Penn State fraternity cocaine ring criminal case
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Penn State fraternity cocaine bust reveals wider stimulant scourge on college campuses
Catherine Arbogast said young people are looking for stronger stimulants on and off campus.
Investigators said fraternity pledges were allegedly coerced to cut and pack cocaine as part of initiation rituals.
Agostino Abbatiello posted a $250,000 bail and was released from jail on Sept. 2.
Penn State fraternity cocaine trafficking testimony
The five defendants at the preliminary hearings were Agostino Abbatiello, Mohammed Huraibi, Paul Robinson, Thomas Robinson, and Robert Zanolla.
Prosecutors allege cocaine was brought to State College from Philadelphia, New York, and Long Island before being sold to Penn State students.
Lars Zeepvat, a former Sigma Chi member, testified that Abbatiello's alleged drug sales grew out of personal cocaine use.
Penn State fraternity members charged in connection with off-campus cocaine ring
Prosecutors identified Agostino Abbatiello as the "top of food chain" in the operation.
Fourteen complaints describe an alleged hierarchy within the cocaine-trafficking operation spanning suppliers, distributors, and fraternity members tasked with weighing, packaging, and delivering drugs.
Thomas Robinson is accused of distributing cocaine from his fraternity to Penn State students and using Snapchat for sales.
“Zeepvat explained that he was a cocaine user and when he first came to Penn State, he had a source for cocaine in Philadelphia.”