Rider student, dean arraigned in drinking death case

Both register pleas of not guilty

By: Lea Kahn
   TRENTON — 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. Dean of Students Anthony Campbell was arraigned on the same charge of aggravated hazing on Thursday afternoon.
   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, and Dean Campbell, 51, are 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.
   Also arraigned before state Superior Court Judge Smithson in Trenton, Dean Campbell entered a plea of not guilty through his attorney, Rocco Cipparone Jr. of Haddon Heights, according to Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the Mercer County prosecutor’s office.
   In an impromptu press conference outside the courtroom after the arraignment Thursday, Mr. Cipparone said there would be "absolutely no plea deal."
   "He is not guilty of anything," Mr. Cipparone said of his client. "He was unaware of (the March 28 party) ever occurring."
   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 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 System’s Fuld Campus, 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 the hospital 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.