Burlington, Vt. – January 28, 2010 – When Scott Hallock, of Jericho, Vt., joined Lambda Iota fraternity at the University of Vermont back in 1959, he never dreamed that his dedicated group of members who have a history of service to their community may face losing their home to drug trafficking.

Today Hallock finally reached some closure on this bad episode of the fraternity’s history, which began with a group of students that troubled board members were forced to eject from the building in 2007. It ultimately ended in three arrests related to cocaine trafficking on the property and a forfeiture action by the federal government.

Hallock said, “We have 600 living members now and every one of us has lived in this house. For us, this is home,” he said of the building which has housed the country’s oldest local fraternity, founded in 1836. Vermont Governor J. Gregory Smith of St. Albans, Vt.,was one of the first original 13 members of Lambda Iota at a time when only 65 students attended the University of Vermont.

“Smith was a friend of Abraham Lincoln,” said Hallock, proudly citing some history about the fraternity.

“I’m hoping it’s going to be a good deal for us,” Hallock said of the U.S. Department of Justice’s unique terms of settlement of a forfeiture action involving the fraternity property stemming from cocaine trafficking convictions on site.

First U.S. Assistant Attorney Paul Van de Graff announced today at a news conference on the Burlington property, “We instituted the forfeiture action because of the dealing here, as well as information that some Lambda Iota representatives knew about the trafficking and allowed it to continue.

 “Our forfeiture action could have resulted in the transferring of this property from Lambda to the United States.The unique settlement we’ve reached between the Burlington Police Department, United States Marshals, and Lambda allows Lambda to keep their home,” said Van de Graff. “But,” he added, “It requires Lambda to pay a financial penalty, to provide funds for area non-profits, to make this house available to community groups, and to rededicate itself to the lofty goals on which it was founded over 150 years ago.”

Following the filing of a complaint in October 2007, three individuals were eventually convicted of federal drug offenses in connection with the drug distribution activities in the Lambda Iota house.

Chris Duncan, an undergraduate fraternity member at the time in question, was sentenced to 2 years of probation, including 6 months of home confinement, and 100 hours of community service on his conviction of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

Bent Cardan, Duncan’s main supplier, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and sentenced to 3 months imprisonment, an additional 3 months in a halfway house, a fine of $4,000, 100 hours of community service and 4 years of supervised release.

 Allen Page, a source for Cardan, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and oxycontin and sentenced to 70 months imprisonment, 100 hours of community service, and 4 years of supervised release.

The forfeiture action on the fraternity house was stayed until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings. During that time, the United States Attorney’s Office and Lambda Iota met numerous times to discuss the potential for settlement and an opportunity for Lambda Iota to return to its core mission.

 The settlement announced today was crafted in an effort to benefit the community and law enforcement efforts in curbing drug distribution.

As part of this settlement agreement Lambda Iota has committed to meaningfully support these efforts and to reinvent itself to follow its fundamental mission, says Vermont U.S. Attorney Tristram Coffin.

 The agreement requires Lambda Iota to immediately forfeit $50,000 to the United States. In addition, Lambda Iota has agreed to make contributions of $5,000 each to seven charitable organizations in Chittenden County whose missions include crime prevention initiatives—The Boys & Girls Club, The Women’s Rape Crisis Center, Spectrum Youth Services, The Sara Holbrook Center, King Street Youth Center, Women Helping Battered Women and Kids Safe Collaborative.

-Vermont Daily News staff report by Alden Pellett

 

 

Additional requirements of the agreement: Lambda has also agreed to make its house available for meetings held by these and other community and law enforcement organizations. Lambda Iota must also install a plaque inside the house documenting the fact that the property was used by drug dealers and that as a result of the forfeiture action, Lambda Iota has committed to take action to help local colleges and the community educate our youth to prevent drug and alcohol related crimes. In this vein, Lambda Iota agrees to annually sponsor on-site alcohol and drug awareness informational seminars. Lambda Iota residents will also be encouraged to participate in community service and will be given financial incentives to do so.

Finally, the agreement sets reporting requirements to ensure that the Lambda Iota Board of Governors exercises sufficient oversight of the use of the house. A House Manager will reside at the property and is responsible for, among other things, reporting regularly to the Board of Governors on resident behavior and use, and must report all illegal possession, distribution, use, sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs. Any party at the house involving 15 or more persons must be approved by the House Manager. Lambda Iota is also required to report all illegal activity on the premises to the Burlington Police Department. Semi-annually, the fraternity must provide a written report on this oversight and supervision to the United States Attorney’s Office.

 In addition, the men’s social organization will annually solicit input from its neighbors on how the property is being used. The settlement agreement contains a penalty provision that should residents of the fraternity house engage in further illegal drug activities, Lambda will pay increasing amounts of monetary penalties. In the event that additional federal drug convictions occur, up to $175,000 in fines may be incurred. This unique settlement of a forfeiture matter recognizes the significant impact that illegal drug activity has on our youth and our community and creates opportunities for positive contributions to society. The intent is for Lambda Iota to reinvent itself and to now foster and participate in community service, drug and alcohol abuse prevention, and general education and awareness on this issue.