Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 22, 1991 TAG: 9103221004
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
"I think anyone who lives in a university environment lives a bit of a sheltered life so this is a shock. You expect under-age drinking, but these are federal agents here. This isn't a small matter," Philip Korologos, a law student, said as he watched federal, state and local officials searching the three fraternity houses.
Charlottesville Police Chief John deK. Bowen said the joint federal-local drug task force arrested three students and was seeking nine others on drug-distribution charges.
Around 8:40 p.m. Thursday, 40 federal, state and local officers raided the Delta Upsilon, Phi Epsilon and Tau Kappa Epsilon houses. Bowen said the task force had been investigating drug traffic on campus since last August.
Though fraternity members uninvolved in the probe were allowed to return to the houses, the fraternities are now under federal control - an action authorities deemed unprecedented in any drug investigation on a university campus.
So unusual was the seizure that U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh was consulted before the raid, Bowen said.
"They won't have to vacate but it's now federal property," Bowen said. "They'll have to negotiate their living conditions with federal authorities."
Bowen said today that under seizure laws, any home used to facilitate the distribution of drugs can be seized.
The fraternities involved can fight the seizures in federal court, they can give up without a fight, or they can try to negotiate settlements with the U.S. Attorney - perhaps to buy the houses back, Bowen said.
The national headquarters of all the fraternities at UVa were warned last summer that unless they took action to stop drug dealing, authorities would take action, Bowen said.
"In August, I wrote the national fraternities all a letter and told them we were aware violations were occurring and if it wasn't fixed, this is what would happen. They all were warned in August. Some of them did tighten up," he said.
Louise Dudley, a university spokeswoman, said President John Casteen was aware of the raid and would make a comment later. All of the fraternity houses on or near the Charlottesville campus are privately owned and not the property of the school, Dudley said.
The multi-jurisdictional investigation, assisted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, was launched last fall after Bowen sent a letter to all university fraternities and their owners, student leaders and alumni directors warning them of authorities' suspicions about drug activities.
Bowen said a federal grand jury in Roanoke handed up sealed indictments against eight of the students. The other four were charged under state statutes, the chief said.
"This has been a shock to the students. When I was there that's what I saw, and even some support. We sent a message that needed to be sent. That drug use on campus won't be treated any differently by law enforcement than drug use anywhere else in the city," Bowen said.
"When you have anything like this that's so negative, it seems to negate all the positive things the Greek system and the university have done, especially in the area of drug education and awareness," said University Police Chief Mike Sheffield.
"I've never heard of drug trafficking in fraternities," said Susan Grymes, a sorority member from Richmond. "I'd say if there was drug trafficking, it probably would be a couple blocks away" in some of the city's poorer neighborhoods that surround the university.
Bowen said officials also seized what they believed to be drugs, including LSD and other hallucinogens.
A police officer answering the phone at the Phi Epsilon house said the residents were being detained in the house while officers completed their search. The phone was not answered at the other two fraternities.
Those named in the federal indictments, the fraternity, the types of offenses alleged and the number of counts are:
Mark Croy, 22, selling marijuana and LSD, four counts.
Matt Evans, 19, Phi Epsilon, selling marijuana and LSD, four counts.
David Freelund, 21, selling marijuana, two counts.
James Graham, 21, Tau Kappa Epsilon, selling LSD, one count.
Eric Heller, 21, Delta Upsilon, selling marijuana, one count.
Ernest Pryor, 19, Phi Epsilon, selling marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms, two counts.
Andrew Bryan Schwaab, 21, Delta Upsilon, selling LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms, marijuana and a synthetic designer hallucinogen, four counts.
Peter Shaffer, Delta Upsilon, selling marijuana, one count.
Staff writer Ron Brown also contributed information to this story.
by CNB