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DA refuses charges against remaining 3 Tulane frat members

06:23 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Mary Foster / Associated Press

The New Orleans district attorney on Wednesday said he would not prosecute the remaining three Tulane fraternity members accused of burning pledges with boiling water during an initiation ritual because the alleged victims do not want to cooperate..

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The announcement means none of the 10 accused members of Pi Kappa Alpha will face charges of second degree aggravated battery, which are punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

At least nine of the group still face a civil suit in connection with the event that sent at least one student to the hospital and resulted in the fraternity being kicked off campus.

A joint motion filed by Matthew Martin, who alleges he was burned in the incident, and defendant Preston Gelman, dropping the case against Gelman, was granted on Monday. The motion did not indicate why Martin and Gelman agreed to the action.

Charges against Oded Nissim, 20; Gelman, 21; and Joseph Stephens, 23, were dropped a day after the district attorney's office said it would not prosecute fellow fraternity members Joseph Lorono, 21; Graham Carron, 21; Jeremy Bendat, 22; Kevin Dunn, 21; Nicholas Maddern, 22; Danny Lazzeri Jr., 20; William S. Dougherty Jr., 21.

"Actually my client has asked me not to comment," said attorney Erin Hangartner, who represents Nissim. "He does not want to be in the news anymore. I made the comment yesterday that he is relieved, and that's all I have to say."

Attorneys for the fraternity and the other defendants did not return calls immediately.

On April 25, or early April 26, at least two pledges were scalded with hot water and crab boil to see who could stand the most pain, said attorney Paul Hesse, who represents Martin.

"Our client has severe second-degree burns to his back, buttocks, shoulders, arms, over 20 percent of his body," Hesse said. "He is getting medical treatment twice a day and is in a lot of pain."

Hesse refused to comment on Wednesday.

In court papers, lawyers for Martin say their client and other pledges were participating in a "Hell Night" initiation and were wearing shorts and shoes -- but no shirts -- when they were scalded with boiling water and pelted with raw eggs.

Tulane spokesman Michael Strecker said the fraternity's national organization revoked the chapter's charter after the incident. Strecker wouldn't say if the school has disciplined any of the fraternity members, but he said a student conduct hearing "will determine their future at Tulane."

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)