Kidnap victim gets $145,000 from Psi U

Psi Upsilon fraternity has agreed to pay $145,000 to William O'Flanagan, the Delta Psi brother kidnapped by members of Psi U in January 1990, Psi U attorney John Ledwith said yesterday. The agreement, which was reached earlier this semester, is part of a settlement of an April civil suit O'Flanagan filed against Psi U's national and local organizations. The suit also named 23 other individuals as defendants, most of whom were members of the University's Psi U chapter. Early last year, O'Flanagan was abducted for several hours by members of Psi U after a long history of conflicts between Delta Psi, better known as Saint A's, and Psi U, which used to be called the Castle. According to University investigators, Psi U members took O'Flanagan from his off-campus residence, hand-cuffed him to a pole, and yelled racial slurs at him. The University's findings also state that Psi U members had originally planned to kidnap O'Flanagan's housemate. The University revoked the fraternity's charter for at least three years, kicked all members out of its center-campus house, and levied sanctions against those involved in the incident. The terms of the settlement prevented attorneys for the fraternity and O'Flanagan from giving details about the agreement. When O'Flanagan originally filed the lawsuit, documents from the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas indicated that O'Flanagan wanted a jury trial. But Ledwith said the case was settled primarily because of the costs of litigation. He said the payment would be made primarily by insurance carriers for the parties involved. James Jordan, the lawyer who coordinated Psi U's defense, said that there was nothing unusual about the case. He said O'Flanagan's attorneys subpoenaed documents from Judicial Inquiry Officer Constance Goodman's investigation and filed the suit against all those interviewed by the JIO, whether or not they had been directly involved in the kidnapping. Jordan said at least one person who was not a member of the fraternity was named as a defendant in the suit. O'Flanagan's lawyers refused to comment on the settlement. Using documents from the JIO is legal, but Jordan said he was not sure students who were interviewed were told their testimony could be used against them in civil or criminal court cases. Former members of the campus chapter, which used to be located in the Castle, declined to comment yesterday.

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