Part 2 of a Pocono Review Investigation

HONESDALE — Wayne County District Attorney A.G. Howell personally prosecuted Paul Joseph Wassel Jr. in 2016 on a disorderly conduct charge investigated by troopers from PSP Honesdale — the same barracks where Corporal Brian Rickard would later be caught stealing heroin from the evidence room.

Court records obtained by the Pocono Review show Howell, then an assistant district attorney, handled Wassel’s case before Magisterial District Judge Bonnie L. Carney. The arresting agency was PSP Honesdale — Rickard’s station.

Six years later, Wassel sat in Pike County jail awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges and filed a public records request with Howell’s office. He wanted to know what cases Rickard had touched. Howell’s office denied it — first claiming the records were exempt, then telling him to try the Attorney General instead.

The 2016 Case

Wassel pleaded guilty January 27, 2016, to disorderly conduct in Paupack Township. He was ordered to pay $300 in fines plus $2,450 in restitution. Trooper Chad L. Cunningham of PSP Honesdale made the arrest. Howell prosecuted. Case number: MJ-22301-NT-0000497-2015.

Four Years Later, a New Arrest

In June 2020, Wassel was arrested in Pike County on drug trafficking charges. Wayne County DA Howell’s office assisted in the investigation. Wassel sat in Pike County jail on $800,000 bail.

Then Rickard Got Caught

In November 2021, fellow troopers found Corporal Brian Rickard at the Honesdale barracks “in a compromised state, unable to function normally.” An evidence envelope that should have held 50 bags of heroin contained 20. Rickard — an 18-year veteran and CIU supervisor at the same barracks that investigated Wassel’s 2016 case — was arrested for evidence tampering.

Wassel, still in Pike County jail, wanted to know if Rickard had touched any of his prior cases.

The RTKL Request

In February 2022, Wassel submitted a Right-to-Know Law request seeking “arrest records related to Corporal Brian Rickard such as police reports, affidavits of probable cause, general offense reports, etc.”

Howell’s office denied it March 4, 2022, claiming the records related to a criminal investigation. Wassel appealed to the Office of Open Records. Then the story changed.

First One Reason, Then Another

First Assistant DA Gregory Seder submitted a sworn statement with a new position: Howell’s office didn’t have the records. The Attorney General did.

“This investigation and prosecution are being handled by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General,” Seder’s attestation stated.

The Office of Open Records sided with the DA on April 11, 2022, and told Wassel to try the AG instead — but by then, he’d already been convicted.

Howell’s Office Helped Build the Pike County Case

Howell’s office wasn’t a passive bystander in Wassel’s drug case — it was a participant. News reports confirm Wayne County assisted the investigation that led to Wassel’s arrest. Trooper Nicholas P. Stoud of PSP Dunmore arrested Wassel and co-defendant Kenneth Smith at a Pike County hotel June 25, 2020, with more than 2,300 bags of heroin and fentanyl hidden in a rental car’s engine compartment.

A Pike County jury convicted Wassel March 11, 2022 — the same month his RTKL appeal was pending — on two felony conspiracy counts plus misdemeanor possession charges. Judge Gregory H. Chelak sentenced him June 3, 2022, to 7.5 to 15 years on each conspiracy count.

Throughout trial and sentencing, Wassel’s questions went unanswered: Had Rickard been involved in the investigation that put him away? Had Rickard touched his 2016 Wayne County case?

Howell’s office referred Rickard’s prosecution to the Attorney General because of “conflicts” with state police. But they saw no conflict in denying records to a defendant whose cases they had helped investigate — records that might show whether a convicted evidence-tamperer touched those cases.

Brady Says Defendants Have a Right to Know

Under Brady v. Maryland, prosecutors must disclose evidence favorable to defendants — including information impeaching officers involved in their cases. An officer convicted of evidence tampering, forgery, and theft is textbook Brady material.

Rickard spent 18 years in PSP, supervised the CIU at Troop R Honesdale, made arrests, handled evidence, and testified in court. Every defendant whose case he touched has a potential constitutional right to know.

Wassel tried to find out. He was shuffled between agencies. The OOR ruling noted he could request records from the AG — but that missed the point. Wassel wasn’t asking about Rickard’s prosecution. He was asking about Rickard’s cases: the arrests, the investigations, the evidence he handled before he got caught. Those records exist somewhere in Wayne County, where Rickard worked for nearly two decades.

Three Years of Silence — and Fighting Alone

Since Rickard’s November 2021 arrest, Howell’s office has made no public statement addressing how many cases Rickard investigated, whether those cases were reviewed, whether defendants were notified, or whether Wayne County maintains a Brady list. When Rickard pleaded guilty in June 2022, then-AG Josh Shapiro called it a “serious crime.” But accountability for Rickard is not accountability to those his misconduct may have affected.

