After returning from deployment to find only menial labour available, he became a member of a crime ring along with Teddy Dalloway and Joey Durban, led by Sam Latimer. Under Latimer's leadership, Straub and the rest of the crew carried out high end robberies.
He was suspicious of their new member, who was actually John Reese, undercover to protect Joey Durban. He and the other members of the team were tasked to retrieve a file from the NYPD evidence locker. But as soon as he handed over the file, he and Teddy were shot and killed by Latimer.