A New York man has pleaded guilty in a murder-for-hire scheme that included plans to dispose of the victim\u2019s body by feeding it to pigs, according to federal prosecutors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeal Sutherland, 57, of Colonie, entered the plea in federal court as part of an agreement with the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Northern District of New York. Prosecutors said Sutherland targeted a man who is the father of a child with his then-partner and tried to have him killed between November 2024 and January 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to court documents, Sutherland agreed to forgive a debt owed by the person he enlisted to carry out the murder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also attempted to pay an undercover FBI agent\u2014whom he believed to be a hog farmer\u2014for use of a Pennsylvania farm, where the plan was to dispose of the body by having pigs consume it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a separate act of intimidation, Sutherland directed another man to place the carcass of a Canada goose on the doorstep of the intended victim\u2019s mother in late January. The bird had a threatening note in its beak that had been written at Sutherland\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The intended victim was not harmed. Sutherland was arrested on January 27 and has remained in custody since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJeal Sutherland hatched a vicious plot to kill a romantic rival and intimidate his victim\u2019s family,\u201d said U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III. \u201cWhen members of the FBI and my office learned of Sutherland\u2019s plans, they acted quickly and did not rest until Sutherland was brought to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sutherland faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to 3 years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for September 22.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A New York man has pleaded guilty in a murder-for-hire scheme that included plans to dispose of the victim\u2019s body by feeding it to pigs, according to federal prosecutors. Jeal Sutherland, 57, of Colonie, entered the plea in federal court as part of an agreement with the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Northern District of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":54420,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2],"tags":[3448,3065,322,151],"class_list":["post-54419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal","category-usnews","tag-colonie-new-york","tag-convictions-sentencings","tag-new-york","tag-united-states"],"yoast_head":"\n