NEW YORK, N.Y. – What began as a friendly reunion dinner of SUNY Cortland fraternity brothers at a New York City restaurant later turned into a violent confrontation at a hotel room, according to a civil lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court last week.
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Albert Williamson, a 1998 SUNY Cortland graduate who is now an elementary school teacher on Long Island, filed a civil lawsuit on Sep. 2 against Alfredo Castellanos, a fellow alum and a licensed physician in Las Vegas.
Both men were members of the Delta Kappa Beta fraternity at SUNY Cortland in the late 1990s, the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, the two men and three other alumni dined at Bobby Van's Restaurant in New York City on Feb. 24.
Following the dinner, Castellanos invited Williamson to his hotel suite. That's where Castellanos became "boisterous, argumentative, and combative," according to the lawsuit.
"Defendant, in a seemingly drunken state insisted that Plaintiff engage in an impromptu wrestling match in the hotel suite," the lawsuit reads.
Williamson agreed to the match and was immediately thrown to the floor. He attempted to "tap out" of the match, at which point Castellanos allegedly stated "if you won't fight me, at least you will drink with me." Castellanos then hit him in the face with a wine bottle until Williamson lost consciousness, according to the lawsuit.
Williamson "believed he was going to be killed," according to his attorney.
He was transported by ambulance to Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated for a broken nose, broken teeth, headaches and blurred vision, the lawsuit reads.
Williamson is seeking at least $75,000 in damages.
"This matter was thoroughly investigated and then dismissed by the Manhattan District Attorney's office," Castellanos’ attorney Brian Griffin told the New York Daily News. "We are confident that the civil court system will do the same."
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