Ryan Delanty, Danny Santulli's designated Fiji "pledge dad" gets April court date
A University of Missouri Phi Gamma Delta hazing defendant who was designated as pledge Danny Santulli's "pledge dad' on the night in 2021 Santulli collapsed with alcohol poisoning, on Tuesday got more time to prepare his defense.
Ryan Delanty, of Ballwin, was Santulli's pledge dad on the hazing event known as "pledge dad reveal night" on Oct. 19, 2021, at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house. Santulli drank three-fourths of a bottle of vodka he was required to drink, passed out and became unresponsive.
Delanty is charged with felony hazing.
A probable cause statement in another defendant's case included a text message from Delanty to a friend at 10:57 p.m. reading: "My son is dead."
The friend asked Delanty in a text what Delanty did to Santulli, according to the court document.
"I left him," was Delanty's response in the record.
Santulli was resuscitated after arriving at the emergency room of the University of Missouri Hospital. The brain damage Santulli received from the alcohol poisoning left Santulli blind and unable to walk or speak.
He is being cared for by his family at their home in Minnesota, using funds from settlements in civil lawsuits.
Documents provided by the University of Missouri show hazing and alcohol abuse was a regular practice at Phi Gamma Delta, also known as Fiji, and other fraternities.
Attorney Ethan Wolfe, representing Delanty, asked Judge Kevin Crane for additional time. Wolfe said he was standing in for Delanty's regular attorney, Stepanie Fortus. Both Wolfe and Delanty appeared by video.
"They're working on toxicology reports," Wolfe said of the need for additional time
Fortus also has hired a private investigator, Wolfe said.
The attorney for a co-defendant in a recent hearing said the prosecutor's office will seek trials against only two defendants. Delanty and Thomas Shultz were the first two charged with felonies. Eight others are charged with felonies and one with misdemeanor hazing.
The fraternity has been banned from MU. The university also has punished 13 members of the fraternity.
A hearing for defendant Samuel Gandhi is on the court's schedule for Feb. 27.
Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: New court date set for Danny Santulli's designated Fiji "pledge dad"
