Thomas Robinson, described by authorities as a main supplier in an alleged Penn State cocaine ring, recruited fraternity pledges using a “steady hand test” and had them help cut cocaine with creatine and package it for campus distribution, court filings say.
Court filings say Robinson used his pledge-educator role to choose pledges he considered trustworthy, made them sign nondisclosure forms and took them to a fraternity boiler room. The pledges initially did not know what task awaited them. One shredded cocaine as Robinson mixed it with creatine; two others filled and weighed half-gram bags.
More than a dozen people were charged last month in the alleged operation, which prosecutors said involved current and former Penn State students, a parent and two fraternities. Authorities allege that after Robinson’s arrest, fraternity brother Ryan Matson and roommate Thomas O’Neil hid a safe containing cocaine and cash in nearby woods; Robinson’s father, Paul, later went with Matson to retrieve it. Court records say Robinson paid the two men $100 a month to store the safe. Authorities also said the DU fraternity president told members not to speak with police.
