Undercover operation leads to charges against club officers

Princeton Borough Police brought charges against four officers of Colonial and Quadrangle clubs yesterday resulting from a November undercover investigation into serving alcohol to minors on the Street, according to police reports.

"We are stepping up our enforcement efforts," Borough Police Lt. John Reading said.

Undercover officers began entering clubs during the fall, and that other charges could be forthcoming, he said. Colonial and Quad were not the only clubs that were investigated, he added.

Borough Police have considered undercover investigations in recent years, but yesterday's charges represent the first results of any such operations, Reading said.

Former Colonial president Chris Langhammer '03 was charged with three counts of making alcoholic beverages available to minors and one count of maintaining a nuisance after police posing as students entered the club on Nov. 24 of last year, police reports said.

Colonial officers Anna-Rachel Dray-Siegel '04 and Justin Mirabal '03 were also charged with serving alcohol to minors for events on the same night.

Former Quad president Rolando Amaya '03 was charged with three counts of making alcohol available to minors and one count of maintaining a nuisance after undercover officers entered his club on Saturday Nov. 23.

Reading said the two club presidents were charged with making alcohol available to minors though they may not have been present when the actual violation occurred. Their responsibility as club presidents made them liable, he said.

All of those charged are due in court on Feb. 24, Reading said.

Langhammer and Mirabal declined to comment last night. Dray-Siegel and Amaya could not be reached for comment.

University Communications Director Lauren Robinson-Brown '85 said that an internal investigation would be conducted and that the students might be subject to disciplinary action.

"We are working diligently to make sure that all students understand the severity of violations of the law regarding underage drinking and serving alcoholic beverages," she said.

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Reading said it was legal for undercover officers to enter a club so long as members of the club allowed them in at the door. He could not say whether they had been checked for identification.

He said officers may also have been carrying fake PUIDs.

Public safety chief Steven Healy said that while the University did not participate in the investigation, he agreed with the need to enforce alcohol laws.

"Law enforcement and police agencies have to use all of the resources that are available to them in order to send a message that illegal acts will not be tolerated," he said.

"This is one of the first times that the borough police have actually done an undercover sting and I would assume that this won't be the last time," added Healy, who took over the chief's role on Jan. 1.

The investigation was a product of the ongoing abuse of alcohol that officers say they observe on the Street, Reading said.

"Somebody is going to get hurt and we would be remiss if we didn't do something about it," he said. "You don't see what I see — countless kids every week being unconscious and drunk and being taken to McCosh [health center]."

Borough council member Roger Martindell said that the investigation was undertaken by the police department and had nothing to do with the proposed alcohol ordinance that would allow officers to enforce alcohol laws on private property.

In December, Princeton Borough Mayor Marvin Reed said that discussion of the ordinance would be postponed until this month.

Michael Mathews '60, Cap and Gown Club graduate board president, said that he was disappointed that police would be dealing with the club in a way that is "not straightforward."

Colonial President Ben Handzo '04 declined to comment on the charges, as did Llewellyn Ross '58, president of the club's graduate board.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of one year in prison with a $1000 fine, but Reading said violators generally do not receive jail time on the first offense.