Alleged ringleader in Penn State cocaine trafficking case granted bail

Bellefonte, Pa -- One of the fraternity brothers accused of supplying the alleged cocaine trafficking operation at Penn State was granted bail on Wednesday.

Agostino Abbatiello, 24, who was charged with multiple counts of possession with intent to deliver and conspiracy, had been detained since his arrest in August.

During a hearing on Wednesday, a judge granted him $250,000 bail with terms including that he hand over his passport, stay with his parents, have no contact with witnesses and not use alcohol or drugs, according to ABC Pittsburgh affiliate WTAE. Ahead of the hearing, his attorney argued it was unfair that Abbatiello was initially denied bail when the judge granted release on bail for another of the alleged ringleaders, Thomas Robinson, who is accused of selling cocaine out of his fraternity house.

"Despite the fact that Robinson resisted being detained, had a loaded 9mm handgun in his vehicle, threatened to '---- up' law enforcement, sold cocaine on five separate occasions to confidential informants, and had a handgun in the safe in close proximity to cocaine and other drugs, Magisterial District Judge Kelley Gillette-Walker set Robinson's bail at $150,000 monetary," Abbatiello's attorney wrote in an emergency motion to set bail filed Tuesday.

A different judge, who is overseeing the case, heard Abbatiello's request for bail during Wednesday's hearing in Centre County. More than a dozen people were charged in the alleged cocaine-trafficking operation that prosecutors said involved current and former Penn State students, one parent and two fraternities.

Investigators allege that Abbatiello and Robinson were the main suppliers for the criminal organization, making regular trips to Philadelphia and New York for large quantities of cocaine.

The cocaine was then allegedly cut and packaged -- primarily at the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternity houses -- and distributed mainly to Penn State University students, according to the Pennsylvania attorney general's office.