• Font Size    
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Two More Rider Hazing Suspects Plead Not Guilty

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +    Comments
Aug 16, 2007 11:59 am US/Eastern

Two More Rider Hazing Suspects Plead Not Guilty

TRENTON (CBS) ― A Rider University administrator and a student charged with aggravated hazing in the drinking death of a fraternity pledge pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

Ada Badgley, 31, the university's director of Greek life, and Dominic Olsen, 21, pledge master for the Phi Kappa Tau house's spring 2007 pledge class, did not speak during their hearings.

They are among five administrators and students charged in connection with the death of Gary DeVercelly Jr., 18, of Long Beach, Calif.

The three others have already pleaded not guilty.

DeVercelly had a blood-alcohol level of 0.426 percent, or more than five times New Jersey's legal limit for driving, when he was pronounced dead March 30, authorities have said. He died one day after drinking at a party at the Phi Kappa Tau house on the private school's campus in central New Jersey.

Experts say the case is one of the first where university officials have been criminally charged over a suspected hazing.

Those who have already pleaded not guilty in the case include Anthony Campbell, 51, Rider's dean of students; Adriano DiDonato, 22, a student who was also fraternity's house manager; and Michael J. Torney, 21, who was president of the Phi Kappa Tau's Rider chapter, which has since been closed.

The party, according to prosecutors, was a special event in which pledges such as DeVercelly would drink large quantities of hard liquor with fraternity brothers.

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.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.)

Add Comment

here. here. Need a log in? Register here
  •  * Will not be displayed with comment
  •  * e.g. (http://www.mywebsite.com)
  •  
  • Click here to refresh with new letters

Show Comments (0)

Close Window Login


Close Window Flag Comment


loading...
You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Top Stories

Top News Stories

© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.