Nerdy Penn State accounting major who allegedly ran fraternity cocaine ring as ‘The Godfather’ is released on $250,000 bond

“I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO BE POPULAR ON THIS CAMPUS”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, PROSECUTORS SAY AGOSTINO ABBATIELLO RAN A COCAINE OPERATION OUT OF PENN STATE FRATERNITY HOUSES TO GAIN INFLUENCE… AND THE FORMER DEAN’S LIST STUDENT NOW FACES A SLEW OF CRIMINAL CHARGES AFTER SPENDING A WEEK LOCKED UP WITHOUT BAIL.

Agostino Abbatiello was once known as a nerdy student from Long Island.

He wore unstylish glasses, according to past photographs.

He dressed in ill-fitting suits.

He wore his hair in a bouffant style.

He studied accounting at Penn State.

He earned grades high enough to place him on the dean’s list.

In the fall of 2021, Abbatiello rushed the Sigma Chi fraternity as a sophomore.

His friend and alleged accomplice, Lars Zeepvat, shared details about those beginnings during testimony Wednesday.

The hearing took place at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

According to Zeepvat, the pursuit of status quickly drove Abbatiello into illicit business.

The frat boy accused of being the ringleader of the operation started dealing drugs to become popular, according to testimony.

The alleged transformation turned him from a Long Island kid into a campus party king known as “The Godfather.”

Abbatiello was twenty-four years old when he appeared in court for his preliminary hearing.

His alleged dealing began on a smaller scale alongside peers.

Zeepvat testified that the pair and two other friends soon began driving to Philadelphia to score cocaine.

By their junior year, the group had begun selling the drug.

Zeepvat said that they both used drugs themselves while selling bags for $60 to $120.

Zeepvat admitted in court that he struggled with his own cocaine problem.

“Auggie was a way that I could use cocaine,” Zeepvat said.

And then Abbatiello made his first major purchase of the drug in the spring of 2023.

“I saw a difference in Auggie,” Zeepvat testified.

“He started selling for money,” Zeepvat said.

“And he started selling for popularity,” Zeepvat told the court.

Abbatiello started buying larger quantities from a dealer known as “RJ.”

Abbatiello knew RJ from high school back on Long Island.

The supplier provided a massive haul that earned Abbatiello praise from the party crowd, according to Zeepvat.

“First time he purchased from RJ it was the most we’ve ever seen and it was 100 grams,” Zeepvat said.

“People were enamored with how much it was,” he told the court.

The shipment immediately made its way into fraternity life.

“Augustino brought back the coke the first time he went to New York and put it on the social room [at the] frat house,” Zeepvat testified.

At the end of his junior year, Abbatiello moved into an apartment.

That pad quickly became a drug den, Zeepvat said.

“Auggie’s apartment was known as the afters party,” Zeepvat told the court.

“We would go there and he would put a bag on the table and people would do free cocaine,” Zeepvat said.

Abbatiello allegedly gave away piles of free cocaine at afterparties.

He hosted gatherings of between three and 12 people at the apartment.

Zeepvat said Abbatiello would sometimes charge for a line, depending on his relationship to the person.

By senior year, the cocaine-snorting accounting student began dealing much larger amounts, Zeepvat testified.

Abbatiello blew cash on a completely new wardrobe.

He bought a $5,000 bong, according to court testimony.

He gambled up to $10,000 at a time, Zeepvat said.

He became widely recognized across campus as a major dealer.

Students nicknamed him “The Godfather,” after the famous mob movie.

Yet authorities were uncovering a much wider network operating through the university Greek system.

Investigators discovered that members of the Penn State fraternities Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon reportedly coordinated with cocaine suppliers in New York and Philadelphia.

Thirteen fraternity brothers were busted for running the cocaine trafficking ring, according to prosecutors.

Young pledges were forced to cut and bag the drugs, prosecutors alleged.

The packaged drugs were then peddled to students, according to prosecutors.

Abbatiello and other members of the ring now face a slew of criminal charges.

His primary residence is a home in Westbury, New York.

Abbatiello was locked up without bail for a week after failing to turn himself in when prosecutors wanted.

On Wednesday, Abbatiello was released on a $250,000 secured bond.

He had spent the preceding week in custody.

He walked out after the secured bond was posted.

The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.