2 hazing defendants avoid trial

TRENTON, N.J., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Two New Jersey college students charged with aggravated hazing were accepted Monday into a pre-trial intervention program.

Both were officers of a fraternity at Rider University where an 18-year-old pledge went into a coma while binge drinking. Gary DeVercelly of Long Beach, Calif., died two days later.

A judge set conditions for Dominic Olsen, 21, the pledge master for the Phi Kappa Tau chapter, and Adriano DiDonato, 22, the student residence director, that include 100 hours of community service, alcohol counseling and fines and penalties of about $200 each. If they stay out of trouble, their records will be cleared.

A third defendant, Michael Torney, 21, is not eligible for pre-trial intervention and has rejected a plea bargain. Like Olsen and DiDonato, he says he was not in the room with DeVercelly during the binge drinking.

The fraternity chapter was closed after DeVercelly’s death. Two Rider officials also were charged in the case but those charges were later dropped.