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- Fourteen people, including five current Penn State students, were charged.
- Attorney General Sunday said cocaine was primarily packaged at the fraternity houses.
- Penn State placed Delta Upsilon on interim suspension pending an investigation.
Fourteen people, including six current Penn State students, were charged Monday in what Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement officer described as a large-scale, coordinated cocaine trafficking operation at two off-campus fraternities.
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Attorney General Dave Sunday said fraternity members and pledges from Delta Upsilon, 229 Locust Lane, and Sigma Chi, 400 E. Prospect Ave., packaged and sold pounds of cocaine to fellow students between 2023 and 2024.
Sunday said large amounts of the drug were brought to Happy Valley from Philadelphia and New York. The state’s top prosecutor said the cocaine was then primarily packaged at the fraternity houses, often by pledges as a form of indoctrination into the frats.
According to the grand jury presentment, there were purchases that totaled more than $50,000 and some fraternity members would receive a commission off the sales.
“This was a coordinated and organized cocaine trafficking operation with regular trips to those source cities and large amounts of cocaine being brought back to these fraternities,” Sunday said during a Monday morning press conference at his State College area office. “… This is very serious criminal conduct. There was nothing junior or childlike about this type of conduct.”
Prosecutors cast Agostino S. Abbatiello, 24, of New York, as the head of the high-level operation. Multiple witnesses who testified in front of the grand jury referred to him as the largest dealer of cocaine for Penn State students and said he was making “considerable amounts of money in the business.”
Abbatiello had been distributing cocaine as recently as February, the grand jury alleged. When he learned that law enforcement was investigating, he allegedly begged people to not disclose his involvement.
A warrant has been issued for his arrest. He was a student until 2024 and a member of Sigma Chi. According to a biography posted on Penn State’s website, he had been studying accounting.
Thomas M. Robinson, 23, of Allegheny County, was a step below Abbatiello, the attorney general said. He was a student until 2024 and a member of Delta Upsilon.
When he was arrested in December 2024, a State College police detective said Robinson repeatedly told officers he would “f— you up” and — after being shocked with a Taser — said he thought the officers were his fraternity brothers playing a prank on him.
His father, Paul Robinson, was charged Monday. The 59-year-old is accused of taking steps to conceal evidence, including a safe containing drugs and cash, and obstructing the investigation, Sunday said.
Penn State said Monday in a written statement that it was immediately placing Delta Upsilon on interim suspension while the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response investigates. The fraternity and individual students may face discipline, Penn State said Monday in a written statement.
A university spokesperson told the Centre Daily Times six of those charged are currently enrolled.
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Sigma Chi is not a recognized organization and operates outside the university’s oversight. It was one of the three founding members of an independent, student-led council, which Penn State previously described as “deeply concerning.”
The university said Monday that it is “moving quickly to establish additional educational and hazing prevention efforts that can be enhanced during the first weeks of the semester.” Classes begin next Monday.
“We are horrified by these serious allegations against current and former students,” Andrea Dowhower, vice president for Student Affairs, said in a statement. “Criminal activity, including hazing, such as this has no place at our institution, and we will cooperate with law enforcement in any way we can. We will continue to enhance our efforts around health and safety and hazing educational efforts for all our organizations.”
Robert A. Zanolla, 24, of New York; Lars R. Zeepvat, 24, of New Jersey; and Mohammed S. Huraibi, 22, of New Jersey, were described by Sunday as the other primary drug dealers. All five are facing felony drug charges.
The remaining eight are facing misdemeanor drug charges. They include Liam H. Smith, 23, of New York; Michael P. Brogno, 20, of Maryland; Kaden Howe, 22, of New Jersey; Connor D. Hurleigh, 22, of New York; Seth Beardsley, Kyle D. Ridpath, 21, of Delaware County; Daniel P. Price, 21, of Philadelphia; and Charles Wiseman.
None of the 14 appeared to be in jail as of 1 p.m. Monday. Several were arraigned by District Judge Kelley Gillette-Walker, who released them on unsecured bail in amounts ranging from $250,000 to $1.5 million.
Defense attorneys were either not listed or did not immediately respond to inquires from the CDT. Sunday said investigators gathered no evidence that showed cocaine was packaged on campus.
The drug was often dealt between friends and fraternity members during parties or other social engagements, Sunday said. He did not directly answer whether hazing charges could be brought in the future, though the investigation spearheaded by State College police is ongoing.
“I promise you that we will be watching for students who think about going to college, being away from home for the first time and having an opportunity to kind of do what they want,” Sunday said. “They need to understand there are always going to be ramifications for your actions.
“Just because you’re at college and you’re making money and you think that this is something you can get away with, it’s not. It’s extremely serious. Law enforcement takes it extremely seriously and we will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals that decide to deal drugs on college campuses.
It’s believed to be Sunday’s first public appearance in Centre County since he was sworn in as attorney general in January 2025.
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