Judge again tosses manslaughter charges in Penn State frat pledge death

BELLEFONTE, Pa. -  A judge has again thrown out involuntary manslaughter and some of the other most serious remaining charges against 11 of the former Penn State fraternity members arrested in a pledge's hazing-related death last year. Conspiracy charges have been added for some of the defendants, CBS Philadelphia reports.

District Judge Allen Sinclair dismissed all five involuntary manslaughter charges, along with all reckless endangerment and hazing counts before him during the three-day hearing that wrapped up late Tuesday, sending to county court for trial only alcohol violations and, against two defendants, single counts of conspiracy to commit hazing.

It's the second major blow to the prosecution's case.

The district judge had previously tossed many of those same counts on Sept. 1, after an eight-day preliminary hearing. The county district attorney subsequently refiled many of those charges, and more were added. There also were new defendants charged after the FBI was able to recover deleted security camera footage from the basement. A preliminary hearing for those defendants is scheduled for early May.

Defense attorney Leonard Ambrose, representing Joseph Sala, called the refiled charges "a total waste of time." All 39 counts against Sala that were in play during the hearing were dismissed, leaving him with 14 counts of hazing and four alcohol-related charges that Sinclair had upheld in September.

"This is the equivalent of a boxing match where they lost the major issues in the first fight, demanded a second fight and lost," Ambrose said.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose office took over the case upon the request of a new district attorney in January, said their review of the case was continuing.

"We will move forward with our case and the charges that were held for trial today," said Shapiro, a Democrat. "I am disappointed by the decision of the magisterial district judge and we are assessing our legal options. My office is committed to seeking justice for Timothy Piazza and his family and holding responsible individuals accountable for their actions."

Felony counts of aggravated assault that would have carried the lengthiest potential prison sentences had been tossed at a prior hearing, and prosecutors eventually opted not to pursue them again.

The defense attorney for Gary DiBileo, Michael Engle, said prosecutors made essentially the same argument about involuntary manslaughter that was unsuccessful in September.

"Despite our feelings of gratitude to the court for today's legal ruling, Gary and his family recognize that a young man tragically lost his life and they continue to pray for Mr. Piazza's family during this extremely difficult time," Engle said.

Nick Kubera saw all 11 counts against him be dismissed, leaving him to defend the charges that Sinclair had previously forwarded to court - six counts of reckless endangerment, 14 counts of hazing and alcohol violations.

"Two preliminary hearings of unprecedented length conducted by two prosecutors doesn't change the obvious - that a freshman college student who had been a fraternity member for all of a couple of weeks and who handed six pledges a beer (only five of whom were underage) is guilty of nothing more than handing six pledges a beer," said Kubera's lawyer, Andrew Shubin.

Tom Kline, a civil lawyer for Piazza's parents, said they were disappointed that involuntary manslaughter charges were thrown out but heartened that the judge upheld the counts of conspiracy to commit hazing. 

"...the parents of Tim Piazza are heartened that the important newly filed conspiracy charge has now been added and will move forward to trial along with the charges of reckless endangerment and hazing," Kline said in a statement released to CBS Philadelphia. "These charges carry with them significant penalties, including substantial jail time."    

"Jim and Evelyn Piazza are optimistic ... this prosecution will eventually deter this kind of abhorrent conduct," Kline said.

Piazza died of severe head, spleen and abdominal injuries from falling down basement stairs the night of a pledge bid acceptance ceremony, according to testimony from a forensic pathologist.

According to Dr. Harry Kamerow, Piazza had also consumed a dangerous amount of alcohol, three or four times the legal limit for driving.

Piazza would have had a much better chance of surviving had help been called after he was brought upstairs, said Kamerow. Instead, fraternity members were shown on camera taking half-hearted and even counterproductive steps to address his condition, and an ambulance was not called until the next morning.   

Last week, the court saw 3 hours of security video footage from the night before Piazza's death, which shows fraternity members plying pledges with alcohol.

The footage shows Piazza staggering in the basement while fraternity brothers continue handing bottles to pledges

The next morning, Piazza was found unconscious and carried upstairs. The video shows fraternity members standing around a motionless Piazza for more than 40 minutes before anyone calls for an ambulance.