Elizabeth Ladzinski
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS — Three fraternities whose members included Columbia University students busted in a December drug raid will lose their uptown brownstones, according to the Columbia Spectator.
Pi Kappa Alpha, Psi Upsilon and Alpha Epsilon Pi will lose the houses at 114th Street and be placed on probation for three years, according to a statement by the Division of Student Affairs, the Spectator reported.
The decision, which has been pending since December, was announced Thursday night by Kevin Shollenberger, dean of student affairs.
Four of the five students — Harrison David, Adam Klein and Joseph Stephen Perez, all 20, and Michael Wymbs, 22 — were residents of the frat houses, while the fifth — Chris Coles, 20 — was a resident of the Intercultural Resource Center. The fate of the Center is still uncertain, according to the Spectator.
The students were arrested Dec. 7, 2010 for allegedly selling cocaine, LSD, marijuana and other drugs out of the frat houses and university dorms, in a five-month operation that investigators called "Operation Ivy League."
Undercover narcotics officers allegedly purchased nearly $11,000 worth of marijuana, powdered ecstasy, Adderall and LSD, according to officials.
On March 1, the students and their three drug suppliers were hit with additional charges, including 30 counts of drug possession, drug sales, criminal nuisance and other charges, according to officials.
All of the defendants pleaded not guilty, and are all currently free on bail. They face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, officials said.
The students are due back in court April 5.
