Agostino Abbatiello surrendered Tuesday in the Penn State drug case after missing a scheduled Monday arraignment. A judge then ordered him jailed without bail, turning the case from a charging announcement into immediate custody for one of the central defendants.
Thirteen current and former Penn State students have been charged in the alleged cocaine-trafficking ring. The case reaches beyond one fraternity house, with prosecutors tying the allegations to Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi.
Dave Sunday Charges Abbatiello
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the charges this week against Abbatiello and Lars Zeepvat. Both men face felony corrupt organizations, conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity and other offenses.
The procedural shift matters because Abbatiello did not simply remain at large after the Monday arraignment date passed. He came in Tuesday, and the court responded by keeping him in jail without bail while the charges move forward.
Lars Zeepvat’s Account
Zeepvat said Abbatiello was the largest distributor of cocaine at Penn State from 2023 to 2024. He also said he and Abbatiello were close friends and worked together to distribute drugs.
Zeepvat told investigators he used cocaine when he first went to Penn State and had a source in Philadelphia who supplied him and other fraternity brothers, including Abbatiello. After the Philadelphia source stopped communicating, Zeepvat said he and Abbatiello sought a new supplier. Abbatiello then found a source in his hometown on Long Island who could provide large amounts of cocaine.
Around spring 2023, Abbatiello bought 100 grams of cocaine from the New York source. The grand jury indictment says that after that purchase, he was selling drugs for profit rather than sourcing cocaine for himself and a few friends. It also says he expanded sales beyond the fraternity house to other fraternities and students.
Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi
According to the indictment, Zeepvat told investigators that he and another fraternity brother made three trips to buy large amounts of drugs for Abbatiello, who paid them in cash or discounted cocaine. It also alleges that fraternity brothers or roommates helped cut and package cocaine into smaller amounts for distribution.
One episode in the case adds a more personal layer. Zeepvat said Abbatiello loaned him $1,500 for a spring break trip with other fraternity brothers, and the indictment alleges that when the loan went unpaid, Abbatiello made him deliver cocaine for him.
That account leaves the charges with two tracks at once: a formal accusation of organized drug dealing, and a co-defendant’s statement that friendship, debt and cocaine distribution were intertwined. Abbatiello’s attorney declined to comment Thursday, and Zeepvat’s attorney did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
