A Mt. Washington man accused of being a key player in a multimillion-dollar Ecstasy ring that operated in Pittsburgh, State College and elsewhere pleaded guilty Monday to a single count of conspiracy to distribute the drug, a pharmaceutical hybrid that combines the effects of an hallucinogen with those of an amphetamine. Jeremy Crouse, 25, one of several former Penn State students implicated in the ring, pleaded guilty to distributing some 350,000 Ecstasy tablets between June 1998 and December 2001 at Penn State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and in the Pittsburgh region. Crouse also was one of the co-owners of Club Phlo, a former after-hours nightclub on Smallman Street in the Strip District where prosecutors contend the conspirators often met to plan and carry out drug sales. As part of his plea, Crouse agreed to forfeit his interests in the nightclub. Several other people who have been indicted as members of the conspiracy are scheduled to appear in court this week, prosecutors said. Crouse, of Meridian Street, is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 16 before U.S. District Judge William L. Standish. Fire may have been started by children City arson investigators will confer with family members before determining if any charges should be filed against several children from Garfield who apparently started a fire in their own house Monday afternoon. There were no injuries in the one-alarm fire that was reported at 3:45 p.m. in the 400 block of North Fairmount Street, acting Battalion Chief John Foley said. The fire, which was confined to a second-floor bedroom, caused an estimated $12,000 damage, Foley said. Firefighters had to cut a hole in the roof to battle the flames, he said. The children told investigators they were playing with matches.

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