Fraternities, Students Charged in Penn State Drinking Death

By GENARO ARMAS and KAREN ARAIZA

Updated 6:31 AM EST, Fri, Oct 30, 2009

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Joseph Dado fell to his death on the Penn State campus, but "excessive consumption of alcohol played a major role," according to a joint investigation by school and State College police.

Two other students and two fraternities were charged Thursday with furnishing alcohol to the underaged freshman.

Dado's body was found at the bottom of an exterior staircase on campus in September.

His death was ruled accidental. Toxicology tests showed his blood alcohol content was .169, according to the investigation. And in the hours before his death, Dado, 18, played beer pong, drank vodka, whiskey shots and smoked pot, according to court documents.

The partying started in Dado's dorm room with friends on a Saturday, Sept. 20 and continued into the night and next morning at Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Charges were filed against each fraternity and individual students, John Townsend and Jennifer E. Clifford, both 21.

Townsend, a member of Phi Gamma Delta, told police he'd offered Dado a place to stay that night, according to The Daily Collegian. According to court documents, Dado refused and when he left the fraternity he "had to be pointed in the right direction," Townsend told police, because Dado wasn't sure where he was going.