SECAUCUS, NJ — A Secaucus college student is accused of running a cocaine ring at Penn State University, said Pennsylvania state Attorney General Dave Sunday.
Mohammed Huraibi, 22, who was raised in Secaucus, was arrested Monday along with 13 other people, nearly all of them Penn State college students.
Huraibi is a student at Penn State. His LinkedIn account shows he started at Penn State in 2022 and expected to graduate in 2027. He is studying for a degree in finance. He attended Secaucus High School for just one year, from 2018 - 2019, before switching to Bergen Catholic, which he graduated from in May 2022. Bergen Catholic is an all-boys prep school located in Oradell.
The fourteenth person charged was one of the student's fathers, a lawyer from the Pittsburgh area. State prosecutors say he helped his son hide evidence of the drugs once law enforcement started investigating.
In 2023 and 2024, four college students, one of which was Huraibi, ran the drug ring out of two frat houses on the Penn State campus, Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi.
Two of the frat brothers, Agostino Abbatiello, 24, of Westbury, Long Island and Thomas Robinson, 23, from Churchill, PA, a town outside of Pittsburgh, would make regular trips to New York City and Philadelphia "for large quantities of cocaine," said the Attorney General, which they would then bring back to campus.
The cocaine was then cut and packaged at the two frat houses, and sold mainly to Penn State University students. The frat brothers accepted cash payments and Venmo.
Abbatiello was a member of Sigma Chi, and Robinson was a member of Delta Upsilon.
"In fact, according to the evidence uncovered, cutting and packaging cocaine was, for some pledges, an indoctrination into the fraternities," said Attorney General Sunday.
Thirteen of them, including Huraibi, were arrested and arraigned Monday, and that's when their booking photos were taken; see above. All except for one: Abbatiello, of Long Island and the drug ring's alleged leader, failed to appear Monday morning for his scheduled arraignment. He was considered a fugitive until he did surrender Tuesday morning. A judge let all 13 out on bail except for Abbatiello. He is currently being held in jail without bail.
Four of the college students were charged with the most serious criminal charges, and one of those four is Huraibi.
He, Abbatiello, Robinson and Lars Zeepvat, 24, of Mendham, NJ were charged with felony crimes: Running a felony corrupt organization, conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity and related offenses.
Robinson's father, Paul Robinson, 59, is charged with felony crimes as well; he is the one police say tried to help his son hide evidence of the drugs. Paul Robinson is charged with felony tampering, hindering apprehension for taking steps to conceal evidence, including a safe containing drugs and cash and obstructing the investigation.
The father is a managing attorney at a Pittsburgh-based law firm. Robinson is an equity member of Meyer, Darragh, Buckler, Bebenek & Eck, PLLC, a major law firm headquartered in the U.S. Steel Tower, according to a local newspaper in Churchill, PA.
Huraibi and Zeepvat were each released on a $500,000 unsecured bail, NJ.com reported.
Huraibi is next due back in court in Pennsylvania on Sept. 2. He is represented by Matthew Fogal, a Chambersburg-based defense attorney, reported NJ.com.
A fifth Penn State student, Robert Zanolla, is charged with felony conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility and related misdemeanors.
The eight other Penn State students who were arrested were charged with misdemeanor counts of possession and paraphernalia. They are Liam Smith, Michael Brogno, Kaden Howe, Connor Hurleigh, Seth Beardsley, Kyle Ridpath, Daniel Price and Charles Wiseman.
A total of three people from New Jersey were involved in the alleged ring: Huraibi of Secaucus and Zeepvat of Mendham are criminally charged as ring leaders, and Howe of Monmouth Junction in South Brunswick is accused of buying the cocaine from them.
"This was a coordinated and highly-profitable drug-trafficking crew revolving around two senior members of the fraternities, other fraternity brothers and pledges," Attorney General Sunday said.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General announced the arrests here on Monday of this week. The case is being prosecuted by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General's Drug Strike Force Section.
Law enforcement used a variety of tactics to track the ring, including observing how the cocaine was obtained, packaged and sold. Most of the payments were made in cash or via payment apps.
Law enforcement started investing the alleged drug ring when an informant told them that "a male, using the nickname 'T-Rob' is selling large amounts of cocaine from the Delta Upsilon fraternity house," according to court documents seen by NBC News.
He used his Venmo account, named "Tom-Robinson," to accept payments for the drugs, said prosecutors.
From the Mendham-Chester Patch: Mendham Man Charged In College Frat Cocaine Ring, AG Says
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