Students turned drug dealers: How some U.S. fraternities entered the narcotics trade

At parties linked to two Penn State fraternities, half-gram bags of cocaine allegedly passed from hand to hand. Students seeking entry to Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi were expected to cut and package the powder in fraternity houses off campus.

What began as an alleged initiation ritual turned several newcomers into accomplices and made Agostino Abbatiello, a student, the central figure in what prosecutors describe as a major drug operation at Penn State. According to authorities, he obtained large quantities from suppliers in Philadelphia and New York and used several street-level dealers.

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The sale of drugs occurred from one friend to another, from one fraternity member to another, among acquaintances and in fraternity houses and/or during parties or social gatherings.

Abbatiello, 12 other Penn State students and former students, and the father of one of them were charged in mid-August. The 14 defendants face charges including participation in a corrupt organization, conspiracy and handling proceeds from illegal activity. They were arrested in Operation Drugs Unlimited, led by the Pennsylvania attorney general's office and State College police.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said sales took place between friends, fraternity members and acquaintances, in fraternity houses and at parties or social gatherings. “In fact, we found a pattern of events that showed that cutting and bagging cocaine was, for some applicants, the initiation into the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternities,” he said.

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In fact, we found a pattern of events that showed that cutting and bagging cocaine was, for some applicants, the initiation into the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternities.

Authorities say the network operated at least from 2023 through 2024 and that no university employee was involved. Sunday said Abbatiello, 24, and his associates frequently traveled to Philadelphia and New York to buy cocaine, with some of Penn State's 86,000 students among their customers. “There was nothing childish about this conduct. This was a high-level drug trafficking organization in this region of Pennsylvania,” he said.

The operation began to unravel in September 2024, when an informant told police that a student known as “T-Rob” was selling large quantities of cocaine from the Delta Upsilon house. The student, Thomas Robinson, 22, was identified as the alleged second-in-command. Over the next three months, the informant took part in an undercover operation and contacted Robinson through Snapchat.

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There was nothing childish about this conduct. This was a high-level drug trafficking organization in this region of Pennsylvania.