Prosecutors charge 10 Phi Delts

Liquid ecstacy found in Cantor's blood, father says

Prosecutors yesterday authorized warrants for 10 members of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity on misdemeanor alcohol-related charges.

Warrants charge five members with using fraudulent identification to purchase alcohol, which carries a penalty of up to 90 days in jail, a $1,000 fine and a 90-day license suspension.

All 10 face charges for furnishing alcohol to a minor and host-law violations of alcohol consumption by minors on the fraternity's premise. Conviction of serving minors alcohol results in a mandatory $1,000 fine along with up to 60 days of jail time or community service. The maximum penalty for host-law charges is 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The police official also told George Cantor that night that medical examiners found evidence of the drug gamma hydroxy butyric acid, also known as "liquid ecstacy," in Cantor's blood at the time of her death.

George Cantor said this report differs from the original autopsy report because "the initial report just gave the amount of alcohol in her blood." But he said the new findings didn't come as a surprise.

"I always suspected that there was something like this involved," George Cantor said, "because her actions were so out of character for her."

Washtenaw County Medical Examiner Bader Cassin could not be reached for comment.

The Ann Arbor Police Department raided the former fraternity house early Friday morning, seizing about 40 fake IDs, computer equipment used to make the fake IDs and financial records.

AAPD also obtained videotapes from the Meijer store on Carpenter Road showing five underage men buying $347.07 worth of alcohol with a fraternity check and presenting false identification to the cashier on Oct. 15.

The search warrant for Friday's raid office did the best they could with the evidence.

"I think they want to set an example for the University community," he said.

George Cantor said a representative from AAPD called him Friday night to inform him of the fraternity raid.

The police official also told George Cantor that night that medical examiners found evidence of the drug gamma hydroxy butyric acid, also known as "liquid ecstacy," in Courtney's blood at the time of her death.

George Cantor said this report differs from the original autopsy report because "the initial report just gave the amount of alcohol in her blood." But he said the new findings didn't come as a surprise.

"I always suspected that there was something like this involved," George Cantor said, "because her actions were so out of character for her."

Washtenaw County Medical Examiner Bader Cassin could not be reached for comment.

Courtney Cantor's blood-alcohol level at the time of her death was .059 percent, lower than the .10 percent level at which persons are legally intoxicated. Investigators have yet to determine whether alcohol or GHB played a role in Courtney's death.

Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Burke declined to comment after the charges were authorized yesterday, but George Cantor said Burke indicated to him that more serious charges in the future are possible but unlikely.

"I don't think there's any way of proving that the alcohol led to her death that would stand up in a court of law," George Cantor said.

But the presence of GHB along with alcohol may explain some of the events that led to Courtney Cantor's death, said Deb Kraus, a psychologist at the University's Counseling and Psychological Services.

"Like alcohol," Kraus said, "it's a central nervous system depressant." She said some of the adverse effects of GHB could include "euphoria and confusion, nausea, visual disturbances, memory loss, unconsciousness, vomiting, drowsiness, dizziness, ... seizures, incoherent speech, coma, severe respiratory arrest, and death."

But, Kraus added, "when it's mixed with alcohol, it multiplies. It's like one plus one equals three."

GHB is similar to the drug Rohypnol, "the date-rape drug," Kraus said. "You could think of it as a cousin to Rohypnol.

"A lot of times people don't know they've taken it - sometimes it's slipped to people," Kraus added.

George Cantor said at this point he believes that's how Courtney got the drug in her system.

"This is so out of character for anything I know about Courtney that I have to assume that it was slipped to her," he said.

"We talked about drugs," he added. "She always had contempt for people who took drugs."

Police also mentioned to him that "it was such a slight amount," he added, "that there was the possibility that it was manufactured in her body naturally."

Kraus said people sometimes take GHB voluntarily, because "it's going to give you those sexual disinhibitions."

The manufacturing methods of the drug make it unreliable, which could make specific effects unpredictable, Kraus added, and "quality control is an issue. It's just not real safe."

George Cantor said the presence of GHB in his daughter's blood is not likely to affect plans for any lawsuits related to her death, but "it clearly adds a horrifying aspect to the case."

The Cantors recently hired an attorney to investigate options for taking civil action.

Other than criminal prosecution and possible civil litigation, fraternity members may face sanctions under the University Code of Student Conduct.

Vice President of Student Affairs Maureen Hartford said, "In a case in which people serve alcohol to people underage, ... it would be a violation of the Code."

Many Code proceedings require that the University receive a complaint before making charges, but Hartford said "there are certain things that we are required to act on under the Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Act."

Hartford said the act obligates the University to investigate cases involving underage drinking by students that are brought to the University's attention. She said an instance of prosecutors authorizing charges would fall into that category and the University would investigate under the Code.

Cantor

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