{"id":1019841,"date":"2026-08-23T22:33:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T22:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1019841\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T22:33:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T22:33:40","slug":"all-about-the-14-suspects-in-the-alleged-penn-state-cocaine-operation-details","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1019841\/","title":{"rendered":"All about the 14 suspects in the alleged Penn State cocaine operation: details"},"content":{"rendered":"

After news of the alleged Penn State fraternity coke ring<\/a> broke earlier this week, individual complaints released by the Office of the Attorney General in Pennsylvania provide more specifics into each suspect\u2019s alleged involvement.<\/p>\n

Those 14 complaints detail an alleged hierarchy<\/a> within the cocaine-trafficking operation, from accused suppliers and distributors to fraternity members allegedly tasked with weighing, packaging and delivering cocaine.<\/p>\n

Here are the suspects and their alleged roles.<\/p>\n

All defendants are innocent until proven guilty.<\/p>\n

1. Agostino \u201cPablo Pledgescobar\u201d Abbatiello<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alleged position: \u201cTop of food chain\u201d according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n

Hometown: Westbury, New York<\/p>\n

Age: 24<\/p>\n

Agostino Abbatiello. Facebook\/Danielle Abbatiello<\/p>\n

Major: Accounting<\/p>\n

Fraternity: Sigma Chi<\/p>\n

He reportedly made the Dean\u2019s list at the university and \u201chad a passion for numbers and financial storytelling\u201d the\u00a0New York Post<\/a>\u00a0reports. He is facing numerous felony charges.<\/p>\n

2. Thomas Robinson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thomas Robinson. Facebook\/Tom Robinson<\/p>\n

Alleged position: Downstream Logistics\/Distribution<\/p>\n

Hometown:\u00a0Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n

Age: 22<\/p>\n

Major: Human Resources and Management<\/p>\n

Fraternity:\u00a0Delta Upsilon<\/p>\n

Robinson allegedly worked closely with Abbatiello and distributed cocaine from his frat to Penn State students,\u00a0using Snapchat to sell to others. Detectives relied on confidential informants to bust the operation \u2013 an informant who purchased drugs from Robinson blew the operation open. He ultimately gave up his partner in crime \u2013 Abbatiello \u2013 once arrested.<\/p>\n

3. Mohammed Huraibi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mohammed Hurabi. Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General<\/p>\n

Alleged position: Early distributor<\/p>\n

Hometown:\u00a0Secaucus, New Jersey<\/p>\n

Age: 22<\/p>\n

Major: Accounting\/Finance<\/p>\n

Fraternity: Delta Upsilon<\/p>\n

According to court documents, he introduced Robinson to Abbatiello. Hurabi and Robinson initially split the cost on bulk cocaine purchases before Hurabi attempted to buy out of the partnership in late 2023. Despite stepping back from the bulk operation, he allegedly continued selling drugs to someone at another fraternity.<\/p>\n

4. Lars Zeepvat<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lars Zeepvat. Instagram\/Lars Zeepvat<\/p>\n

Alleged position: Business partner to Abbatiello and distributor<\/p>\n

Hometown: Mendham, New Jersey<\/p>\n

Age: 24<\/p>\n

Major: Accounting<\/p>\n

Fraternity: Sigma Chi<\/p>\n

Zeepvat and Abbatiello were \u201cclose friends\u201d investigators say. Court documents say, \u201cZeepvat explained that he was a cocaine user and when he first came to Penn State, he had a source for cocaine in Philadelphia.\u201d He would use the source to obtain the drug.<\/p>\n

5. Robert Zanolla<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert Zanolla. Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General<\/p>\n

Alleged position: Suspected of moving cocaine from New York City<\/p>\n

Hometown: Manhasset, New York<\/p>\n

Age: 24<\/p>\n

Major: Unlisted<\/p>\n

Fraternity: Sigma Chi<\/p>\n

Allegedly worked closely with Zeepvat to make trips to the city to pick the drug up and bring it back to the State College area. Abbatiello offered to pay Zanolla to do it. The duo reportedly made three trips to purchase cocaine for Abbatiello.<\/p>\n

6. Paul Robinson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul Robinson, the father of one of the students charged with helping to conceal evidence, on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General<\/p>\n

Alleged position: Helped son conceal evidence<\/p>\n

Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n

Age: 59<\/p>\n

Connection: Father to Thomas Robinson<\/a>, is accused of concealing said evidence by his alleged possession of a safe containing coke and cash from his son\u2019s alleged dealings.<\/p>\n

