3 charged in death of NYC college student after drinking binge at banned frat house
Three members of a banned fraternity were charged with criminally negligent homicide Tuesday for organizing a wild night of drinking that left a college sophomore dead of alcohol poisoning.Arman Partamian, 19, a biology major from Queens, was found lying face-down on a mattress March 1 at a house run by an off-campus club known as the Orange Knights, or Pigs.
Police said he had been drinking heavily for three days to gain membership in the club, located near the State University of New York at Geneseo in western New York. Toxicology tests showed Partamian had a blood-alcohol level as high as 0.55 percent, nearly seven times the legal limit for driving.
Fellow students Alex Stucki, 20, and Daniel Wech, 21, were charged along with Devin McClain, 21, with hazing, unlawfully dealing with a child and criminally negligent homicide — a felony that carries a sentence of up to four years in prison. They encouraged and directed Partamian to drink to such excess that he died as a direct result of alcohol poisoning, Livingston County prosecutor Thomas Moran said.
