HILLSBOROUGH -- An Orange County District Court judge ordered Monday a current and a former member of UNC's men's lacrosse team to fulfill community service and pay a fine after being charged with transaction card fraud.
Jonathan Manekin, 22, of Owings Mills, Md., was ordered to complete 50 hours of community service. Matthew Pessagno, 20, of Harwood, Md., was ordered to complete 100 hours of service.
Both must pay a $90 fine and $47.17 of restitution each and stay employed or in school full-time, according to the clerk's office of the court.
Manekin and Pessagno reportedly used a UNC Department of Athletics credit card to purchase nearly $100 worth of beer in Carrboro in late July.
Manekin and Pessagno could not be reached for comment Tuesday, and Coach John Haus and midfielder Jack Aslup declined to comment.
Pessagno and Teddy Hayes, 20, of Chevy Chase, Md., were put on athletic probation Tuesday, said Steve Kirschner, UNC athletics department information director.
He declined to explain Hayes' involvement in the case and to state the exact terms of athletic probation.
Pessagno and Hayes are on the roster for the 2003 season. Kirschner said Manekin no longer plays for the team.
Pessagno and Hayes have been suspended for the first three games of the 2003 season. While both will be allowed to practice, neither will compete in UNC's exhibition games during the fall semester.
Kirschner said athletic department officials have suggested to the Office of Financial Aid that Pessagno and Hayes lose their grant and aid for the spring semester.
He said the players were not authorized to have the credit card but declined to comment on how the players obtained it.
Kirschner said the punishment handed out Tuesday is necessary because of the impropriety of the players' actions. "We take these actions very seriously," he said.
Similar incidents must be prevented in the future, Kirschner said. "The behavior that occurred was improper," he said. "Steps need to be taken to ensure that doesn't happen again."
The suspension was the decision of Director of Athletics Dick Baddour; Beth Miller, associate athletic director for non-revenue sports; Haus; and Lorenzo Gallo of the athletic director's office, Kirschner said.
The players were not involved in the process, he said.
The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.
The headline for the Aug. 21 article "2 Men Punished for Theft of Credit Card" inaccurately stated that the credit card was stolen. It is not known how the lacrosse players obtained the Department of Athletics credit card. They were charged with transaction card fraud.
The Daily Tar Heel regrets the error.
