Prosecutors allege that Penn State fraternity brothers made pledges package drugs as part of an “indoctrination” ritual.
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Thirteen current or former Pennsylvania State University students were charged with offenses related to a cocaine-trafficking operation allegedly run out of two fraternity houses in 2023 and 2024, according to a news release from Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday.
Prosecutors allege that Agostino Abbatiello and Thomas Robinson, who were students at the time, led the “coordinated and highly profitable” enterprise. They and two others—Mohammed Hurabi and Lars Zeepvat—were charged with violating Pennsylvania’s felony racketeering and controlled substance laws and other related offenses. Another classmate, Robert Zanolla, was charged with felony conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility; eight others were charged with related misdemeanors, according to an update from Sunday’s office.
“This was a coordinated and highly-profitable drug-trafficking crew revolving around two senior members of the fraternities, other fraternity brothers, and pledges,” Sunday said in a statement. “In fact, according to the evidence uncovered, cutting and packaging cocaine was, for some pledges, an indoctrination into the fraternities.”
