Officials have charged Kevin Taylor, 27, Gary Robles, 37, and Michael Mazur, 26, with the October 31, 2011, murder of Joshua Rubin in Brooklyn, New York.
All three suspects were arrested Tuesday.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Over eight years ago, Joshua Rubin’s life was taken. As alleged in the Indictment, these defendants were responsible for that terrible crime. Now, thanks to the determination of our law enforcement partners and the Special Agents of our Office, the defendants are charged in federal court with murder.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “After years of wondering what led to Mr. Rubin disappearing from his Brooklyn neighborhood, and his body being found in rural Pennsylvania, his family and the community may finally get some answers. The passage of time makes cold cases difficult, but the people who committed the crimes are still out there, and they will be held accountable. I want to commend agents and detectives on the FBI New York Joint Violent Crimes Task Force and the NYPD Cold Case Homicide Unit for never giving up, and never forgetting the victim deserves justice.”
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said: “When a life is violently taken, law enforcement is there to speak for the voiceless. From the moment of Joshua Rubin’s disappearance and murder, in 2011, our NYPD investigators and federal and local law enforcement partners never stopped working to bring justice for him and all who knew him.”
On October 31, 2011, the trio allegedly robbed Rubin of marijuana in the vicinity of 1021 McDonald Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, and in the course of that robbery Rubin was shot in the chest and killed. His body was later found in Pennsylvania, burned beyond recognition, prosecutors said.
According to the NY Post, Rubin owned Whisk Bakery Cafe in Ditmas Park and ‘owed at least $14,000 to creditors at the time of his Halloween disappearance,”
All three suspects are each charged with murder through the use of a firearm, which carries a maximum penalty of death or life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.
