Phil Calderon, the 37-year-old man who has been accused of posing as a student at Binghamton University, is also a convicted felon.
California court documents show that Calderon, who had been an active participant in BU’s Rainbow Pride Union and tributaries of the Student Association, pleaded guilty to six felony charges in California in 1992 and subsequently spent two years in prison there.
That was before he lived in Albany, where he pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse in response to charges of rape and providing alcohol to a minor in 2008.
In California, Calderon pleaded guilty to three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and three counts of throwing substances at a vehicle, all felonies, in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County.
The Press & Sun-Bulletin reported that Calderon was with two or three other young men who were throwing large rocks onto a freeway. They reported that California Highway Patrol Lt. Rodney Strate, one of the three victims in the case, said that a rock about the size of a man’s fist broke through his windshield and entered his vehicle.
Strate also told the Press & Sun-Bulletin that the other two victims were ‘pretty seriously injured,’ though he could not recall specifics of the case.
Calderon would not comment Monday night on the specifics of this case, but he told the Press & Sun-Bulletin that he thought his sentencing in California was not relevant to the situation involving his activity at BU.
But Calderon did comment on the University’s handling of the situation.
‘They’ve done what they’ve had to do to protect their interests,’ he said. ‘They’ve kind of stayed in the background through everything. The answers they’ve given to some of the questions are close-ended.’
Calderon was arrested on campus Sept. 29 by Binghamton’s New York State University Police and escorted off campus. Calderon disputes that, however, saying that he was released from the station and left of his own accord.
He was charged with falsifying business records in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor.
The records that were allegedly falsified were in connection with a job application to Off Campus College Transportation.
Calderon also had a BU e-mail address and a B-number associated with his name, but all University officials contacted have refused to comment on how this may have happened, or on whether Calderon may have acquired these accounts through legitimate means.
Since his initial arrest, Calderon has also been charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree for the use of a forged BU ID card.
Calderon said he still has not received notification of a new charge, and campus police have not been in contact with him since he was first confronted and barred from campus.
During his three years of involvement with the SA, he earned a total of $3,941, according to Adam Shamah, SA vice president for finance.
Calderon attended SUNY Albany for three consecutive semesters from 2005 to 2006. Albany police confirm that he was charged with rape and a misdemeanor of providing alcohol to a minor in January 2008. In response to the charges, he filed a guilty plea for third-degree sexual abuse.
Calderon’s arraignment is set for Oct. 19 in the Town of Vestal Court. Calderon said he knows how he will plead, but would not give specifics until the date of the arraignment.