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Penn State Drug Case Defendant’s Law School Admission Withdrawn After $188,000 Scholarship Award

New England Law Boston has withdrawn Thomas Robinson’s admission after he was charged in connection with a large-scale alleged drug trafficking ring centered around two Penn State fraternity houses.

Robinson had been set to attend the law school this fall on a scholarship worth more than $188,000, according to a now-deleted Facebook post from a member of Robinson’s family, obtained by Onward State, that congratulated him on receiving the scholarship.

The former Penn State student and Delta Upsilon member was allegedly one of the drug operations main suppliers and was one step below the drug trafficking rings’ leader, according to Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday.

“New England Law Boston is aware of a law enforcement matter involving an individual who was registered for the fall semester,” the law school said in a statement to Onward State. “The individual has not begun studies at New England Law, and their admission to the law school has been withdrawn.”

Robinson was set to be a J.D. candidate at the law school this fall — the same school where his father, Paul Robinson, earned his J.D. cum laude — according to his LinkedIn profile, which was edited following the charges.

Along with admission to the school, Robinson had been awarded the Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Honors Scholarship, the school’s “highest honor.”

New England Law Boston’s website says the Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Honors Scholarship is given to “incoming law students who show exceptional academic promise.”

Students accepted into the school are automatically considered for the scholarship and upon admission, those who receive the award are automatically enrolled in the Honors Program.

“This highly selective scholarship covers the full cost of tuition during your law school career as long as you remain enrolled in our J.D. program,” the email displayed in the obtained Facebook post read.

The New England Law Boston website does not state how many students receive the Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Honors Scholarship each year, though according to New England Law’s 2025 ABA disclosure, 327 of 1133 total students (29%) received scholarships covering full tuition and mandatory fees during the 2024-25 academic year. The disclosure does not identify those scholarships by name.

Robinson’s inclusion in the drug trafficking case goes back to his arrest in December 2024 when the State College Police Department used confidential informants to purchase cocaine from him.

Per his LinkedIn, Robinson left Penn State in December 2024 and finished his Bachelor’s degree at Colorado State in 2025.

After the arrest, Robinson “cooperated with law enforcement and gave information about his source of illegal narcotics,” according to the grand jury presentment.

This included telling police that Agostino Abbatiello was his source of cocaine at Penn State and detailing multiple purchases from the alleged ringleader of the drug trafficking operation.

His first purchases of cocaine from Abbatiello were for between six and eight ounces, but quickly started buying larger amounts, including two purchases of 1 kilogram of cocaine for over $20,000.

Robinson preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 2.

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About the Author

Collin Ward

Collin is a fourth-year majoring in digital/print journalism. He lives in Basking Ridge, New Jersey and enjoys TAYLOR HAM, egg, and cheese. As a New York Giants and Chelsea FC fan you can normally find him yelling at his TV screen on the weekends. Please follow him on X(formerly Twitter) @wardcollinz for Penn State football stuff. You can email him at [email protected].

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