00:00More than a dozen frat bros were busted by police for an alleged campus-wide drug ring at Penn State
00:05University.
00:06And authorities say the two ringleaders used fraternity pledges to do their dirty work, like cutting the cocaine.
00:1223-year-old former Penn State student Thomas Robinson, who prosecutors believe was near the top of the cocaine food
00:17chain,
00:18was arrested during a December 2024 raid of his Delta Upsilon fraternity house.
00:23Now, police in State College had their eye on the undergrad after being tipped off by an informant.
00:27According to court docs, this informant told authorities, quote,
00:31a male using the nickname T-Rob was selling a bunch of cocaine on campus,
00:35and specifically name-checked the Delta Upsilon house as being T-Rob's primary place of business.
00:41The most important bit of information this person told cops, however, was this.
00:44T-Rob allegedly accepted payment for his cash of illegal drugs through Venmo, using the name Tom Robinson.
00:52T-Rob, Tom Robinson, Delta Upsilon fraternity house.
00:55Pretty solid leads for police to narrow down a suspect, and narrow one down they did.
01:00Cops ran the name through a database and quickly identified a student by the name of
01:04Thomas Robinson, who had an address at the Delta Upsilon fraternity house.
01:08Now, when authorities got the go-ahead to arrest Robinson, they raided that Delta Upsilon house.
01:14But it didn't go to plan.
01:15Robinson allegedly thought he was being pranked by his fraternity brothers and resisted arrest,
01:20ultimately getting tased in the process.
01:22Now, during a search of his room, police say they found over 8 grams of cocaine,
01:27nearly 8 ounces of marijuana, and more than 200 amphetamine and dextroamphetamine pills.
01:32So think Adderall and other ADHD medications.
01:35Police also say a Kimber 45-caliber handgun was discovered in a safe on top of a mini-fridge.
01:41And this arrest was just the beginning.
01:42Robinson allegedly rolled on his supplier, accusing another student in a different frat,
01:47Agostino Abitiello of Sigma Chi, of Pullin' the Shrinks.
01:51From there, the dominoes just started falling.
01:54Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the charges Monday, calling this,
01:57quote,
01:58a coordinated and highly profitable drug trafficking crew,
02:01which involved senior members of the two fraternities, fraternity brothers, and even pledges.
02:05Some of these pledges, according to prosecutors, were allegedly made to cut and bag cocaine
02:09as part of the pledging process to officially get into the frat.
02:13The evidence showed that cocaine was primarily packaged at the fraternity houses
02:18and that packaging was done by fraternity brothers and oftentimes pledges.
02:23Abitiello, who is now 24, surrendered to police this week to face charges of possession with
02:28intent to deliver cocaine and conspiracy.
02:30Robinson is charged with drug manufacturing and delivery, criminal use of a communication
02:34facility, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
02:39Now, prosecutors say those two were basically the ringleaders, but hardly the only ones involved.
02:44T-Rob's own father, Paul Robinson, who is an attorney in Pittsburgh,
02:48was also charged in connection to the drug ring for allegedly helping to hide evidence.
02:52In total, 14 people have been charged in this Penn State drug ring sting.
02:57Delta Ups lung has been suspended by the university, pending an investigation,
03:01and the VP of Student Affairs said Penn State is horrified by these serious allegations.
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