2 Illinois Mothers Charged in Hazing

Two parents were charged Wednesday with supplying alcohol to students at a suburban Chicago high school who participated in a brutal hazing incident captured on videotape.

Christine Neal, 49, was charged with delivery of alcohol to a minor for buying three kegs of beer, two of which were found at the park where the hazing took place, prosecutors said. Marcy Spiwak, 49, was charged with allowing her home to be used for underage drinking.

Neal is the mother of student Dominic Vargas, 18, who was charged with unlawful possession of alcohol by a minor. Authorities said Vargas brought the kegs to the May 4 “powder puff” event where junior girls were brutally hazed by seniors.

“The violence that we all saw on the tapes from the melee at Chipilly Woods was fueled by alcohol,” Cook County State Atty. Richard Devine said. “The adults who bought this liquor or hosted a party where beer was consumed will be held accountable.”

Videotape of the event shows juniors from Glenbrook North High School being covered with mud, paint, feces and garbage as onlookers, some hoisting beer cups, cheered.

Neal and Vargas were arrested Tuesday and released on $100 bond each. Spiwak, the mother of a junior girl who was at the hazing, was arrested Wednesday and also released on $100 bond.

All charges carry a maximum punishment of a year in jail; the adults also face fines of at least $500.

“I’m not a criminal. You’ve got the wrong person,” a handcuffed Spiwak said as deputies escorted her through the Cook County courthouse.