TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

UT Slaps Frat After Drug Bust

ADVERTISEMENT

By KEITH MORELLI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 11, 2007

TAMPA - The recent drug possession arrests of four University of Tampa students, including the chaplain of a fraternity, have resulted in the temporary suspension of the fraternity's activities on campus and given administrators a chance to tout its anonymous tip line, authorities said.

University officials said the arrests were the result of investigations sparked by anonymous tips by students fed up with drug activities on campus.
Dean of Students Bob Ruday said all four students, two of whom were Pi Kappa Phi fraternity members, live on campus and that the felony charges are troubling.

'Whenever there's a sizable amount that looks like there is intent to sell, we're very concerned,' he said. 'We're just happy that our Silent Witness program is working.'

The program is on UT's Web site and provides students a forum to pass information about illegal activities on campus, Ruday said. 'They can either phone it in or go on our Web site. It's anonymous.'

Ruday said the arrests as a result of the program had not caused a backlash about lengths administrators will go to keep an eye on what students are doing.

'The students I have talked to have said, 'We've had enough. We don't want this on our campus,'' he said.

The arrests were made by Tampa police who were called to assist in the investigation, Ruday said. 'We fully cooperated with them,' he said. 'This was a bigger problem than what we usually face.'

UT Newspaper Broke Story

The story first was reported in the university's newspaper, The Minaret, which quoted Paul Lobiondo, local Pi Kappa Phi chapter president, as saying such behavior by members is unacceptable.

'It isn't how we operate,' Lobiondo told the newspaper. 'We don't condone these behaviors and we don't allow these kinds of activities in our organization.'

Ruday said the fraternity's national headquarters as well as the university has temporarily suspended Pi Kappa Phi's activities on the campus. The dean said the national headquarters 'will send down a team to investigate what's going on with them here.'

The most recent arrest was James Cocoliato, fraternity chaplain, who was arrested while wearing his Pi Kappa Phi T-shirt. The logo is prominent in the mug shot.

Cocoliato, 22, was charged Oct. 1 with felony possession of marijuana with intent to sell and possession of paraphernalia. Jail records show he was released without having to post bail.

Also charged was fellow Pi Kappa Phi member Aaron Cowell, 19, records show. He was arrested Sept. 20 on felony charges of marijuana and controlled substance possession and a misdemeanor paraphernalia possession count. He was released after posting $7,000 bail, records show.

Michael Pappas III, 20, was charged Sept. 21 with felony possession of marijuana and a controlled substance and violation of probation stemming from a cocaine charge. He was released after posting $9,000 bail, records show.

On Sept. 28, Tampa police arrested Brandon Chatkin on three felony counts of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia. Chatkin, 19, was released after posting $12,000 bail, records show.

Students Respond To Arrests

The Minaret's online edition asked readers about the arrests, and 51 percent said all schools have drugs on campus. Thirty-two percent said the arrests made UT look bad, and 16 percent said the arrests were sensationalized.

A suspension means Pi Kappa Phi loses organizational privileges, including participation in campus activities, formal recruitment and student government membership, the newspaper reported. The fraternity also loses Student Activities Office services and membership in the interfraternity council.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at kmorelli@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7760.

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT