Where were the adults?!
Two grown men ā a Bronx kindergarten teacher and city HR worker, no less ā joined in a vicious hazing in the name of their aging college-fraternity chapter, beating a 45-year-old āpledgeāā so badly thź§at he landed išn the hospital, authorities said Friday.
Brooklyn Omega Psi Phi honchos Steve Liverpool, 47, and ĀKeston Frank, 34, were charged with assault and hazing in the brutal Dec. 7 beatdown of 45-year-old frat hopeful Tory Gates, ofš¹ficials said.
Liveš³rpool, a public school kindergarten teacher,ļ·ŗ has been reassigned to a post away from children following his arrest, according to city Department of Education officials.
His Facebook profile misspells ākindergartenā twice; it says ākindergarden.”
Frank works for the cityās Department of Social Servicesā human resources administrationą¼ āź¦ although his Facebook page boasts that he also is employed by the Mayorās Office. He is not, according to the city.
Three other people also were taken into custody and accused of taking ź¦part in the twisted fraternity āwelcoming ritualā āź¦ which involved Gates, a āpledge,ā or proposed member of the organizationās Brooklyn-based Alpha ĀUpsilon Chapter, getting punched and then hit hundreds of times with a paddle.
āThe defendants, acting in concert with each other and other Āunapprehended individuals, did strike [the victim] about šthe body, chest and back with defendantsā hands during an initiation ceremony,ā authorities charged in the complaint.
āFurther … the defendants, acting in concert with each other, did strike the informant about the buttocks and testicles with a fraternity paddle between 150-200 times.ā
Gates, who lives in Brooklyn, had to be treated at Mount Sinai Hospital for āswelling, substantial pain and bruisingā about his ābuttocks, testicles, chest and backā after the incident, the coš“mplaint said.
Cops said Gates also later suffered from rhabdomyolysis ā basically a breakdown of muscle tissue ā andš the loss of the ability to urinate because of the attack.
Liverpool ā whose Facebook page includes numerous photos showing his lź¦ove for the ź©µfraternity ā was spotted outside his house Friday after being released on his own recognizance.
He refused to commšent beyond telling a reporter, āI donāt know what youāre talking about.ā
No ź¦one was home at an address listed for Frank, and the only phone number associated with him was disconš²nected.
A Department of Social Services rep told The Post, āOur employees must be held to the highš²est standard, and we take allegations of misconduct very seriously. Appropriate action will be taken pending the outcome of the criminal matter.ā
Gates could not be reached.
Chris OāNeal, the lawyer with Omegaās office of the Grand Council, told The Post in a statement: āWhile the external police-led investigation continues, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. continues to cooperate with the authorišties.
āIf true, this situation is outrageous, uncalled for and inconsistent with the founding principles and purpose of our beloved fraternity. Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. doāes not condone hazing or brutality in membership selection.ā
Gates is the latest in aā long line of pledgšes and Omega members to accuse the organization of improper hazing techniques.
Alumni have come forward over the years to detail alleged horroārs that go on inside Omega, which was founded in 1911 at Howard University in Washington, DC, a historically black college.
Additional reporting by Yoav Gonen and Shari Logan