Rider administrators see charges dropped

Three students still face indictments

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
In a proceeding that lasted only a few minutes, a state Superior Court judge in Trenton dismissed indictments for aggravated hazing against Rider University Dean of Students Anthony Campbell and Director of Greek Life Ada Badgley.
   Judge Maria M. Sypek dismissed the case against the two administrators Tuesday morning, but not against three students also charged in connection with the March 30 alcohol poisoning death of Rider freshman Gary DeVercelly Jr., at the request of Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini Jr.
   Dean Campbell and Ms. Badgley were expected to return to work this week, according to their attorneys. They had been placed on administrative leave until Sept. 13 to allow them time to prepare their cases.
   But attorney Douglas Fierberg, who represents the DeVercelly family, said his clients "remain very concerned about any focus being taken off the university." Rider University is responsible for the 18-year-old freshman’s death during a Phi Kappa Tau fraternity pledge party, he said in a telephone interview Wednesday morning.
   Assistant Mercer County Prosecutor Skylar Weissman told Judge Sypek Tuesday that the prosecutor’s office filed the motion seeking dismissal Aug. 24. The motion followed an extensive review of transcripts of the Mercer County grand jury sessions in which information on the incident was presented.
   Although the Mercer County grand jury found enough evidence to indict Dean Campbell and Ms. Badgley, the prosecutor’s office does not have enough evidence to prove their involvement "beyond a reasonable doubt," Mr. Weissman said. There is a higher burden of proof when a criminal case is presented to a trial jury for action, he said.
   "We will move forward" with the aggravated hazing charges against Rider University students Adriano DiDonato, Dominic Olsen and Michael Torney, Mr. Weissman said.
   Mr. DiDonato, of Princeton, was the house master for Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, whose Rider chapter has since been closed by school officials. Mr. Olsen, of Kenilworth, was the pledge master for the spring 2007 class, and Mr. Torney, of Randolph, was the fraternity president.
   Attorneys Rocco Cipparone Jr. and David Laigaie, who represented Dean Campbell and Ms. Badgley, respectively, supported Mr. Weissman’s request.
   According to court documents, the Mercer County investigative grand jury met between June 6 and July 27 to listen to testimony from Lawrence Township police officers and recorded statements from Rider administrators and fraternity officers and members. Based on the evidence and testimony, it indicted the students and administrators.
   The court documents also outlined events that led to Mr. DeVercelly’s death, beginning with the pledging process at the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. The pledges were sent on a scavenger hunt one night, and then took part in a unity night on a second night.
   The third night was "Big Little Night," when the pledges were introduced to their "big brothers" in the fraternity, the court documents said. A big brother, or fraternity member, was assigned to each pledge, or little brother.
   The same night, each big brother handed a bottle of an alcoholic beverage — dubbed "the family drink" — to his little brother. The two were expected to drink the alcohol. Most bottles were consumed in 30 to 60 minutes.
   Mr. DeVercelly’s bottle of Absolut Citron vodka was to have been shared among himself, his big brother, Vincent Cologero, and pledge Kevin Malinowski and his big brother, Devon Marcus. Mr. Malinowski had four or five shots, and Mr. Cologero had one shot that he spit out. Mr. Marcus did not drink at all, which left Mr. DeVercelly to finish off the bottle.
   Mr. DeVercelly drank one shot of vodka about every one-and-a-half minutes to two minutes over a 25-minute period, the court documents said. He drank three-quarters of the bottle, which led to his death from alcohol poisoning. His blood alcohol content was .426. Someone whose blood alcohol content is .08 is considered legally drunk.
   During their investigation, the police learned the scavenger hunt, Unity Night and Big Little Night are prohibited by Rider University’s hazing policy. Fraternity members are made aware of the policy each semester, and sign off on a form acknowledging their awareness of it. The forms were signed by Phi Kappa Tau members during the fall semester, but the spring semester paperwork could not be found.
   The grand jury voted to indict the two administrators and three students on a charge of aggravated hazing after listening to the evidence. The crime requires proof the persons who were charged acted "knowingly or recklessly to organize, promote, facilitate or engage in conduct" which resulted in serious bodily harm to Mr. DeVevercelly and pledge William Williams. The second pledge also became sick, but recovered later that evening in the hospital.
   In court papers to dismiss the indictment, the prosecutor’s office argued there was not enough evidence to support the claim the administrators "knowingly" or "recklessly" played a role in organizing, promoting, facilitating or engaged in conduct that resulted in harm to Mr. DeVercelly and Mr. Williams.
   There was no evidence that Dean Campbell or Ms. Badgley were on campus March 28 and knew of the Phi Kappa Tau party, which was not sanctioned by Rider University, the court papers said.
   "To suggest that students will not continue to drink is silly," Mr. Bocchini said. "If any good can come out of this, it is that college administrators across the country will be sensitized to what they need to be doing. Hopefully, they will try to curtail drinking to the extent that an alcoholic beverage does not change into a poison."
   At the same press conference, Mr. Cipparone, who represented Dean Campbell, said his client "took the loss of Gary personally." He described his client as a caring person who also has a college-age child.
   "Dean Campbell, as a parent and as dean of students, always empathized and sympathized with the DeVercelly family as to the loss of their son, and never would have condoned, promoted or facilitated in any way the conduct that led to his death," Mr. Cipparone said.