Frat Pledge Given 18 Drinks In 80 Minutes Before Death: DA

Involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault charges have been refiled against 11 Beta Theta Pi brothers, including a Long Island man, in connection with the alleged hazing death of a 19-year-old Penn State University sophomore last February.

The most serious charges against the fraternity brothers had been dismissed in August after a five-day preliminary hearing that began in June. Magisterial District Judge Allen Sinclair dismissed all counts of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. The unexpected ruling came as a blow to the prosecution, who vowed at the time to refile the charges.

The following charges have been refiled against the fraternity's pledge master, Daniel Casey, of Ronkonkoma: involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, hazing, and unlawful acts relative to liquor.

Timothy Piazza, a sophomore from New Jersey, took a fatal fall after becoming heavily intoxicated at the party Feb. 2. No one called for help until late the next morning, and Piazza died Feb. 4. He suffered head and internal injuries, doctors said, and had a life-threatening blood alcohol level following an alleged hazing ritual on bid acceptance night, prosecutors said.

Twelve more Penn State fraternity brothers were charged in connection with Piazza's death after additional video from the scene was recovered by the FBI, Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Millerannounced Monday. Five of them are facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault.

Miller said the video, taken from a camera in the basement of the Beta Theta Pi house, shows 18-year-old Piazza being served at least 18 drinks in an hour and 22 minutes.

Beta Theta Pi fraternity brothers initially told law enforcement the basement surveillance camera was broken.

However, after later examining one of the surveillance boxes, State College Police determined the basement camera footage had actually been manually deleted just as law enforcement was about to take possession of the recording equipment, the Centre County District Attorney said.

FBI agents have been able to restore the video from the deleted hard drive. The footage "clearly depicts a continuation of the hazing activity previously captured upstairs during the gauntlet," Miller said. According to authorities, "the gauntlet" was a hazing activity that involved drinking stations intended to make pledges drink rapidly.

The recovered video captures brothers giving beer to the pledges at the beer pong station, then immediately handing them beers to "shotgun" together as a pledge class. Shotgunning a beer involves piercing a hole in the aluminum can so as to make the liquid flow out quickly.

"On the video, fraternity brothers approach the pledges with alcohol, requiring them to drink wine, beer, and vodka. In fact, on video, Tim Piazza does not obtain his own alcohol at any point—rather, every drink consumed was provided to him by a fraternity brother," a statement from the Centre County District Attorney's office said.

Speaking during the press conference, Piazza's father said his son was a wonderful person who just wanted to find friendship and camaraderie by joining the fraternity. "Instead he was killed at the hands of those he sought friendship from," said James Piazza.

His father said previous claims from the defense that no one knew what really happened at the fraternity house that night because the basement camera wasn't working are no longer valid.

"Guess what guys, now we know," James Piazza said.

Footage from the upstairs of the house the night of the party has already been accessed by law enforcement, and it was played in court during an excruciating preliminary hearing this summer. Piazza's parents left the courtroom before the prosecution began airing the footage, which showed Piazza rolling in pain on the floor in the early hours of the morning.

The most serious charges against the fraternity brothers had been dismissed after that five-day preliminary hearing. Magisterial District Judge Allen Sinclair dismissed all counts of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. But last week, the charges were refiled against 11 Beta Theta Pi brothers.

RELATED: Penn State Frat House Death: Fast Drinking, Slow Death, Frantic Coverup In Grand Jury Timeline

Main photo of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house on the Penn State University by Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press.

Story by Kara Seymour