Judge imposes first jail terms in Penn St. frat death case

A judge has sentenced three former Penn State fraternity members to jail in the 2017 death of a pledge, the first defendants ordered to serve time behind bars in a case that rewrote Pennsylvania’s anti-hazing law.

Centre County Judge Brian Marshall sentenced former Beta Theta Pi members Tuesday for hazing surrounding the death of sophomore engineering major Tim Piazza, 19, of Lebanon, New Jersey.

The sentences were 30 days to six months for Michael Bonatucci, 21, of Woodstock, Georgia; two months to six months for Luke Visser, 21, of Encinitas, California; and three months to nine months for Joshua Kurczewski, 20. A fourth defendant, Joseph Sala, 21, received three months to 10 months of house arrest. Kurczewski and Sala live in Erie.

Each was also fined and given a probation term. They were all sentenced for hazing and conspiracy to commit hazing, and Kurczewski also pleaded guilty to furnishing alcohol to minors.

Kurczewski defense attorney Jeffrey Veitch said they can apply to do their time on home monitoring, but it will be up to the judge to determine if they are eligible. Lawyers for the three others did not immediately return messages seeking comment. 

Piazza drank heavily the night of a pledge bid acceptance ceremony and was fatally injured in a series of falls, his agonizing night captured on the house’s elaborate video security system. The four men sentenced on Tuesday were generally involved in providing alcohol to pledges and pressuring them to drink, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Visser and Kurczewski set up a beer pong station as part of a series of drinking events known as the “gauntlet.” An autopsy estimated Piazza had consumed several times the legal limit for alcohol.