Five defendants in the alleged cocaine trafficking ring at Penn State say they plan to plead not guilty and waived their formal arraignments scheduled for Wednesday.
Agostino Abbatiello, Mohammed Huraibi, Robert Zanolla, Thomas Robinson and Paul Robinson will be back in court on November 16 for a pretrial conference. Both of the alleged ringleaders, Abbatiello and Thomas Robinson, are requesting a jury trial.
Abbatiello's lawyer said in a court filing they're seeking a speedy trial.
"The continued pendency of these serious criminal charges has imposed substantial stress and hardship upon the Defendant and his family, circumstances that have been further aggravated by the extensive, and, at times, excessive public and media attention surrounding this prosecution," wrote Philip Masorti.
Thirteen former Penn State students and one of their parents were arrested last month before the start of the current fall semester. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said cocaine packaging and sales allegedly happened at two off-campus fraternity houses, Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi, from 2023 to 2024.
None of the defendants are currently in jail. Abbatiello was released earlier this month on $250,000 secured bail, with certain conditions, including having to live with his parents, avoid contact with any witnesses, avoid consuming drugs or alcohol and have his attorney keep his passport.
