing your request I am approving it, however, we have no bank statements related to this matter and therefore no responsive records to provide."

Seeking clarification, NEPA News asked whether Seder’s response meant that a bank account for the K-9 funds had never existed. Seder responded: 

“My role as a right to know officer is to provide requested responsive records, not to answer questions. I will once again reiterate that we have no responsive records of any copies of detailed bank statements for the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office K9 account to provide.”

One record obtained by NEPA News showed that the 2025 gun raffle sold 499 tickets, bringing in $14,970. 

When seeking records on the 2024 raffle, Van Horn explained in a Feb. 28, 2026, sworn statement: 

“The 2024 log of raffle tickets sold, on an excel spreadsheet, no longer exists as at the end of that year the document was overridden, and a 2025 raffle ticket sale list was begun.”

However, the county retention policy requires financial documents to be retained for seven years.

Wayne County Records Retention Policy

The county’s assertion that no bank records existed for the canine account - the same account the Sheriff’s Office referenced when soliciting donations - raised questions about how the funds were maintained and accounted for. 

On January 23, 2026, NEPA News submitted another Right-to-Know request for the bank statements. The county eventually responded March 4, identifying the Wayne County Community Foundation as the location where the funds were held, but still declined to provide the bank statements. 

GUN TRANSFERS INVALID AND VOID?

Pennsylvania law provides that transfers of property made pursuant to an unlawful lottery are “invalid and void.” Because the Sheriff’s Office lotteries were not authorized by law, that raises questions about the legal status of firearms awarded through them. 

Section 5512(a) of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code

However, the Crimes Code also protects those who purchased lottery tickets. Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 5513(c), “The purchaser of any such ticket, or device, shall not be liable to any prosecution or penalty arising out of this crime.” In other words, the law does not impose criminal liability under that provision on people who purchase an unlawful lottery ticket. 

K-9 CERTIFICATION ISSUES

K-9 Onyx has not completed the training required for certification under Pennsylvania’s Act 60 canine training standards and has no documented record of performing any law enforcement function. Several law enforcement sources told NEPA News that Onyx is often referred to as a “courthouse pet.” One source told NEPA News that Sheriff Rosler himself described Onyx as nothing more than an expensive pet.

The Sheriff’s Office has repeatedly portrayed Onyx as a working dog while soliciting donations and conducting illegal gun lotteries and raffles to support the program.

On July 25, 2026, NEPA News asked the Sheriff’s Office to produce all training certificates, certifications or other records documenting training completed by Wayne County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Onyx or its handler, including incident reports documenting the canine performing any law enforcement function. 

On July 31, Seder responded: 

“After a thorough and due diligent search we have no responsive records to provide that meet your request. Therefore your request is denied.”

Wayne County Sheriff Right-to-Know Denial Letter — July 31, 2026

It remains unclear why the Van Horn was selected to serve as the canine handler or whether the opportunity was offered to other deputies. Van Horn’s duties within the Sheriff’s Office are primarily clerical and administrative, according to records reviewed by NEPA News, raising questions about the decision to assign the canine to an employee whose duties are largely performed inside the office rather than in the field.

When canine assistance is needed during an emergency, Wayne County’s K-9 unit cannot be deployed because of its lack of training. As a result, Wayne County has had to rely on Pike County’s K-9, Medic.

K-9 Medic was acquired by Pike County in late 2025 and certified for service on May 3, 2026, just months after joining the Sheriff’s Office.

Pike County K-9 assisting Honesdale Borough Police with a reported “shots fired” call near Park Street on June 12, 2026.

The absence of an operational K-9 team has real-world consequences. In recent years, there have been multiple incidents in which a certified law enforcement canine could have assisted local agencies, yet the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office was unable to provide that resource despite having a K-9 in its possession.

One such incident occurred on December 11, 2025, when an endangered person was reported missing from a residence in White Mills. Despite search efforts by the Pennsylvania State Police and local fire departments, the individual was not located until the following day, when he was found deceased in a driveway. While no one could predict the outcome had the nearby K-9 team been fit for service, the case illustrates the type of emergency in which a tracking dog could have been deployed.

A May 2025 issue of the Wayne County News for You newsletter stated that the Sheriff’s Office K-9 “will soon be available to assist other agencies with drug detection or tracking missing persons.” Yet more than a year later, the Sheriff’s Office has not documented a single deployment of the K-9 team.

Van Horn was also the subject of a NEPA News investigative story (July 8, 2026) into double-dipping after records showed she was cutting inmates’ hair as a contracted prison vendor while simultaneously on duty and collecting her hourly pay as chief deputy sheriff. As of press time, the Sheriff’s Office had not commented on the records showing she was receiving both payments simultaneously. Van Horn did not respond to requests for comment from NEPA News.

Full Story: DOUBLE DIPPING: Wayne County Chief Deputy Paid for Giving Haircuts to Inmates While on Duty