As more people are arraigned in connection with a drug ring that allegedly operated in State College three years ago, police documents continue to link the charges to Penn State's fraternity system.

Five former Penn State students have been charged with involvement in a drug ring suspected of distributing an estimated 98,000 Ecstasy pills and 56 ounces of cocaine in State College during the 1998 to 1999 school year. Warrants for up to 12 suspects were originally issued in the case.

According to court documents, suspects were named from five local fraternities. Current members of the fraternities whose past members were arraigned for alleged involvement with the drug ring said they feel the suspected illegal behavior of former members gives their entire chapters a negative image.

"People don't understand that after two or three years, a fraternity is a completely different group of guys. Look down on an individual but not the whole fraternity. I know a lot of other greeks feel the same way as me and it bothers me that no one else speaks up," said Jeff Comer of Beta Sigma Beta fraternity, 255 E. Fairmount Ave.

"A fraternity is usually made up of over 60 people and you can't control what every person is doing," Comer said.

Former Penn State student Alan Trub, 24, was arraigned Tuesday. According to police reports, Trub was receiving weekly deliveries of Ecstasy and cocaine to his address at Beta Sigma Beta.

Andrew Marcus, president of Beta Sigma Beta, said the past action of individuals does not reflect the current status of the organization.

"I feel that this situation has cast a shadow on all of the named fraternities, and I hope that no one associates this incident on our fraternity," Marcus said.

Oleg "Alex" Logatchev and Jeremy Crouse, two former Penn State students, are charged with allegedly bringing Ecstasy and cocaine into the State College area. Court documents specify that these substances were also delivered to a suspect at the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity, 321 Fraternity Row.

Crouse was a member of the Acacia chapter at Altoona, but was not a member of the University Park chapter, said Joshua Funk, president of the Acacia chapter at University Park. Logatchev pledged the Acacia chapter at Altoona, but it was unclear if he was an active member.

"It needs to be made clear that this investigation concerns events that happened three years ago and that those guys never were affiliated with our chapter," Funk said. "The same things happen in other houses and apartments in town, but people find it easier to point fingers at fraternities rather than give the university a bad name."

Interfraternity Council President Max Pipman said the IFC is cooperating with authorities as they gather information. He emphasized that there were no current undergraduates involved in the cases.

Pipman said IFC monitors organizational behavior to see if the fraternity as a whole fosters drug use or sexual assault, but IFC does not deal with individual fraternity members.

"We do take drug use very seriously," he said.

The national headquarters of most of the fraternities linked in the investigation were minimally aware of the situation regarding their respective Penn State chapters.

Shawn Collinsworth, executive director of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, explained the difficulty of taking disciplinary action against an alumnus who is under legal investigation.

"If one of our members was not living up to the standards and ideals of our organization, we could remove their membership status. But we rely more on the courts and their decisions," Collinsworth said.