PENNSYLVANIA FIELD, A U.S. Marine and Army veteran from New York has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after admitting his role in the kidnapping and killing of a man in 2014, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Anthony Neubauer, 39, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting a kidnapping that resulted in the death of Joseph Anthony. He was sentenced Tuesday in federal court.
Prosecutors said Neubauer and co-defendant Matthew Rudy, 43, lured Anthony to Rudy’s property in Pennsylvania in May 2014 under the pretense of providing cocaine. During the drive, Neubauer allegedly brandished a firearm. Once at the property, authorities said Anthony was forced up a hill, where he was fatally shot.
Investigators said the two men buried Anthony’s body. Multiple searches of the property over several years did not locate the remains. Authorities later recovered the body after Rudy disclosed its location. Rudy was sentenced last year to five years in prison.
Federal officials stated that Neubauer and Rudy believed Anthony was cooperating with law enforcement at the time of the incident.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said the defendants went to significant lengths to silence someone they believed was assisting investigators. He credited law enforcement agencies for their persistence in pursuing the case.
According to court filings, Neubauer served in both the U.S. Marine Corps and the Army, including deployments overseas. His defense attorney stated that Neubauer struggled after returning to civilian life, citing substance abuse issues and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Court documents indicated that in the years following Anthony’s disappearance, Neubauer’s addiction worsened. In 2019, he was seriously injured in a separate shooting incident and was left paralyzed from the waist down, according to his attorney.
During sentencing, U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford described the circumstances as tragic but determined that a substantial prison term was warranted. Defense attorneys had requested a 10-year sentence, but the judge imposed a 20-year term.
Neubauer will serve the sentence in federal custody.
