Five men accused of being part of a cocaine distribution ring at Penn State filed court documents in Centre County, Pennsylvania, signaling plans to fight the charges against them.Agostino Abbatiello, Mohammed Huraibi, Robert Zanolla, Thomas Robinson and Paul Robinson have each indicated they intend to plead not guilty as their cases move forward in Centre County court.The move comes despite testimony detailing kilogram-sized deals and a drug-packaging operation inside a fraternity house, though one of their attorneys warned it would be "foolish" to rush to judgment.The Office of the Court Administrator said the five defendants waived their formal arraignments scheduled for Wednesday and will not appear at the Centre County Courthouse.
Their next court appearance is scheduled for Nov.16 for a pretrial conference.PENN STATE FRAT COCAINE RING SUSPECTS ALLEGEDLY USED CASH APP, SNAPCHAT TO ARRANGE DRUG DEALSAbbatiello, Zanolla and Thomas Robinson requested jury trials on their waiver forms.
Huraibi and Paul Robinson indicated they intend to plead not guilty but did not select either a jury or non-jury trial.Agostino Abbatiello arrives at Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Wednesday, Sept.2, 2026.
Abbatiello is accused of masterminding a cocaine ring at Penn State University.(Kamil Krzaczynski for Fox News Digital)The five are among 14 people charged in the alleged operation, which prosecutors say used fraternity connections to move cocaine into State College before it was packaged and sold to Penn State students.PENN STATE FRAT COCAINE BUST BLOWS LID OFF WIDER STIMULANT SCOURGE HITTING COLLEGE CAMPUSES — AND BEYONDThomas Robinson, a former Delta Upsilon fraternity member, testified that he and Huraibi began buying cocaine from Abbatiello in 2023, starting with about 100 grams for roughly $4,000.Robinson said the cocaine was stored in his fraternity room, where he and Huraibi broke it into half-gram bags and sold them for about $80 each.Thomas Robinson, 2...