President Of Pittsburgh LGBTQ Organization Accused Of Impersonating Allegheny Co. Sheriff's Deputy
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A local LGBTQ leader is being accused of forgery and impersonating an Allegheny County sheriff's deputy.
According to his attorney, Gary Van Horn will be coming to city court on Wednesday to face charges of impersonating a public official and forgery.
The charges stem from a state police investigation into the Delta Foundation president who now stands accused of falsely representing himself as an Allegheny sheriff's deputy and rigging his personal car with police lights.
#BREAKING: LGBT Leader Gary Van Horn turning himself in on charges forgery and impersonating a public official. pic.twitter.com/PbUwzNp6kD
— Andy Sheehan (@AndySheehankdka) December 18, 2019
Sources familiar with the investigation say that in at least one instance, Van Horn deployed those police lights at a scene and presented sheriff's office papers authorizing him with police powers.
He is accused of forging Sheriff Bill Mullen's signature on those papers. This morning, KDKA's Andy Sheehan spoke with Sheriff Mullen who declined comment but said he never signed any authorization papers for Van Horn.
Impersonating a public official and forgery are felony charges.
As president of the Delta Foundation, he heads to the largest LGBTQ organization in the region and produces a number of community events, including Pittsburgh Pride, one of the largest community events in the city every summer. He's the managing partner of the Van Horn group, which operates local pizza franchises and nightclubs.
In a Facebook post, the Delta Foundation said that Van Horn offered to take a leave of absence. The board accepted his offer.
The full post reads:
"We are aware of the personal accusations that have been made against Gary Van Horn, who is a volunteer Board President with the Delta Foundation. Gary has offered, and the Board has accepted, his decision to take a leave of absence from the Foundation. During this time, our priority continues to be to advocate on behalf of our community members and to ensure that they are treated with dignity, respect & inclusion."