7. Michael Brogno Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alleged position: Packaging coke as a pledge.<\/p>\n

Hometown: Ellicott City, Maryland<\/p>\n

Age: 20<\/p>\n

Major: Finance<\/p>\n

Fraternity: Delta Upsilon<\/p>\n

Documents say Brogno packaged and delivered cocaine at Robinson\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n

Many in the alleged Penn State coke ring belonged to the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternities. SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images<\/p>\n

8. Kaden Howe<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alleged position: Delivery help<\/p>\n

Hometown: Monmouth Court, New Jersey<\/p>\n

Age: 22<\/p>\n

Major: Energy Engineering<\/p>\n

Fraternity: Acacia<\/p>\n

Facing misdemeanor charges for allegedly purchasing\/delivering cocaine from Robinson and Huraibi.<\/p>\n

9. Connor Hurleigh<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alleged position: Packaging and delivery support<\/p>\n

Hometown: Oakdale, New York<\/p>\n

Age: 22<\/p>\n

Major: Unlisted<\/p>\n

Fraternity: Delta Upsilon<\/p>\n

Complaint alleges he purchased cocaine from Robinson and assisted with packaging and delivery.<\/p>\n

10. Seth Beardsley<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alleged position: Packaging support<\/p>\n

Hometown: Mechanicsburgh, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n

Age: 20<\/p>\n

Major: Supply Chain Information Systems<\/p>\n

Fraternity: Delta Upsilon<\/p>\n

Beardsley is facing misdemeanor drug charges for allegedly packaging cocaine and using a digital scale under Robinson\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n

Seth Beardsley is seen in an undated Instagram photo. He was charged with a misdemeanor in the Penn State cocaine bust. Instagram\/Seth Beardsley<\/p>\n

11. Daniel Price<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alleged position: Packaging support<\/p>\n

Hometown: Media, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n

Daniel Price is seen in an undated Instagram photo. He was charged with a misdemeanor in the Penn State cocaine bust. Instagram\/Danny Price<\/p>\n

Age: 21<\/p>\n

Major: [Unlisted]<\/p>\n

Fraternity: Delta Upsilon<\/p>\n

Price is facing misdemeanor charges.<\/p>\n

Kyle Ridpath is seen in a photo posted to Instagram on May 12, 2026. He was charged with a misdemeanor in the Penn State cocaine bust. Instagram\/Kyle Ridpath<\/p>\n

12. Kyle Ridpath<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alleged position: Packaging help<\/p>\n

Hometown: Media, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n

Age: 21<\/p>\n

Major: [Unlisted]<\/p>\n

Fraternity: Delta Upsilon<\/p>\n

Ridpath is facing misdemeanor charges.<\/p>\n

13. Liam Smith<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alleged position: Purchaser\/Packaging support<\/p>\n

Hometown: Garden City, New Jersey<\/p>\n

Age: 23<\/p>\n

Major: Unlisted<\/p>\n

Fraternity: Court filings do not explicitly specify a formal fraternity affiliation for Smith.<\/p>\n

Smith reportedly bought cocaine from Abbatiello while the pair were roommates \u201con at least ten occasions\u201d court documents say. He also helped to package the drug five different times. He is facing misdemeanor charges.<\/p>\n

The Delta Upsilon Fraternity House at Penn State. Google Maps<\/p>\n

14. Charlie Weisman<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alleged position: Packaging assistance<\/p>\n

Hometown: Mount Airy, Maryland<\/p>\n

Age: 20<\/p>\n

Major: Chemical Engineering<\/p>\n

Charles Wiseman, left, and Seth Beardsley, right, are seen in a photo posted to Instagram on May 6, 2026. Both were charged with a misdemeanor in the Penn State cocaine bust. Instagram\/Charlie Wiseman<\/p>\n

Fraternity: Delta Upsilon<\/p>\n

Weisman reportedly helped Robison by packaging coke in baggies and using a digital scale to weigh the drug. He is facing misdemeanor charges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After news of the alleged Penn State fraternity coke ring broke earlier this week, individual complaints released by…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1019842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[79726,149576,51,50,5835,52,1154],"class_list":["post-1019841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-cocaine","tag-fraternity","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-penn-state","tag-top-stories","tag-us-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117147206074758464","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1019841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1019842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1019841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1019841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1019841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}