AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Next week, students will be returning to class at Pennsylvania State University. That's following arrests this week of 13 current and former Penn State students and one of their parents in a cocaine trafficking ring. Pennsylvania's attorney general says State College police and a grand jury are investigating the crimes, which allegedly took place at two fraternity houses. Sydney Roach, a reporter at member station WPSU in State College, Pennsylvania, joins us now. Hi, Sydney.
SYDNEY ROACH, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK, so tell us more about what the state is alleging against these 14 people.
ROACH: Yeah, so there are 14 people total named in the investigation, mostly former students, but some are still enrolled. Dave Sunday, Pennsylvania's attorney general, says these 14 people took part in a large drug trafficking ring in 2023 and 2024. Prosecutors say students regularly brought in large amounts of cocaine - kilos is the term that the AG used - from New York and Philadelphia. That cocaine was then allegedly cut and packaged at two off-campus fraternity houses, those being Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi. Several people are facing felony charges.
CHANG: OK. And so who are the alleged ringleaders in all of this?
ROACH: So Agostino Abbatiello is the main alleged ringleader that prosecutors point to. He turned himself in on Tuesday and was denied bail. Thomas Robinson has since been released, since his bail was set and posted at $1 1/2 million. I'll also note that newly released court documents say the investigation into Thomas Robinson is what started this whole thing. He was allegedly selling to confidential informants and using Venmo for payments.
The only nonstudent in this investigation is Paul Robinson, that's the father of Thomas Robinson, one of the alleged ringleaders I just mentioned. Paul Robinson is an attorney in Pittsburgh, and he's accused of trying to hinder the investigation and even hide evidence. No one has entered a plea yet. Preliminary hearings are scheduled to start in early September. I have reached out to the attorneys for Abbatiello and Paul Robinson for comment, but I haven't heard back yet.
CHANG: Well, like we said, classes start back up next week. I am wondering - what message are investigators sending to families with students returning to campus?
ROACH: Yeah. In his press conference on Monday, Attorney General Dave Sunday says that concerned families should know that every city and every state deals with drug issues, not just Penn State, but he also said he had this message for students.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
DAVE SUNDAY: 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.
ROACH: AG Sunday says pledges at the two fraternities helped package cocaine, but he declined to say if investigators are pursuing hazing charges.
CHANG: Well, I mean, Penn State does have a history of some serious hazing...
ROACH: Yeah.
CHANG: ...Including a student death, right? How is the university handling this right now?
ROACH: Penn State said they immediately put Delta Upsilon on interim suspension. Penn State Student Affairs says they're reviewing that organization's processes. But as for Sigma Chi, Penn State says that fraternity was already an unrecognized organization operating outside of the university's oversight. And that's something the university has even warned about in the past. The school says it's trying to quickly improve its education and hazing prevention efforts. I've since asked Penn State for more details on that plan, and I haven't yet heard a response.
CHANG: That is Sydney Roach from WPSU. Thank you, Sydney.
ROACH: Thank you, Ailsa.
CHANG: And we want to note that Penn State University holds the license for WPSU, but the university did not play any role in reporting or editing this conversation.
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