Fiji 'pledge dad' sentenced to jail time, house arrest in hazing of Danny Santulli

Ryan Delanty on Friday was handcuffed at the Boone County Courthouse and taken away to begin serving a six-month sentence in the Boone County Jail.

It was at the conclusion of an emotional sentencing hearing during which Danny Santulli's mother, father, sister, brother, an aunt and a cousin told Delanty how he had done lasting harm to him and them during the hazing event Oct. 19, 2021, at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house.

Delanty, described in court documents as Danny Santulli's "pledge dad," pleaded guilty two weeks prior to reduced charges of misdemeanor hazing and misdemeanor supplying alcohol to a minor.

After his six months in jail, Delanty will be under home detention for six months.

Santulli, a pledge to the fraternity also known as Fiji, can't walk, talk or see after alcohol poisoning caused brain damage during the hazing event. He was seen on video in a wheelchair during the hearing.

Santulli's dad, Tom Santulli, said he didn't want anyone else to go through what he has gone through.

"In the end, nobody had each other's back and that is what a fraternity is supposed to do," Tom Santulli said.

Speaking to Delanty, Santulli said Delanty made his son drink because that was what was required to join the fraternity.

"You got him so intoxicated, his heart stopped," Santulli said.

Tom Santulli referred to the fraternity's code of silence as cowardice.

Calling Delanty "arrogant, privileged and a coward," Danny Santulli's aunt, Chrissy Prioleau, said he did so much damage to so many people that night.

"You destroyed a family and brought shame to the University of Missouri," she said.

His cousin, Ellen Haugh, said Delanty had one job that night, to watch over Danny, but he failed.

"Danny was failed that night by people he thought were his friends," Haugh said.

Also speaking was Santulli's brother, Nick Santulli.

"On the night of Oct. 19, 2021, nobody had his back," Nick Santulli said.

Delanty will be haunted by that for the rest of his life, as he should be, Nick Santulli said.

Santulli's sister, Meredith Santulli, talked about being shocked and troubled when she would run into Delanty on campus and downtown after the incident.

Her brother had come to her in emotional distress a few nights before the event, she said.

She's undergoing therapy and on medication, she said.

"My world has been flipped completely upside down due to the actions of Ryan Delanty," Meredith Santulli said.

Danny's mom, Mary Pat Santulli, recalled entering the intensive care unit of University of Missouri Hospital after they had driven more than seven hours to get there. The ER doctor had told her Danny had stopped breathing.

She saw her son hooked up to a ventilator, swollen and unresponsive, she said.

She is unable to sleep, concentrate or function, she said.

"I am Danny's full-time caregiver," his mom said, crying. "It's the most rewarding job I've ever had, but it's not one I imagined myself ever having."

She misses many things about how Danny used to be, she said.

"I miss him walking to the door and asking 'what's for dinner, mom?'" she said.

Delanty didn't say anything, but his attorney, Stephanie Fortus, said he is remorseful and said he would live with it for the rest of his life.

"The suffering is universal," Fortus said.

Several other defendants have entered plea agreements and served short jail sentences.

Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com. He's on X at @rmckinney9.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Ryan Delanty sentenced to 6 months in jail in Mizzou hazing case