All articles tagged with #fraternity
An 18-year-old Cal State Fullerton student died after being dropped off at Providence St. Jude Medical Center following an off-campus fraternity function unaffiliated with the university; police say alcohol appeared to be a factor and the cause and manner of death are under investigation, with CSUF offering counseling to students.
Witnesses testified that a Penn State–linked cocaine operation ran through campus fraternities, growing from 100-gram purchases to kilogram loads; Agostino Abbatiello is described as the alleged ringleader, with pledges helping package and deliver drugs as prosecutors outline a network spanning Philadelphia and New York into State College. Fourteen people are charged and Abbatiello has been granted bail as the hearings proceed.
Agostino Abbatiello, a 24-year-old Penn State student and Sigma Chi member from Long Island, allegedly led a campus cocaine operation that expanded from afterparties to selling to students, earning him the nickname “The Godfather.” Testimony describes him buying large quantities, spending on clothes and a $5,000 bong, and hosting gatherings where free coke was shared. By junior year he reportedly moved to bigger trafficking and a sprawling network involving other frat brothers; prosecutors say 13 fraternity members were busted in connection with the ring, which allegedly sourced cocaine from New York and Philadelphia. Abbatiello was released on $250,000 bond after a week in jail following a preliminary hearing in Centre County Court, with charges tied to the cocaine distribution at Penn State fraternities Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon.
A Centre County judge set bail at $250,000 for Agostino Abbatiello, the 24-year-old alleged ringleader of a Penn State cocaine-trafficking operation tied to the Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon fraternities. Prosecutors say he was the main supplier, moving kilos of cocaine to fraternity members and recruiting pledges as couriers; 13 co-defendants were arrested and testified at his bail hearing. Abbatiello, a Penn State graduate who previously worked as a Boca Raton financial adviser, appeared in Bellefonte and has not yet posted bail, with plans to live with his parents on Long Island while the case proceeds.
Fourteen people, including current and former Penn State students from Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon, were charged in an off-campus cocaine distribution operation that used Snapchat and cash apps to move drugs to students. Authorities describe a clear hierarchy from suppliers to distributors and delivery, with Agostino Abbatiello allegedly leading the scheme. Others named include Thomas Robinson, Mohammed Huraibi, Lars Zeepvat, Robert Zanolla, Kaden Howe, Connor Hurleigh, Seth Beardsley, Daniel Price, Kyle Ridpath, Liam Smith, and Charlie Weisman. An informant helped expose the operation, which allegedly involved packaging and distributing cocaine from fraternity houses to Penn State students. The case is being pursued by the Pennsylvania Attorney General.
The New York Post reports that the father-and-son duo at the center of a Penn State Delta Upsilon frat house cocaine operation had prior run-ins with the law, including the son’s 2024 vandalism and drug-dealing allegations and the father’s 2024 DUI; the elder is now charged with felony tampering and hindering and concealing evidence in the cocaine investigation, highlighting a broader pattern of legal troubles surrounding the case.
Penn State student Agostino Abbatiello, 24, nicknamed 'Pablo Pledgescobar,' is at the center of a 14-defendant case alleging he ran a cocaine distribution ring involving Penn State fraternity members; prosecutors say he coordinated cocaine deliveries, used Venmo to collect payments, and boasted about earnings, with associates including a Delta Upsilon member and his father who allegedly helped conceal evidence. Abbatiello surrendered and was ordered held without bail as the investigation continues.
Thomas Robinson, a Penn State Delta Upsilon member, mistook his own arrest for a prank, and the ensuing investigation exposed him as a leading figure in a cocaine trafficking network that has charged 13 other people, including his father.
Seven Phi Kappa Psi members at Indiana University have been charged with two counts of hazing after an October incident that allegedly forced pledges to perform hours of push-ups, leg lifts, and squats before an ice bath; two pledges were hospitalized with suspected rhabdomyolysis. The chapter president, Arjunkumar Patel, also faces obstruction of justice in addition to hazing charges, and several other leaders were charged as part of the New Member Committee. IU says the allegations conflict with university values and the fraternity remains on cease-and-desist.
A U.S. Secret Service agent and two accomplices were arrested in Miami on felony hazing charges tied to a four-day initiation at the Miami chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi. Investigators say beatings with canes and paddles over multiple days left two victims hospitalized with severe injuries, including kidney damage and skin grafts; one victim’s condition was described as potentially fatal. The incident began April 1 near Florida International University and escalated before ending, with prosecutors accusing the defendants of hazing with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery. The agent, Marquez Pinder, was a dean of pledges and FIU graduate, and the Secret Service said misconduct would be addressed through the judiciary process.
Miami-Dade prosecutors say Secret Service agent Marquez Christopher Pinder led a brutal Kappa Alpha Psi hazing that left a University of Miami student with kidney injuries. Pinder posted a $75,000 bond and is under total lockdown house arrest, with two co-defendants also facing bonds. The hazing involved paddles and canes and occurred April 1–4 at multiple locations, triggering a police investigation after a pledge was hospitalized. The Secret Service says it is cooperating and will address misconduct as the judicial process proceeds.
A U.S. Secret Service agent, Marquez Pinder, is among three people charged in Florida with hazing, attempted manslaughter and aggravated battery after a four-day, off-campus hazing at the University of Miami tied to the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. One victim faced potential kidney failure and required surgery; another was hospitalized. Pinder, the fraternity’s dean of pledges at UM’s Coral Gables campus, is on administrative leave. Bond was set at $75,000 with house arrest and a GPS tracker as the investigation continues.
A Florida Secret Service agent and two others were arrested on charges including attempted manslaughter with a deadly weapon for a multi-day fraternity hazing at the University of Miami that left a victim with kidney failure and severe injuries; hazing involved beatings with canes and paddles from April 1–4, the suspects aren’t current students, and the fraternity condemns hazing as investigators continue.
A Miami-based U.S. Secret Service agent and two others were arrested in Sweetwater after two hazing beatings left victims hospitalized with severe injuries, including kidney failure. They face charges of attempted manslaughter, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and hazing with a deadly weapon. The incidents occurred April 1 and April 4 and are under investigation by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, and Sweetwater Police. The Secret Service said one of its employees is being investigated, and the agent is on administrative leave; the fraternity involved and the victims’ universities were not disclosed.
An 18-year-old Northern Arizona University student died after attending a fraternity rush event; three Delta Tau Delta leaders were charged with hazing as NAU suspended the fraternity during an internal review. Police say alcohol was consumed at the Friday night event, and investigators are awaiting the medical examiner's determination of the death’s cause.