An Elgin man will have to spend lots of time talking to teens about the dangers of drinking, his sentence for providing alcohol to a fellow Western Illinois University student who died during an initiation for the school’s lacrosse club in 1990.
Steve Kadlec, 22, a former lacrosse club member, was sentenced to perform 50 hours of community service, fined $250 and ordered to meet with the author of a book on hazing after pleading guilty Wednesday to unlawful delivery of alcohol to a minor, said McDonough County State’s Atty. William Poncin.
A charge of hazing was dropped, Poncin said.
Kadlec, who avoided a possible yearlong jail term, “must complete the sentence by October,” Poncin said. “He’ll be given the chance to seek out speaking opportunities on his own; if he doesn’t, we’ll schedule them.”
Kadlec, who couldn’t be reached for comment, and 11 other lacrosse club members were charged in the October 1990 death of Nicholas Haben, 18, of Oswego, a victim of acute alcohol poisoning. Haben became ill after being forced to drink large amounts of liquor during a prolonged initiation ritual, Poncin said.
Two lacrosse club members, Marc Anderson, of Glenwood, and Mark Molzer, of Cary, both 22, were each sentenced during a November trial to a $250 fine, 50 hours of community service and two years’ court supervision, Poncin said.
The nine other club members, he said, are expected to go to trial next month.