Student arraigned in fatal hazing

House master pleads not guilty

By: Lea Kahn
   In a brief procedural step that lasted a couple of minutes, Rider University student Adriano DiDonato, of Princeton Township, was arraigned on charges of aggravated hazing in state Superior Court in Trenton on Wednesday morning.
   Attorney Paul Norris, who represents Mr. DiDonato, said Wednesday afternoon his client entered a plea of not guilty before Judge Andrew Smithson. A trial date has not been set.
   Mr. DiDonato, 22, is among five Rider University students and administrators who were indicted on charges of aggravated hazing by a Mercer County grand jury Aug. 3 in connection with the alcohol-poisoning death of freshman Gary DeVercelly in March.
   Dean of Students Anthony Campbell, 51, was to be arraigned Thursday afternoon, according to Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the Mercer County prosecutor’s office.
   Rider University student Michael Tourney, 21, of Randolph, was expected to be arraigned Friday morning.
   No date has been set for the arraignments of Rider University student Dominic Olsen, 21, of Kenilworth, and Ada Badgley, 31, who is the school’s director of Greek life.
   Mr. DiDonato was the residence director and house master of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, which Mr. DeVercelly sought to join. Mr. Tourney was the fraternity’s president and Mr. Olsen was the pledge master of the spring 2007 Phi Kappa Tau pledge class.
   Mr. DiDonato is "obviously very upset," said Mr. Norris, of the Lawrence law firm of Stark & Stark.
   "Adriano is a very nice young man," Mr. Norris said. "He did everything he could as soon as he became aware of what took place (March 28). It’s a shame he is being charged. He is the kind of person anyone would be proud to call their son."
   The attorney said his client took the job as house master to help the fraternity and the college. Mr. DiDonato’s job was to keep things calm, Mr. Norris said. The position paid about $100 per week for an around-the-clock job, he said.
   Meanwhile, Dean Campbell and Ms. Badgley remain as Rider employees, said Jonathan Meer, Rider University’s vice president for university advancement. No decision has been made about their possible needs for a leave of absence, he said.
   Mr. Meer also said that a determination also has not been made as to the status of the three students. Once all the facts are known, he said, the university "will be in a position" to decide on their status.
   Mr. DeVercelly, 18, died after a night of binge drinking at the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity house on campus. He fell into a coma March 28 and was rushed to Capital Health Systems at Fuld Hospital, where he died of alcohol poisoning March 30. His blood alcohol content was .426. In New Jersey, a motorist is considered legally drunk when his or her blood alcohol content is .08.
   William Williams, who was another student and Phi Kappa Tau pledge, also was admitted to CHS at Fuld for alcohol poisoning. He was treated and released March 28.
   Aggravated hazing is a fourth-degree charge and carries a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000, Ms. DeBlasio said.
   It is possible that the five could be enrolled in the Pre-Trial Intervention program, which is an option for first-time offenders who have not committed a violent crime, she said.
   "The PTI is certainly a possibility," Ms. DeBlasio said. "Anyone can apply for the PTI program. You can plead ‘not guilty’ and enter into the PTI program. The benefit is that on successful completion of PTI, the charge would be dismissed and there would be no criminal record."
   Rider University President Mordechai Rozanski said college officials and students cooperated with the prosecutor’s office and Lawrence police in the investigation into the incident.
   School officials "take this matter very seriously and will carefully evaluate these charges and determine appropriate steps to be taken," Dr. Rozanski said in an Aug. 3 press release.
   "With respect to the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, the facts uncovered during the investigation indicate that dangerous underage drinking occurred at an unregistered party in the fraternity house, resulting in the death of a student," Dr. Rozanski wrote. "Consequently, we have dissolved the Phi Kappa Tau chapter on our campus."
   Washington, D.C.-based attorney Douglas Fierberg, who represents the DeVercelly family, said his clients were "devastated" by their son’s death and they are still grappling with it. The indictments represent "another blow," he said.
   "The grand jury reviewed the evidence (and) concluded that the university should be charged," Mr. Fierberg said. "The university failed."
   Mr. Fierberg said the DeVercelly family is still dealing with the information that it has received, and a decision has not been made whether to pursue a civil lawsuit. The family is focusing on what likely will take place during the criminal process, he said.