Brother of Penn State cocaine ring leader charged with drug possession after arrest on boat in Centre County

By MEGAN SWIFT
TribLive

The biological brother of the alleged ringleader in the suspected cocaine trafficking ring out of two Penn State fraternity houses was charged with cocaine possession in July on a pontoon boat in Bald Eagle State Park.

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission officers found Sebastiano Marino Abbatiello, 20, of Westbury, N.Y., was in possession of 2 grams of cocaine, according to an affidavit filed Thursday.

He faces misdemeanor charges of operating a boat under the influence, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, as well as nine summary boating offenses and consumption of alcohol by a minor, according to court documents.

Sebastiano Abbatiello is listed as an undergraduate student at Penn State, according to the student directory.

Two waterways conservation officers were patrolling Foster Joseph Sayers Lake on Friday, July 10. While conducting a vessel stop on another rental pontoon boat near the Rustic Campground Shoreline, the officers “heard an audible bang” from behind them.

A rental pontoon about 20 yards away from the officers made horizontal contact on the port side of another rental pontoon boat, the affidavit said.

The operator behind the helm of what the officers called the “striking vessel” was wearing a blue New York Giants “DeVito” jersey.

“After the impact with the other rental pontoon, I observed multiple people assist the operator wearing the blue Giants jersey away from the helm and into seating located at the stern of the pontoon,” the complaint said. “Another person was seen taking control of the pontoon.”

Both pontoons began traveling toward Winter Launch at Bald Eagle State Park, and the officers traveled after to conduct a vessel stop on the pontoon that had struck the other boat.

During the stop, the rental pontoon, which was supposed to hold 12 people, was found to be “overloaded” — with 14 people on board.

“A strong odor of alcohol beverage was emanating from the rental pontoon,” the complaint said.

The officers conducted a safety inspection with the former operator of the boat in the blue jersey, who was identified as Sebastiano Abbatiello. He did not have a Boater Safety Certificate, and he was not authorized to operate the rental pontoon boat, according to the complaint.

Sebastiano Abbatiello “couldn’t follow directions” during the safety inspection, officers said in the complaint. He was asked to hand out life jackets to everyone on board, and asked to find the pontoon’s throwable flotation device and fire extinguisher.

He asked the officers “if he was good” after handing out the life jackets. He couldn’t locate the throwable flotation device or fire extinguisher without help from other passengers, according to the complaint.

When asked if he had consumed alcohol, Sebastiano Abbatiello told officers “he had two or three” earlier in the day. Officers asked him to put a life jacket on and come aboard their vessel to take a sobriety test, the complaint said.

Sebastiano Abbatiello attempted to put the life jacket on multiple times without success, according to the officers, and he was only able to get one on with the help of three other people on board.

When asked if he was stable during the sobriety test, Sebastiano Abbatiello replied “yes” to the officers. He also said he had a physical defect or disability, saying “yes, near-sighted,” referring to his eyes, the complaint said.

During the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test, Sebastiano Abbatiello’s eyes were observed to be “glassy,” according to the complaint.

He exhibited “six clues associated with impairment” from the eye test, officers said. He also exhibited clues in other parts of the sobriety test.

Officers asked Sebastiano Abbatiello if he would agree to a preliminary breath test, and he asked the officers “what happens if he refuses, and if he had to take it” numerous times until officers deemed his answer a refusal.

Based on performance, officers placed him under arrest for boating under the influence, saying he was “intoxicated to a degree which would render him incapable of safe operation of a watercraft.”

While Sebastiano Abbatiello was being transported to an officer’s patrol truck, he reached into the front left pocket of his shorts multiple times, the complaint said. He was asked numerous times to stop and replied to the officers that his “wallet is falling out.”

Sebastiano Abbatiello was then transported to Mount Nittany Medical Center for chemical testing, the complaint said. He nodded off multiple times in the patrol truck.

An officer observed an “unknown substance in a plastic baggy” in Sebastiano Abbatiello’s wallet that was labeled “stay high.”

When asked to submit to chemical testing at Mount Nittany, he refused when he found out it would result in “a suspension of boating privileges for 12 months.”

Sebastiano Abbatiello was then asked if he would like to answer questions after officers read aloud his rights. He said he would answer questions, according to the complaint.

When asked what was in the clear plastic bag in his wallet, Sebastiano Abbatiello responded by saying “cocaine.” Officers found a second, empty small plastic bag also containing “a white powder residue” and also labeled “stay high.”

The substance tested positive for cocaine and weighed two grams, according to the complaint.

It’s unclear why the charges were filed weeks later.

Sebastiano Abbatiello is awaiting his preliminary hearing, which is scheduled for Oct. 14. He is the younger brother of Agostino Abbatiello, 24, a former Penn State student charged with 13 other suspects in an alleged cocaine ring operating out of Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon fraternities in State College.