Reports reviewed in Phi Delt case

Prosecutors are mulling over new evidence in the case against Phi Delta Theta fraternity members accused of serving alcohol to LSA first-year student Courtney Cantor and other minors at a party Cantor attended hours before her death.

"We're reviewing the police reports, and we'll decide what charges will be made against them," Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Burke said yesterday.

Burke said 13 fraternity members named in a criminal warrant requests may face misdemeanor charges carrying 90-day prison sentences for serving alcohol to minors and possession of alcohol by minors.

"There is a 10-year prison term in the state of Michigan for serving alcohol to a minor which directly leads to a death," Burke said.

But investigators have yet to determine whether alcohol played a role in Cantor's death. Cantor died after falling from her sixth-floor Mary Markley Residence Hall window early Oct. 16.

The Ann Arbor Police Department raided the former Phi Delta Theta fraternity house, located on Washtenaw Avenue, Friday morning - nearly three months after the party being investigated took place.

"What prompted it now was the prosecutor making his way through the hundreds of pages in the report that was submitted to him," AAPD Sgt. Tom Seyfried said.

"The purpose of the search warrant was for evidence primarily centered around the goings-on surrounding the party on Oct. 15 that Courtney Cantor attended," Seyfried said.

Seyfried said police confiscated fraternity financial records along with approximately 40 forms of false identification in the house and computer equipment and software capable of producing the fake IDs.

"Everyone residing in the house except the live-in adviser was a sophomore and underage," Seyfried said, adding that about 35 people lived in the fraternity house, and some had multiple fake IDs.

Upon hearing news of Friday's police raid, George Cantor, Courtney's father, lost any sympathy he may have had for Phi Delta Theta members.

"Given the tragedy that occurred," George Cantor said, "the fact that they still had the paraphernalia for making false IDs means what's happened really hasn't sunk in.

"It indicates to me those boys are slow learners," he said.

Phi Delta Theta president Mike Novick, an LSA sophomore, could not be reached, and fraternity members refused to comment.

The prosecutor's office will determine whether to pursue charges for possession of false identification, a misdemeanor also punishable by 90 days in jail, Seyfried said.

"Additional charges are also possible," Seyfried said. "We're still putting the case facts together as far as what was seized Friday."

Seyfried said police were able to determine from bank records that fraternity members purchased alcohol served at the party from the Meijer store on Carpenter Road.

Police obtained surveillance videotapes from the store showing five underage men buying $347.07 worth alcohol with a fraternity check and presenting false identification to the cashier on Oct. 15.

Seyfried said AAPD has had the tapes since Nov. 17 but did not release information about them to the public until now because the investigation is still ongoing.

"I wouldn't have even released them now, except that they were named in the search warrant," Seyfried said.

George Cantor said he hired a lawyer several weeks ago to examine the possibilities of civil charges but added, "We're not filing any lawsuits in the next week or two.

"Possibly nothing will happen," Cantor said. "This is in a very preliminary state."

AAPD Sgt. Michael Logghe said the case is no longer a police matter, barring any new developments.

"We're pretty much done," Logghe said. "We've done our investigation, and it's in the hands of the prosecutor."

01-12-99