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Who is Paul Robinson? Penn State cocaine case puts lawyer father accused of hiding evidence in focus
Paul Robinson faces felony charges after prosecutors accused him of helping conceal drugs and cash in the Penn State drug ring case.
Paul Robinson, father of an alleged ringleader in a Penn State University drug ring investigation, has been charged with helping conceal evidence connected to the case. Paul faces felony charges of tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension.
Prosecutors alleged that he hid a safe containing drugs and cash linked to an alleged drug operation that operated out of the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternities at Penn State.
Authorities charged 14 current and former students in connection with the alleged cocaine trafficking network. Robinson is the only person charged who is not a current or former Penn State student, according to investigators.
His son, Thomas Robinson, is among those accused of leading the operation along with Agostino Abbatiello, a Sigma Chi fraternity member. Prosecutors said the group allegedly coordinated cocaine distribution among students and worked with suppliers in New York and Philadelphia.
Who is Paul Robinson?
According to his LinkedIn, Paul Robinson is a Pennsylvania-based lawyer who specializes in transportation, commercial, construction, and insurance law. He is a managing attorney at Meyer, Darragh, Buckler, Bebenek & Eck, a Pittsburgh law firm.
According to his professional profile, Robinson earned his bachelor’s degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Robinson then earned his law degree from New England School of Law in 1992. He is licensed to practise law in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Robinson participated in fraternal organizations while in college before he became a lawyer. His LinkedIn profile states that he served as treasurer of Delta Sigma Phi during his undergraduate years and was a member of Phi Alpha Delta while studying law.
According to the New York Post, the law firm confirmed that it was aware of the charges against Robinson but said the allegations were personal and unrelated to the company. “The allegations concern Mr. Robinson individually and do not involve the Firm, its clients, or the legal services provided by the Firm,” the firm said in a statement.
Robinson hails from a family that owns an electrical contracting company in New Castle, Pennsylvania.
According to public records, he and his wife, Laura Nee, purchased a four-bedroom house in a mountainous, wooded neighborhood of Churchill, Pennsylvania, a Pittsburgh suburb, in 1998.
Robinson and his family have not publicly commented on the allegations. KDKA-TV reported that a person at the family’s home declined to comment when approached by reporters.
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Allegations against his son Thomas Robinson
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the charges against the alleged drug network on Tuesday. He described it as a coordinated cocaine trafficking operation involving fraternity members and former students.
Investigators have alleged that cocaine was “cut and packaged” at the Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi fraternity houses before being distributed mainly to other students at Penn State. Authorities said fraternity pledges were also involved in preparing cocaine packages.
Thomas Robinson, who is Paul's middle child, attended Penn State to study human resources and management, according to his LinkedIn profile. According to court documents, he was detained in December 2024 on suspicion of selling drugs; the case is still pending.
Thomas stated that he purchased the drugs from Agostino Abatiello, a fellow Penn State student and member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, who Attorney General Sunday characterized as being at "the very top of the chain."
Additionally, Abbatiello and Thomas are accused by investigators of routinely traveling from State College to Philadelphia and New York City in order to obtain huge amounts of cocaine.
According to the attorney general's office, Abatiello, 24, surrendered to authorities and was arraigned on Tuesday after failing to show up for a scheduled Monday morning arraignment. He was then ordered to be jailed without bond.
