{"id":324373,"date":"2026-08-18T21:40:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T21:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/324373\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T21:40:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T21:40:19","slug":"penn-state-cocaine-trafficking-ring-agostino-abbatiello-of-westbury-ny-accused-of-being-largest-distributor-in-operation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/324373\/","title":{"rendered":"Penn State cocaine trafficking ring: Agostino Abbatiello of Westbury, NY accused of being largest distributor in operation"},"content":{"rendered":"

WESTBURY, Long Island (WABC) — A 24-year-old Penn State graduate from Westbury is among 14 people indicted in an alleged cocaine distribution operation<\/a> tied to two fraternities at the university, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n

Agostino Abbatiello, who lived on a well-manicured street in Westbury, was identified in a criminal complaint as the largest distributor in the alleged cocaine ring at Penn State.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbbatiello was at the very top of the chain,\u201d the attorney general said.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege that Abbatiello\u2019s former fraternity, Sigma Chi, and Delta Upsilon hosted parties involving drugs and engaged in hazing that included the use of those drugs.<\/p>\n

\"14<\/a><\/p>\n

14 people have been charged in connection with an alleged cocaine trafficking ring tied to Penn State University frats Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi.<\/p>\n

\u201cCutting and bagging cocaine was, for some pledges, an indoctrination into the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternities,\u201d the attorney general said.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the university said, \u201cWe are horrified by these serious allegations,\u201d adding that \u201ccriminal activity, including hazing such as this, has no place at our institution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Investigators allege the drug activity occurred during 2023 and 2024. The investigation resulted in 14 indictments announced Monday, including that of Paul Robinson, a student\u2019s parent and attorney.<\/p>\n

\u201c…Who we allege took steps to conceal evidence including a safe containing drugs and cash,\u201d the attorney general said.<\/p>\n

Also arrested was Robert Zanolla, 24, of Manhasset. Prosecutors allege Zanolla helped move cocaine from New York City.<\/p>\n

When approached at a residence connected to Zanolla, a person at the door responded to questions from Eyewitness News by saying, \u201cYeah I\u2019m not talking.\u201d<\/p>\n

The attorney general said the arrests should serve as a warning to others.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust because you\u2019re at college and you\u2019re making money and you think that this is something you can get away with … it\u2019s not,\u201d the attorney general said.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said the investigation remains ongoing and expressed hope that it will send a message to young adults heading to colleges around the country this week.<\/p>\n

Some neighbors of those charged agreed, saying the case should serve as a wake-up call.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re not in a good place call your parents, call somebody that you love that will help you that\u2019s really what it\u2019s about, it\u2019s unfortunate and I hope these boys are OK and their future\u2019s OK,\u201d said Trish Dessi, a Manhasset resident.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WESTBURY, Long Island (WABC) — A 24-year-old Penn State graduate from Westbury is among 14 people indicted in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[122173,9,11,10],"class_list":["post-324373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-122173","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}