Three Men Charged With 2011 Murder Of Joshua Rubin

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Dermot Shea, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging KEVIN TAYLOR, GARY ROBLES, and MICHAEL MAZUR with the October 31, 2011, murder of Joshua Rubin in Brooklyn, New York.  All three defendants were arrested today and will be presented this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang.  The case is assigned to United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.

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.”

As alleged in the Indictment[[1]] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:

On October 31, 2011, TAYLOR, ROBLES, and MAZUR robbed Rubin of marijuana in the vicinity of 1021 McDonald Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, and in the course of that robbery Rubin was shot and killed.

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TAYLOR, 27, ROBLES, 37, and MAZUR, 26, 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. 

The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for information purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

 Mr. Berman praised the outstanding work of the FBI, NYPD, and the Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.  He also thanked the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the South Whitehall Township Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Alexandra Rothman, Mollie Bracewell, and Dominic A. Gentile are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.