Post by greeky on Dec 21, 2010 19:19:11 GMT -5
Fraternity guilty of providing alcohol to Latrobe grad
By Paul Peirce
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, December 16, 2010
A Penn State fraternity this week was found guilty of furnishing alcohol to a Greater Latrobe High School graduate shortly before his death in 2009.
Centre County Judge Thomas King Kistler ruled Tuesday that Alpha Tau Omega is responsible for providing alcohol to Joseph Dado, an 18-year-old freshman engineering student who was found dead 39 hours after drinking beer at the fraternity. Dado's body was found at the bottom of an outdoor stairwell on the campus.
A guilty verdict to an ungraded misdemeanor means that the fraternity could face a fine of up to $300 and its officers might be ordered to perform community service.
Kistler will sentence the fraternity on Jan. 25.
Kistler sided with prosecutor's arguments in July that the lack of evidence that fraternity members physically handed beer to Dato did not mean that state liquor regulations concerning furnishing alcohol to minors did not apply.
Prosecutors said the beer was purchased with fraternity funds, and friends of Dado testified at the trial that they showed wristbands at the fraternity's door to get in.
According to testimony at the trial, the fraternity furnished the beer to minors by providing open tubs that welcomed guests to consume the alcohol without showing their ID.
The fraternity argued that individual members were at fault, not the organization.
Kistler wrote in his opinion that "ATO has a responsibility to exercise reasonable care in its interactions with university students."
State College police originally charged the fraternity with two misdemeanor counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor after Dado, of Unity, died of head trauma when he fell down the concrete stairwell.
Before the non-jury trial, Kistler dismissed a count alleging a violation of the state crimes code. The remaining count alleged a violation of the state liquor code.
Authorities say Dado went to Alpha Tau Omega on Sept. 19, 2009, before arriving at the Phi Gamma Delta house, which sits about 75 yards from where his body was found.
Phi Gamma Delta will go on trial next year on an identical complaint of furnishing alcohol to minors, according to court records.
ATO's attorney, Kathleen Yurchak, argued in July there was no testimony that a party at Alpha Tau Omega was sanctioned or funded by the fraternity.
"What (testimony) did show was that there were people drinking beer," Yurchak said. "That's not enough to hold the corporation responsible for the actions of its members."
www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_713957.html
By Paul Peirce
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, December 16, 2010
A Penn State fraternity this week was found guilty of furnishing alcohol to a Greater Latrobe High School graduate shortly before his death in 2009.
Centre County Judge Thomas King Kistler ruled Tuesday that Alpha Tau Omega is responsible for providing alcohol to Joseph Dado, an 18-year-old freshman engineering student who was found dead 39 hours after drinking beer at the fraternity. Dado's body was found at the bottom of an outdoor stairwell on the campus.
A guilty verdict to an ungraded misdemeanor means that the fraternity could face a fine of up to $300 and its officers might be ordered to perform community service.
Kistler will sentence the fraternity on Jan. 25.
Kistler sided with prosecutor's arguments in July that the lack of evidence that fraternity members physically handed beer to Dato did not mean that state liquor regulations concerning furnishing alcohol to minors did not apply.
Prosecutors said the beer was purchased with fraternity funds, and friends of Dado testified at the trial that they showed wristbands at the fraternity's door to get in.
According to testimony at the trial, the fraternity furnished the beer to minors by providing open tubs that welcomed guests to consume the alcohol without showing their ID.
The fraternity argued that individual members were at fault, not the organization.
Kistler wrote in his opinion that "ATO has a responsibility to exercise reasonable care in its interactions with university students."
State College police originally charged the fraternity with two misdemeanor counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor after Dado, of Unity, died of head trauma when he fell down the concrete stairwell.
Before the non-jury trial, Kistler dismissed a count alleging a violation of the state crimes code. The remaining count alleged a violation of the state liquor code.
Authorities say Dado went to Alpha Tau Omega on Sept. 19, 2009, before arriving at the Phi Gamma Delta house, which sits about 75 yards from where his body was found.
Phi Gamma Delta will go on trial next year on an identical complaint of furnishing alcohol to minors, according to court records.
ATO's attorney, Kathleen Yurchak, argued in July there was no testimony that a party at Alpha Tau Omega was sanctioned or funded by the fraternity.
"What (testimony) did show was that there were people drinking beer," Yurchak said. "That's not enough to hold the corporation responsible for the actions of its members."
www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_713957.html
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