New: Baruch College’s Danny Chen represented by top counsel

Link to the story Pocono Record.

Excerpt:

Attorney Hugh Mo notified the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office Wednesday that he is representing Danny Chen, a member of the Pi Delta Psi’s former Baruch College chapter.

The chapter is being investigated in the Dec. 9 death of Chun Deng, 19, a finance student at Baruch in Manhattan.

Chen, 21, a Baruch business major, is one of three fraternity members who, after the suspected hazing ritual during which Deng was injured, drove Deng to the hospital where he later died.

Since Deng’s death, the national office of Pi Delta Psi, an Asian-American cultural fraternity, has distanced itself from this particular chapter, which has been ousted from the Baruch College campus for conducting what Baruch called an “unsanctioned” ritual without the college’s knowledge.

Though Mo is representing Chen, no one had been charged in Deng’s death as of Wednesday.

“The case is large in scope,” Monroe County First Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso said. “The sheer number (of other frat members) involved and the varying degrees of involvement need to be sorted out.”

Calling Deng’s death a tragedy for all involved, Mo said it remains to be seen if the death was caused by hazing or by something else, such as any pre-existing medical conditions Deng might have had.

“We’ll have to wait for the autopsy (toxicology) results to see what determination is made as to the cause and manner of death,” Mo said.

About 30 frat members rented a Candlewood Drive home in Sierra View, Tunkhannock Township, for the weekend of Dec. 7 and 8, according to Pocono Mountain Regional Police.

Between 5 and 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 8, Deng and three other pledges were partaking in a ritual called the “Glass Ceiling” in the backyard, police said.