Pittsburgh attorney, student’s dad charged in Penn State frat drug ring

Father and Son Named in Fourteen-Count Cocaine Operation Linked to Penn State Fraternity Houses

Cybersecarmor.com – A Pittsburgh trial lawyer and his son, a former Penn State student, found themselves on opposite sides of a courtroom corridor on Aug. 17 when Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced charges against fourteen individuals tied to a cocaine distribution network that operated out of two fraternity houses on the State College campus. The announcement marked the culmination of a multi-year investigation into drug trafficking that ran through 2023 and 2024, and it placed a practicing member of the Allegheny County bar in the unusual position of being the sole non-student among the accused.

The operation, Sunday explained at a press conference, centered on the cutting and repackaging of substantial quantities of cocaine, work carried out primarily inside the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi chapter houses. The attorney general emphasized that investigators found no indication the packaging took place on university property itself. Instead, the trade moved through informal social channels.

“Largely from friend to friend, fraternity brother to fraternity brother, acquaintance to acquaintance, at fraternity houses or uring parties or social engagements,” Sunday described the pattern of distribution.

He noted that none of the fourteen charged individuals currently hold enrollment at Penn State, underscoring that the network had already wound down by the time charges were filed.

The Father’s Role: Concealment and Obstruction

Paul Robinson, a partner at the Pittsburgh firm Meyer, Darragh, Buckler, Bebenek & Eck, PLLC, was the only person charged who was not a student. Sunday said Robinson went beyond merely benefiting from the operation; he actively worked to shield it from investigators.

“Took steps to conceal evidence, including a safe containing drugs and cash, and obstruct this investigation,” Sunday said of Robinson’s conduct.

Those actions earned him felony counts of tampering and hindering apprehension, charges that carry their own weight in Pennsylvania’s criminal code and that distinguish his case from the drug-dealing counts pressed against the younger men.

The Students’ Charges

At the top of the student hierarchy, Sunday identified Agostino Abbatiello and Thomas M. Robinson — Paul Robinson’s son — as the principal suppliers. The two allegedly made recurring trips to Philadelphia and New York to collect cocaine shipments before bringing them back to State College for processing and onward distribution.

Abbatiello, Thomas Robinson, Mohammed Hurabi, and Lars Zeepvat each faced felony charges of corrupt organizations, conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, and related offenses. Robert Zanolla drew felony conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility counts, along with associated misdemeanors. Eight additional students were charged with misdemeanor possession and paraphernalia counts, reflecting their more peripheral roles in the network.

Thomas Robinson had previously been charged with drug dealing in December 2024, meaning his legal troubles predated the broader Aug. 17 announcement by roughly eight months.

Who Is Paul Robinson?

The attorney’s professional background gives the case a particular resonance in Pittsburgh’s legal community. Robinson earned his bachelor’s degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 1989 and his juris doctor from New England School of Law in 1992. He was admitted to practice in Pennsylvania that same year and in West Virginia in 1993. His bar admissions extend before the United States District Courts for the Western and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

At his firm, his practice spans transportation law, products liability, commercial litigation, construction disputes, and insurance coverage matters. He holds memberships in the Allegheny County Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Defense Institution, the Defense Research Institute, and the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County. He is a life fellow of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and serves as a delegate for Zone 12 of its House of Delegates.

Firm Response

In a brief statement issued to local media, Meyer, Darragh, Buckler, Bebenek & Eck acknowledged awareness of the charges filed against Robinson and drew a clear line between his individual conduct and the firm’s operations.

“The allegations concern Mr. Robinson individually and do not involve the Firm, its clients, or the legal services provided by the Firm,” the statement read. “The Firm is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the matter. Because the criminal proceeding is ongoing, the Firm will not comment on the substance of the allegations or speculate regarding the evidence.”

Broader Implications

The case lands in a period when Pennsylvania’s attorney general’s office has signaled a sustained interest in college-age drug trafficking, particularly where fraternity and sorority houses serve as staging points. The scale of the operation — spanning two years, two Greek-letter chapters, and repeated interstate trips to major metropolitan markets — suggests a level of organization well beyond casual student dealing. The inclusion of a practicing attorney as a co-conspirator, charged specifically for evidence concealment rather than for selling the product, raises questions about how far the protective instincts of a parent can extend before they cross into obstruction territory under state law.

For the State College community, the episode also prompts scrutiny of how fraternity houses function as quasi-private venues where large quantities of controlled substances can be processed with limited visibility from campus authorities. Sunday’s explicit note that no packaging occurred on university property was likely intended to contain the institutional fallout, but the proximity of the operation to student housing and social life on campus ensures the story will remain a fixture of local conversation for months to come.