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TRENTON (CBS) ― Rider University's Dean of Students and the Director of Greek Life are among five people charged in the death of a freshman from alcohol intoxication after a fraternity party at the school. The case is monumental as it's the first time in New Jersey that a university official has been implicated in a hazing crime.

Gary DeVercelly, 18, of Long Beach, Calif., died on March 30.

Mercer County police charged 51-year-old Anthony Cambell, the school's Dean of Students, and 31-year-old Ada Badgley, the Director of Greek Life, with aggravated hazing.

"The ramifications of this for colleges and universities in New Jersey, and across the country, is that it will send some kind of message that the standards of college life, when it relates to alcohol, need to be policed carefully," said Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph Bocchini Jr.

Three members of DeVercelly's fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau, the house which he had been initiated into just the day before his death, were also charged. Those members have been identified as 21-year-old Michael Tourney of Randolph; 21-year-old Dominic Olsen of Kenilworth; and 22-year-old Adrian DiDonato of Princeton.

"The defendants knowingly or recklessly organized, promoted, facilitated, or engaged in conduct which resulted in the death of Gary DeVercelly," Bochhini said.

DeVercelly was admitted to a Trenton hospital with alcohol poisoning on March 29 and died a day later after going into cardiac arrest. Officials said his blood alcohol content was .426, five times the legal limit for driving, when he was admitted.

The group is also implicated in the alleged hazing of William Williams, another freshman who was hospitalized, but survived.

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Tourney is the fraternity chapter's president, while Olsen was the pledge master for DeVercelly's pledge class. DiDonato was the fraternity's house master and residence director.

DeVercelly allegedly drank half-a-bottle of vodka in a short amount of time at the fraternity party, a traditional celebration where older brothers drink with new members called "family drink." Officials say the party was not registered with the university.

Since the incident, the Phi Kappa Tua house has been shut down and the university has taken steps to make sure this never happens again.

"We established a unversity-wide social events policy that prohibits alochol-related events in residents halls or Greek houses," Rider University spokesman Earle Rommel told CBS 2 HD.

Bocchini, the Mercer County prosecutor, wouldn't disclose the exact evidence that resulted in a grand jury indicting the five. However, he has said previously that the investigation revealed some of the pledges drank entire bottles of hard liquor in under an hour.

In the case of the officials, the grand jury looked at the way they handled oversight of the Greek organizations on campus, Bocchini said.

"This sends a clear message to the extent that there is a culpability factor involved in the ingestion of alcoholic beverages on a college or university campus," Bocchini said. "To Rider's credit, unfortunately after the fact, they immediately took steps."

It was Campbell himself who in June announced the new policies, developed by a task force of faculty, staff and students.

Days after his death, the university held a touching vigil for DeVercelly. "It was a beautiful ceremony. I don't know if there was a dry eye in the house," said Student Body President Steven Klemchalk then. "Everyone is grieving for Gary and his family."

If convicted, the officials and fraternity members charged Friday would face a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Along with the five charged Friday, another 15 people have been charged in municipal court with providing alcohol to people underage, and 23 have been charged with underage drinking related to the March party, Bocchini said.

Law enforcement's search of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity house, according to Bocchini, also resulted in three students being charged with drug-related offenses.

Stay with wcbstv.com and CBS 2 HD for more on this developing story.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)