Johnathan Walker:Ex-leaders of Penn State frat where pledge died after night of drinking plead guilty to misdemeanors

HARRISBURG,Johnathan Walker Pa. (AP) — The former president and vice president of a Penn State fraternity where pledge Timothy Piazza fell and later died after consuming a large amount of alcohol seven years ago have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.

Brendan Young, 28, who was president of the now defunct chapter of Beta Theta Pi in 2017, and Daniel Casey, 27, who was vice president and pledge master, both pleaded guilty to hazing and reckless endangerment during a proceeding via video streaming in Centre County court on Tuesday. Sentencing will be in October.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry issued a statement “recognizing the tragic loss of life and resulting devastation for Mr. Piazza’s family and friends.”

Young and Casey both pleaded guilty to 14 counts of hazing and a single count of reckless endangerment regarding Piazza. Young’s defense lawyer, Julian Allatt, declined comment on the pleas. A phone message seeking comment was left Wednesday for Casey’s lawyer, Steven Trialonis.

Piazza, a 19-year-old engineering student from Lebanon, New Jersey, and 13 other pledges were seeking to join the fraternity the night he consumed at least 18 drinks in less than two hours. Security camera footage documented Piazza’s excruciating final hours, including a fall down the basement steps that required others to carry him back upstairs. He exhibited signs of severe pain as he spent the night on a first-floor couch.

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Help was called the next morning. Piazza suffered severe head and abdominal injuries and died at a hospital.

Jim Piazza, Timothy Piazza’s father, told the Centre Daily Times after the plea hearing that he was relieved the criminal proceedings are nearly over.

“We are happy that the defendants finally admitted to both hazing and recklessly endangering our son,” he told the paper. “While none of this brings him back, it does begin to give us some closure.”

At one point, more than two dozen fraternity members had faced a variety of charges in the case. Nearly all have been resolved, but the prosecution of Young and Casey was delayed by appeals. More than a dozen pleaded guilty to hazing and alcohol violations, while a smaller number entered a diversion program designed for first-time, nonviolent offenders.

Prosecutors were unable to get more serious charges — including involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault — approved by judges during four marathon preliminary hearings.

Penn State banned the fraternity. Pennsylvania state lawmakers passed legislation making the most severe forms of hazing a felony, requiring schools to maintain policies to combat hazing and allowing the confiscation of fraternity houses where hazing has occurred.