Manslaughter thrown out against PSU frat members
Second time many charges are dismissed
BELLEFONTE — A district judge on Tuesday for a second time threw out involuntary manslaughter charges against Pennsylvania State University fraternity brothers related to the February 2017 hazing death of sophomore pledge Tim Piazza.
Ending a three-day preliminary hearing, Judge Allen Sinclar also dismissed dozens of other charges against the fraternity members. For some of the 11 members, all of the refiled charges were tossed, although they still face other charges that were bound over from the last hearing.
Prosecutors had lodged more than 300 refiled charges in the death, including reckless endangerment, conspiracy to commit hazing and furnishing alcohol to minors.
In the end, Judge Sinclair allowed fewer than 20 of the refiled
charges to stand. Among them were a conspiracy to commit hazing charge against fraternity President Brendan Young, of Malvern, and member Daniel Casey, of Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
Gary DiBileo, of Scranton, was bound over on five counts of furnishing alcohol to minors; Luke Visser, of Encinitas, Calif., on seven counts of the same; and Michael Bonatucci, of Woodstock, Ga., on two counts.
Theodore Simon, a lawyer for Mr. Visser, said the ruling again showed the most serious charges against his client were “unfounded, un warranted and unjustified.”
“This was a sad and tragic loss of life but not every unfortunate tragedy should result in serious criminal charges.”
It’s the second time that Judge Sinclair heard the case. Last summer, he threw out the most serious charges, including felony aggravated assault and involuntary manslaughter against eight members, but the former district attorney refiled many of them.
Judge Sinclair’s ruling deals another blow to the prosecution of a case that not only has rocked Penn State’s campus, but added to the growing national scrutiny of misconduct and alcohol-soaked hazing by fraternities.
The prosecution, this time led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Brian Zarallo, argued that fraternity members planned and executed a hazing ritual and deliberately got Mr. Piazza drunk and then failed to get him medical care after he was seriously injured. Mr. Piazza consumed 18 drinks in 82 minutes, then fell down the stairs at the fraternity house. No one called for help for nearly 12 hours, and Mr. Piazza later died of head, spleen and lung injuries.
“A failure to act in and of itself is reckless,” Mr. Zarallo argued.
If Mr. Piazza’s fall that rendered him unconscious had happened anywhere other than a fraternity house, it would have been expected that 911 would be called, he said.
But defense attorneys maintained that their clients didn’t and couldn’t know the severity of Mr. Piazza’s injuries and argued that Mr. Piazza’s drinking was voluntary.
“There’s simply no evidence he’s the direct cause of Piazza’s death,” said Philadelphia attorney Michael Engle, representing Mr. DiBileo.
Some of the testimony broke new ground, including video shown of drinking that went on in the fraternity basement. Prosecutors have alleged a fraternity member deleted the video, but the FBI was able to recover it. But much of the evidence also retreaded or expanded on ground covered last summer when the first preliminary hearing was held for 18 members.
That hearing culminated with a surprising Sept. 1 ruling by Judge Sinclair to throw out the most serious felony charges against eight of the fraternity members and remove all charges against four others.
Then-Centre County Prosecutor Stacy Parks Miller refiled the charges in October and charged 12 additional members of the fraternity in Mr. Piazza’s death after recovering footage from a basement video camera, for a total of 26. After she lost a bid for re-election, new Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna, citing a conflict of interest, asked the Attorney General’s Office to take the case.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro declined this month to press aggravated-assault charges against the fraternity members, but charged five of them with involuntary manslaughter. In addition to the 11 facing the hearing Friday, three others previously waived their right to a preliminary hearing and were held for trial. The 12 others charged face a preliminary hearing in May.