Grand jury documents reveal new details in Penn State fraternity cocaine trafficking case
Former Penn State student Thomas Robinson auditioned fraternity pledges to take part in an undisclosed task that led to recruiting them for a growing drug-dealing operation, according to newly unsealed grand jury documents released by Centre County.
Court documents revealed that Thomas Robinson, one of the alleged ringleaders in the case, used his status within the Delta Upsilon fraternity to recruit pledges to help with drug trafficking.
Frat brother used position to recruit
Robinson is one of 14 individuals, nearly all former or current Penn State students, who have been charged in connection with the alleged drug dealing operation.
According to the grand jury presentment, Robinson was responsible for all of the cocaine, marijuana and other prescription drugs that moved through the Delta Upsilon fraternity from late 2023 until he was arrested in December 2024.
Testimony from pledges at Delta Upsilon said the 23-year-old "was looked up to by many DU members and was perceived as being a well-respected brother of the fraternity," with him sitting on the executive board and having a "senior status" in the frat.
The court documents reveal that after six controlled purchases by informants, in December 2024, detectives arrested Robinson, who acknowledged his involvement in the operation. When executing a search warrant of his room at Delta Upsilon, paperwork says officers seized $1,906 in cash, 229 Adderall pills, 8.2 grams of cocaine, 224 grams of marijuana, and a Kimber .45 caliber handgun from a safe.
Drug ring began to grow
Robinson testified there was a history of drug abuse, both using and selling, by frat members when he joined in 2022. He said he started to personally use Adderall, marijuana and cocaine, and eventually began to sell.
The grand jury presentments that were filed with the Centre County Clerk of Courts office revealed that Robinson's drug dealing began with selling marijuana before he met Agostino Abbatiello, the alleged ringleader and self-proclaimed "Godfather," who was a brother of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
Robinson admitted to the grand jury that he obtained cocaine from Abbatiello "on numerous occasions," detailing six "larger" transactions that occurred in 2024.
Members and pledges told the grand jury that Robinson's business got larger with them selling outside of fraternities and him recruiting more to help.
How pledges were used in ring
Court paperwork revealed that Robinson allegedly had pledges perform a "steady hand test," and if they passed, they were led to a boiler room in the fraternity house, where they retrieved a locker with goggles, masks, gloves, a digital scale, small baggies and dishes, all of which were set up onto a folding table.
The pledges then cut up a white brick of cocaine, which Robinson allegedly placed on the table, as they mixed creatine into the substance to increase profits. Pledges said the process of preparing a kilogram of cocaine for sale took about two days.
Another frat brother testified some members were worried Robinson's operation was getting too big and he was "exposing" himself and others to being arrested. However, he said, Robinson ignored the warnings.
During preliminary hearing proceedings earlier this month, Abbatiello was released on $250,000 bond following several weeks of being held without bail.
Robinson and Abbatiello, along with other suspects in the case, including Robinson's father, a prominent Pittsburgh attorney, are due back in court in the coming weeks for various proceedings.
