The district attorney in Lehigh County Pennsylvania just released these photos of two men wanted for questioning in the murder of Brooklyn cafe owner Josh Rubin. You'll recall that Rubin went missing on October 31st of last year; his smoldering body was found in an apple orchard outside of Allentown, P.A.—but he was so badly charred that investigators did not identify the remains until December. The cause of death was a gunshot wound, and one friend of Rubin later told the Brooklyn Paper that Rubin looked "very upset" the night he disappeared. Could these men have something to do with it?
Lehigh County D.A. James Martin says that less than 12 hours after Rubin's body was found, these two men used his credit cards to make multiple purchases at several stores at the Woodbury Commons Premium Outlets in Central Valley, N.Y. Asked why the photos were being released now, more than two months after the body was identified, the D.A.'s office declined to comment.
There are conflicting reports about what Rubin's financial situation before his murder. Some sources told the Post that Rubin, who owned the Ditmas Park coffee shop Whisk, was deeply in debt, owed money to the landlord, and was pressuring his friends to buy large quantities of marijuana. The Times reported that Rubin may have been in $20,000 in debt, but the D.A. Martin later said, "That’s a mistake. He owed some rent to his landlord, I believe for the cafe [but] I don’t know exactly what that amount was."
In any case, the Lehigh County DA's office encourages anyone who has information about the men in these photos to contact Detective Lou Tallarico of the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Homicide Task Force at 610-437-5252. Cooperation will be treated confidentially to the extent possible.
