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GENESEO, NY — Livingston County Judge Robert Wiggins made it clear that the two young men facing felony charges Tuesday were a small part of a much larger problem.
Alex Stucki of Rochester and Devin McClain of Mount Morris are the last of three members of the defunct PIGS fraternity charged with allowing Arman Partamian, 19, of Queens to drink himself to death at a February pledge event.
“You shouldn’t be standing here alone,” said Wiggins. “You should be standing with educators and officials who looked the other way, knowing this goes on, then acted surprised when someone died.”
“There’s a lot of blame to be shared,” he said.
Stucki’s defense attorney had delivered letters to Wiggins prior to the hearing urging leniency. Wiggins pointed out a recurring theme: “‘College kids do this. It happens all the time.’ they said.”
Both defendants pled guilty to criminally negligent homicide in exchange for a sentence of four months of weekends. Stucki’s plea also included tampering with evidence. Stucki removed a PIGS shirt when he discovered Partamian dead the day after. A third PIGS member, Daniel Wech of Amherst, received a similar sentence for misdemeanor charges related to the hazing.
Their sentences include five years of probation and hundreds of hours of community service, “hopefully in the form of speeches,” said Wiggins, urging the two to get the message out that college binge drinking can be deadly.
The homicide charge carries a potential of up to four years in prison, but Wiggins defended the lighter sentence.
“I don’t think putting you in prison for an extended amount of time will accomplish anything.”
District Attorney Tom Moran recounted each of the two defendants’ roles in Partamian’s death. Stucki, vice president of the PIGS, led the orientation process into the fraternity. At his urging, Partamian and the two others played beer pong, dizzy bat and other drinking games until witness es reported seeing them throw up.
Afterward, they were taken to 4359 Lower Court St., where Stucki and McClain “encouraged, suggested, cajoled” the pledges to finish a gallon bottle of vodka bought by McClain, recounted Moran.
Toxicology reports put Partamian’s blood alcohol content at .55 percent, nearly seven times the legal limit.
“These are some of the best and brightest students in the SUNY system,” Moran remarked, “and also some of the dumbest I’ve ever seen. The out of control binge drinking at this college has to stop.”
Partamian’s father has brought a $2.5 million lawsuit against six members of the PIGS fraternity— including Stucki, McClain, Wech, Henrik Sukonnick, Adam Brownsten and Scott Hilts. Two property owners are also named in the suit: Scott Kipphut and Scott Hilts.