Frat brother: Hada thefts no ‘prank’
By Karen Dandurant
kdandurant@seacoastonline.com
YORK, Maine - A former member of the fraternity Ryan Hada belonged to at Rollins College in Orlando, Fla., disputes the interim town manager’s claim that two shoplifting incidents he was involved in while in college were "fraternity pranks."
Hada, who was recently given a one-year contract by the board of selectmen, admitted to two shoplifting convictions after local police turned them up during a routine background check. He issued a statement to the public, claiming they were fraternity pranks.
Scott Wade said his best friend was Hada’s roommate. Wade said he was in Hada’s pledge class.
Wade said when he read the story in the Herald concerning Hada’s claim about fraternity involvement in the shoplifting incidents, it made him furious.
"We both belonged to Phi Delta Theta, and I can assure you the fraternity had nothing to do with his arrests," said Wade. "We do some stupid things in fraternal organizations, but in no way do we condone stealing.
"We would not tell some kid to go out and steal jewelry; that’s deplorable," Wade said.
Hada was kicked out of the fraternity after eight weeks, Wade said, because he got arrested. He said that as a student, Hada made such a negative impression in that short time that he still comes up sometimes in conversations among frat members.
"We have occasionally wondered what he got up to later in life," said Wade. "When I read the article, it highly angered me. I find it interesting that he’s trying to spin his past."
Hada claims he chose to leave the fraternity.
"There’s no validity to that whatsoever," said Hada, referring to Wade’s claim he was kicked out of the fraternity. "The reason I left is because of some run-ins with the fraternity.
"I chose to leave it, and it’s also part of the reason why I returned home to Connecticut to complete my education," he said.
Hada said the Rollins campus was not working for him.
"I made a choice to leave the school for a variety of reasons, one being the folks I was associated with," said Hada. "I didn’t like the environment, and I wasn’t progressing intellectually or personally."
Wade said his recollection was that Hada stole jewelry from a mall.
Not accurate, said Hada. At first he declined to say what did happen, then said the incidents did not happen in a mall.
"It was in Orlando," said Hada. "I stole a watch and a wallet at various stores.
"There might have been some jewelry, I think maybe a silver bracelet was involved," he said.
Hada received one year probation for the crimes.
Board of Selectmen Chairman Stan Wilson said he became suspicious when he saw Hada’s press release explaining the shoplifting incidents. He said any fraternity that allowed acts like that would have been sanctioned by the college.
"His resume issue didn’t come up until after he signed a release for the background check when he signed the contract," said Wilson.
Wilson said there is a clause in Hada’s contract that allows selectmen to terminate his employment if he was ever convicted of a crime. As to the future, Wilson said it will be up to the board.
Selectman Michelle Moody is one of those who has been supportive of the decision to hire Hada.
"I guess we’d have to investigate anything else that comes before the board," said Moody. "I would review it and discuss it, but I’m not sure it would change things.
"It’s not a good incident, but I have no way of knowing for sure," Moody said. "Fraternities do weird things."
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