Pennsylvania AG asked whether Penn State could face action over alleged fraternity drug ring
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday addressed whether his office would take action against Penn State after authorities uncovered an alleged cocaine trafficking ring running through the university’s fraternities.
Authorities said about 1 kilogram of cocaine moved through the drug operation every other month as part of what Sunday described at a news conference as an "upper-level trafficking organization."
"This was a very sophisticated endeavor. This wasn't just a couple kids at college who were sharing drugs with each other," Sunday told "The Story" Wednesday.
"It was a lot of drugs, and it was done in a very serious and very sophisticated manner," the attorney general added.
Fourteen individuals, including current and former Penn State students, face felony or misdemeanor charges stemming from alleged illicit activity between 2023 and 2024.
Prosecutors identified Agostino Abbatiello, 24, and Thomas Robinson, 23, as the suspected ringleaders. The alleged drug kingpins reportedly made regular trips to Philadelphia and New York to pick up "large quantities" of powder cocaine, arranged drug deals via Snapchat and accepted payments through Venmo.
"As the attorney general, obviously I have a lot of concern when you have organizations like this that run for as long as it did," Sunday told Fox News.
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The attorney general said pledges at the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternities were allegedly instructed to cut and package cocaine as part of their initiation, pointing to peer pressure as a factor in their involvement.
"When you're young … and this isn't an excuse, but, peer pressure is one of the most powerful forms of motivation in the world," Sunday said. "And there's a lot of peer pressure that was involved here."
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Penn State said it is "horrified" by the accusations and placed Delta Upsilon on interim suspension. The university does not recognize Sigma Chi as an organization because the fraternity operates outside of the university’s oversight.
The allegations come nearly a decade after another fraternity-related case brought national scrutiny to Penn State. In 2017, 19-year-old Tim Piazza died after being served excessive quantities of alcohol during a hazing incident at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum asked Sunday whether his office would take action against Penn State in light of the alleged cocaine drug ring and the university’s history of fraternity-related incidents.
"My hope is that Penn State will take the appropriate actions under these circumstances," the attorney general said.
"Up to this point, the university has been very open to collaboration," he continued. "And that is my hope and belief moving forward, that maybe we can help remedy some of these issues collectively and collaboratively together."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Penn State said it is "fully committed" to cooperating with law enforcement in "any way we can" while maintaining that Sigma Chi, one of the two fraternities involved in the ring, is unrecognized by the university.
"We are grateful the authorities have found those responsible for these actions, and, as noted previously, Penn State is fully committed to cooperating with law enforcement in any way we can," the statement reads in part. "As soon as the University became aware of these serious charges involving two off-campus fraternities, we immediately placed Delta Upsilon on interim suspension while our Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response investigates. In addition, we also will address these allegations through the individual student conduct process for current students.
"The Sigma Chi chapter is not a recognized organization and operates outside of the University's support and oversight, however, the national headquarters of Sigma Chi continues to recognize and support the chapter in State College."