Penn State fraternities linked to cocaine trafficking ring, 14 charged
Pennsylvania authorities say Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternity houses were used to cut and package cocaine, resulting in felony and misdemeanor charges against 14 individuals, including students and a parent.
Pennsylvania Attorney General officials announced Monday that a cocaine trafficking operation involving two Penn State University fraternities led to charges against 14 people. The investigation found that the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternity houses were used to cut and package the drug before it was distributed primarily to other students.
State Attorney General Dave Sunday said the operation was coordinated around two senior fraternity members, other brothers and pledges, and that the cutting and packaging process served as an initiation for some pledges.
Prosecutors identified former students Agostino Abbatiello and Thomas Robinson as the main suppliers, who allegedly made regular trips from Philadelphia and New York to obtain large quantities of cocaine. Thirteen of the defendants were current or recent Penn State students, while the fourteenth, a student's father, faces charges of evidence tampering and obstruction.
The charges include felony counts of corrupt organization, conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, and criminal use of a communication facility, as well as misdemeanor offenses. Specific individuals named in the indictment face various felony and misdemeanor counts.
Penn State responded that Delta Upsilon will be placed on interim suspension and clarified that it does not recognize Sigma Chi as a university-affiliated organization, noting that the latter operates outside campus oversight.