Upstate NY Man Busted in NJ After Offering Hitman Services on Dark Web: Prosecutors

An upstate New York man has been accused of advertising hitman-for-hire services dark web, according to authorities.

Joshua Craig Rowling, 18, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and other crimes after prosecutors said he went to Mahwah, New Jersey, to meet a person he thought was seeking his services as a hitman.

The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said that Rowling allegedly advertised his services as a hitman on the dark web -- a secret corner of the internet only accessible by specialized software. Federal agents and police in New Jersey picked up on Rowling’s alleged scheme and that he had agreed to kill someone in exchange for cash and a gun fitted with a silencer.

Rowling was cuffed by undercover agents when he got to Mahwah on Oct. 21.

Afterward, police executed search warrant on Rowling’s car and home in Richmondville, New York.

He’s being held at the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. Attorney information for the man wasn’t immediately available.

Contact Us