{"id":8436,"date":"2026-09-09T04:17:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T04:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=8436"},"modified":"2026-09-09T04:17:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T04:17:10","slug":"penn-state-cocaine-scandal-godfathers-upbringing-as-loudmouth-at-19k-private-catholic-school-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=8436","title":{"rendered":"Penn State cocaine scandal \u2018Godfather\u2019s\u2019 upbringing as \u2018loudmouth\u2019 at $19K private Catholic school revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The alleged kingpin of the Penn State drug scandal was a \u201cloudmouth\u201d at the all-boys Catholic school he attended, sources told The Post.<\/p>\n

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Agostino Abbatiello was taught faith, discipline and community at the $19,000-a-year Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York \u2014 but his classmates claim he was already pushing boundaries with his behavior while a teen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could always see him getting in some kind of trouble because he was always on the edge,\u201d a classmate in the same homeroom as Abbatiello, known to pals as \u201cAuggie,\u201d told The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cAuggie was not this innocent boy. He had this group of, like, 10 boys who would hang out in parks after school and go to house parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were rumors some of that crowd were drinking underage, some people had fake IDs, that kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abbatiello, 24, now stands accused of being ringleader of a cocaine dealing operation across two off-campus fraternities at Penn State, where he was allegedly known as \u201cThe Godfather\u201d during his time at the university.<\/p>\n

The news has shocked graduates of the ultra-competitive all-boys Catholic institution where he previously studied, which prides itself on \u201cforming young men of character and purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, away from daily prayers, confession and community volunteer work Abbatiello made a mark before graduating in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a jokester, always looking for attention. He\u2019d go around making noises, calling people names and doing his best to make people laugh when the teacher turned their backs\u201d<\/p>\n

Abbatiello appeared in court last Wednesday where his \u201cvery good friend\u201d Lars Zeepvat, another Penn State graduate charged as part of the same scheme, testified the Long Island native bought large amounts of drugs from a dealer named \u201cRJ\u201d who he knew from high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst time he purchased from RJ it was the most we\u2019ve ever seen and it was 100 grams,\u201d Zeepvat told the Centre County Courthouse. \u201cPeople were enamored with how much it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbbatiello brought back the coke the first time he went to New York and put it on the social room [at the] frat house,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The sources who spoke to The Post said they did not know who \u201cRJ\u201d is. Abbatiello\u2019s lawyer, his parents, Chaminade High School and Penn State did not respond to calls and requests for comment from The Post.<\/p>\n

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A month before Abbatiello turned himself in to Pennsylvania police on August 18, his younger brother, Sebastiano Abbatiello, also found himself in cuffs charged with cocaine possession.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old, who followed his sibling to study at $45,000-a-year Penn State, was found with two grams of cocaine and a rolled-up dollar bill by Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission officers, according to a probable cause affidavit.<\/p>\n

Sebastiano was stopped by waterways conservation officers on Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir when the rental boat he was allegedly operating collided with another and made a loud \u2018bang\u2019, the document states. Cops claimed the 12-person vessel was overloaded.<\/p>\n

Sebastiano\u2019s driver\u2019s license was found in his wallet alongside a plastic baggy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSgt Lauer asked [Sebastiano] what was in the clear plastic baggy found in his wallet, Abbatiello responded \u2018cocaine\u2019,\u201d the affidavit states.<\/p>\n

The officers also claimed they found another empty plastic bag with a white powder residue labeled \u201cstay high\u201d.<\/p>\n

He was charged with misdemeanor counts of operating a boat under the influence, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 14.<\/p>\n

Sebastiano attended the same Catholic school as his brother and graduated in 2024 before heading to Penn State.<\/p>\n

The pair grew up in wealthy Long Island neighborhood Westbury with their parents Mario and Danielle Abbatiello. Their father has owned a paving and construction business since 1984.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI knew he was from a well-off family who lived in a nice neighborhood so I guess it is surprising to people that he has found himself in as much trouble as he is in,\u201d his former classmate said.<\/p>\n

Abbatiello is accused of leading the cocaine operation at Penn State and allegedly started dealing drugs to become \u201cpopular.\u201d<\/p>\n

He gave away free coke at afterparties, blew cash on a new wardrobe and bought \u201ca $5,000 bong\u201d after raking in cash, Zeepvat told court.<\/p>\n

Abbatiello was released Wednesday on a $250,000 secured bond after he was locked up without bail for a week for failing to turn himself in when prosecutors initially required.<\/p>\n

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Agostino Abbatiello was taught faith, discipline and community at the $19,000-a-year Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York \u2014 but his classmates claim he was already pushing boundaries with his behavior while a teen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-long-island"],"yoast_head":"\nPenn State cocaine scandal \u2018Godfather\u2019s\u2019 upbringing as \u2018loudmouth\u2019 at $19K private Catholic school revealed - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=8436\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Penn State cocaine scandal \u2018Godfather\u2019s\u2019 upbringing as \u2018loudmouth\u2019 at $19K private Catholic school revealed - 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