Ex-Galloway Man Who Paid Hitman To Kill Teen Sentenced To Prison

HADDONFIELD, NJ —A former Galloway man was sentenced to prison Tuesday for hiring a hitman to kill a teenager, federal authorities said.

John Michael Musbach, now of Haddonfield, paid $20,000 in Bitcoin to have the child killed so the victim couldn't testify in Musbach's child-pornography case, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Musbach, 34, was sentenced in Camden federal court to six years, six months in prison. He faced up to 10 years after pleading guilty Feb. 2 to one count of knowingly and intentionally using and causing another to use a facility of interstate and foreign commerce — that is the internet — with the intent that a murder be committed.

When he lived in Galloway during the summer of 2015, Musbach exchanged sexually explicit photographs and videos online with a 13-year-old New York resident, officials said.

The victim's parents found out and contacted local police, who identified Musbach, officials said.

New York police contacted the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office and Musbach was charged with child pornography, according to officials.

Musbach wanted the victim killed so they couldn't testify against him in the pending criminal case, authorities said. From May 7-20, 2016, he repeatedly communicated with the administrator of a murder-for-hire website on the dark net.

He asked whether a 14-year-old was too young to target. Upon hearing that age wasn't an issue, Musbach paid about 40 bitcoin — approximately $20,000 at the time — for the hit, federal prosecutors said.

When pressed for an additional $5,000, Musbach tried to cancel. The website's administrator then revealed that the website was a scam and threatened to reveal Musbach's info to law enforcement.

Musbach later pleaded guilty in October 2017 to endangering the welfare of a child by sexual contact. He was sentenced the following February to a two-year suspended sentence with parole supervision for life.

A "cooperating informant" sent law enforcement their messages with Musbach in 2019. Musbach was indicted in April 2021.

As part of the sentencing, Musbach must pay a $30,000 fine and becomes subject to three years of supervised release.

This article contains additional reporting by Josh Bakan.