Wassel has spent more than three years fighting his conviction — largely alone.

After sentencing, he appealed to Superior Court. That appeal (2378 EDA 2022) was decided February 8, 2024, with the record remanded. In October 2024, he filed for post-conviction relief. The court appointed Steven Benedict — his trial attorney — to represent him. Benedict filed multiple extension requests, then moved to withdraw in April 2025.

Judge Chelak issued a 907 Notice on April 8, 2025, signaling intent to dismiss without a hearing. Wassel filed objections and requested new counsel. Denied. The PCRA was dismissed June 4, 2025.

Now Wassel is fighting pro se from state prison.

Superior Court docket 1668 EDA 2025 shows he filed his appeal June 30, 2025. He’s at SCI Mahanoy in Frackville — transferred from SCI Rockview since sentencing. He requested remand for new counsel; denied September 8, 2025. He requested documents; denied October 6, 2025.

The court gave him until December 5, 2025, to file his brief — warning no further extensions would be granted. As of this week, no brief appears on the docket.

ADA Raymond Jay Tonkin represents the Commonwealth on the appeal.

Rickard completed house arrest in February 2024 and now lives on probation in Honesdale — the community where he spent 18 years as a trusted law enforcement supervisor. He’ll finish his sentence by 2027.

Wassel got 7.5 to 15 years and is representing himself after being denied counsel. Co-defendant Kenneth Smith was convicted in July 2024 of drug delivery resulting in death.

Neither is sympathetic — both were caught with enough fentanyl to kill hundreds. But constitutional rights don’t depend on sympathy. Brady applies to everyone. Wassel isn’t the only defendant who might have questions about cases the convicted evidence-tamperer touched — he’s just the only one who tried to get answers from DA Howell’s office.

He was told to look elsewhere. Three years later, Howell still hasn’t said whether anyone else should be looking too.

What We Know

Paul Joseph Wassel Jr. (DOB 04/16/1969, Taylor PA)

Pike County Drug Case (CP-52-CR-0000325-2020)

• Arrested: June 25, 2020 by Trooper Nicholas P. Stoud, PSP Dunmore
• Charges: Two felony conspiracy counts, misdemeanor possession
• Investigation: PSP Vice Unit, Pike County DA, Wayne County DA assisted
• Bail: $800,000
• Convicted: March 11, 2022 (jury trial, Judge Gregory H. Chelak)
• Sentenced: June 3, 2022 — 7.5 to 15 years on each conspiracy count (concurrent)
• Trial attorney: Steven Benedict
• Current location: SCI Mahanoy, Frackville, PA

Appeal History

• First Appeal (2378 EDA 2022): Filed September 16, 2022; decided February 8, 2024
• PCRA Petition: Filed October 15, 2024; Benedict appointed, moved to withdraw April 2025
• PCRA Dismissed: June 4, 2025 (Wassel denied new counsel)
• Current Appeal (1668 EDA 2025): Filed June 30, 2025; pro se
• Request for counsel: Denied September 8, 2025
• Request for documents: Denied October 6, 2025
• Appellant brief due: December 5, 2025 (no filing as of December 19)
• Appellee counsel: ADA Raymond Jay Tonkin, Pike County

Prior Wayne County Case (MJ-22301-NT-0000497-2015)

• Arrested: July 15, 2015, Paupack Township
• Arresting agency: PSP Honesdale
• Arresting officer: Trooper Chad L. Cunningham
• Prosecutor: Alfred G. Howell (then ADA)
• Disposition: Guilty plea, disorderly conduct, January 27, 2016
• Sentence: $300 fine, $2,450 restitution

RTKL Request

• Filed: February 2022
• Denied: March 4, 2022 (criminal investigation exemption)
• Appeal Filed: March 21, 2022
• Appeal Denied: April 11, 2022 (records held by AG)
• OOR Docket: openrecords.pa.gov

Brian Rickard

• Arrested: November 12, 2021
• Pleaded Guilty: June 29, 2022
• Sentence: House arrest (completed February 2024), probation through 2027
• Career: 18 years PSP, CIU supervisor at Troop R Honesdale
• Current status: Probation in Honesdale

Pennsylvania State Police is listed as “not in compliance” with public Brady disclosure requirements, according to the national Brady List database.

Part 2 of the Pocono Review’s investigation into the Brian Rickard evidence tampering case.

Part 1: Wayne County DA Howell Silent on Cases Handled by PSP Trooper Convicted of Evidence Tampering

Contact DA A.G. Howell: 570-253-4912 | ahowell@waynecountypa.gov

Court records, RTKL filings, and Office of Open Records determinations are public record.

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