By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — A Columbia University student who sat in jail for two weeks because his parents reportedly wouldn't pay his bail is finally out from behind bars — and apparently his parents aren't as cheap as he made them out to be.
Harrison David, 20, was arrested with four other Columbia students Dec. 7 after a five-month investigation during which undercover officers bought $11,000 worth of cocaine, ecstasy, pot and other drugs from the students.
David told the officers who arrested him he was dealing drugs because his father, a doctor who lives in Massachusetts, wouldn't pay his pricey Ivy League tuition.
While his arrested classmates bailed out within days, David stayed behind bars because his parents refused to pay his $75,000 bail, he told the Daily News.
But it was David's father who paid his bail, said Kati Cornell, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor.
That's not the only bill David's dad has footed, reports say. Dr. Dave David, a cosmetic surgeon, told the Boston Herald that he's paid David's Columbia tuition "since Day 1," disputing reports that his son turned to drug dealing to pay his $41,000 a year school bill.
News that David was trapped behind bars inspired at least one friend to post messages on Facebook saying he'd emptied his bank account to help David make bail.
David's attorney couldn't be reached for comment Monday.
Authorities say David sold cocaine and marijuana from an off-campus apartment he stayed in last summer, his Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house on West 114th Street and from the university's Intercultural House on West 114th Street.
Undercover investigators bought drugs from David on eight separate occasions between July 29 and Nov. 30, according to documents released by the Office of Special Narcotics Prosecutor.
It was David, prosecutors said, who led investigators to the three alleged drug suppliers who were arrested the same day as the students.
David, an engineering student, was salutatorian of his Massachusetts prep school.
When officers searched his room they found $789 in cash, two cell phones, a glass jar containing marijuana, a scale with marijuana residue, an Ecstasy pill and a Citibank loan statement.
Investigators declined to comment on whether the loan was for tuition bills.
