The alleged ringleader of the Penn State drug trafficking ring has filed an emergency motion seeking to overturn the denial of bail and continue the preliminary hearing on September 2, per court documents.

Agostino Abbatiello, a former Penn State student and Sigma Chi fraternity member, is alleged to have led the large-scale cocaine trafficking ring and received more than $123,500 in drug payments, according to the grand jury presentment.

Abbatiello was denied bail on August 18 by District Judge Kelley Gillette-Walker. Gillette-Walker cited “flight risk; serious allegations of drug use/sales=danger to public” as reasons for denying bail, per the court docket.

Abbatiello’s attorney, Philip Masorti, challenged the denial of bail on August 31, declaring it unconstitutional and
comparing the 13 other defendants’ situations to Abbatiello’s.

In an 88-page document, Masorti said Abbatiello is being “unlawfully held” at the Centre County Correctional Facility because the Pennsylvania Constitution grants defendants the right to bail unless certain exceptions apply. Masorti added that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution establishes the presumption of innocence.

Masorti also questioned Gillette-Walker’s determination that Abbatiello is a danger to the public.

“[Abbatiello] has no criminal record, no history of flight, and, after a two-year investigation, the motion states that law enforcement never asserted that he used violence, threatened violence, or was seen with a weapon,” Masorti said in a statement.

The document notes that Abbatiello traveled from Boca Raton, Florida, to State College, Pennsylvania, and turned himself in to authorities on August 18 without trouble.

Masorti also pointed out that Thomas Robinson — another alleged leader of the cocaine trafficking ring — posted a $150,000 monetary bail shortly after his arrest, despite threatening law enforcement while being detained and having a loaded 9mm handgun.

The motion requests a continuance of the September 2 hearing until after October 14, 2026, should the court set bail.

A Centre County Court will address the motion at Abbatiello’s scheduled hearing, according to a September 1 court order.

Abbatiello was one of 13 former and current Penn State students charged on Monday for a drug trafficking ring that allegedly operated out of the off-campus houses of Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi.

According to Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, the operation ran throughout 2023 and 2024 and involved cocaine being transported in large quantities from Philadelphia and New York to State College, where it was allegedly packaged and distributed.

Authorities allege Abbatiello was at the center of the operation. A witness who testified against Abbatiello called him “the largest dealer of cocaine for Penn State University students.”