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Left: Anthony Neubauer (Chautauqua County Jail). Right: Neubauer in his military uniform (Neubauer family via Buffalo News).
A former U.S. Marine and Army veteran from New York has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term for his involvement in the 2014 kidnapping and murder of a police informant. Anthony Neubauer, aged 39, received a 20-year prison sentence after admitting to aiding and abetting the kidnapping that led to the death of Joseph Anthony, as confirmed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a recent press release.
In May 2014, Neubauer, alongside his accomplice, 43-year-old Matthew Rudy, lured Anthony to Rudy’s property in Pennsylvania under the guise of a cocaine deal. During the drive, Neubauer threatened Anthony with a gun. Upon reaching the property, they forced Anthony to a secluded hilltop where Neubauer fatally shot him in the head and torso. According to a government sentencing memo, Neubauer’s girlfriend later recounted to the FBI that Neubauer “walked right over the body.”
After the murder, Neubauer and Rudy buried Anthony’s body. Despite three unsuccessful searches over seven years by FBI agents, the remains were only discovered after Rudy disclosed the burial site to authorities. Rudy received a five-year prison sentence last year for his role in the crime, as detailed in a previous report.
According to U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, Neubauer and Rudy targeted Anthony because they believed he was cooperating with a law enforcement investigation.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said Neubauer and Rudy believed Anthony was cooperating with a law enforcement investigation.
“Anthony Neubauer and his co-defendant went to great lengths to silence a person they believed was cooperating in a law enforcement investigation, including kidnapping, crossing state lines, murder and disposing of a body,” DiGiacomo said in a statement. “A lot of time may have passed, but our law enforcement partners demonstrated perseverance and unwavering determination, which ultimately resulted in uncovering Neubauer’s actions. As a consequence, he will now spend the next two decades in prison.”
Neubauer’s attorney, Eric M. Soehnlein, wrote in the defense’s sentencing memo that his client struggled in high school and dropped out after the 11th grade. On the heels of 9/11, Neubauer joined the U.S. Marines, where one person dubbed him “Captain America.” He had several deployments overseas, including to Iraq, where he saw combat. He later joined the Army as a ranger, and he also saw combat during deployments before he was discharged due to injuries in 2014.
Upon his return to civilian life in upstate New York, Neubauer started hanging out with Rudy and began heavily using drugs while suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, his lawyer said. He also would drink up to 30 beers a day.
According to Neubauer’s lawyer, he began working as muscle for drug dealers to fight or intimidate people who owed debts. It was against this backdrop that Neubauer murdered Anthony.
In the years after Anthony’s disappearance, Neubauer’s addiction became so bad that he was “actively using cocaine in front of the federal agents” investigating the case.
In 2019, he nearly lost his life and became paralyzed from the waist down in a shooting at a bar, per his lawyer.
U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford during Tuesday’s sentencing called the situation “tragic,” a courtroom report from the Buffalo News said.
Neubauer’s defense attorneys were asking for 10 years behind bars, but Wolford said that was not appropriate even though she recognized his military service.
“It’s also tragic that Mr. Neubauer is here,” she reportedly said. “But you can’t intentionally kill somebody and expect to get a [lesser] sentence.”