A New York man has been sentenced to 87 months in prison in connection with a plot in which he wanted a romantic rival killed and fed to hogs.
As noted by the New York Post, Jeal Sutherland, 58, wanted to pay a hog farmer $1,000 and throw in a bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon to kill a man and dispose of the body.
He was convicted for using an interstate commerce facility in a murder-for-hire scheme, according to a Department of Justice news release.
Sutherland, of the Albany suburb of Colonie, “used his cell phone to arrange the murder of a man who is the father of a child with Sutherland’s then-partner,” the release said.
The deal Sutherland made with the man he thought was a Pennsylvania hog farmer, who was actually working for the FBI, involved forgiving the man’s loan.
In addition to 87 months in prison, United States District Judge Mae D’Agostino imposed a $15,000 fine and ordered three years of supervised release when Sutherland gets out of prison.
“Jeal Sutherland thought he could order up the murder of his romantic rival right from his cell phone. Thanks to the hard work of FBI Albany and members of my office, Sutherland will now be dialing out from a federal prison for the foreseeable future,” First Assistant United States Attorney John Sarcone III said.
“The details of Mr. Sutherland’s callous plans are deeply disturbing and prove he had every intention of ending a life. Instead, his vicious and intricate plot has landed him in federal prison,” Craig Tremaroli, special agent in charge of the Albany Field Office of the FBI, said.
“This case clearly illustrates the FBI will work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to swiftly investigate and interrupt any individual looking to carry out such egregious acts of violence in our communities,” he added.
Sutherland admitted that in January 2025, he had a man leave the carcass of a Canada goose on the doorstep of the intended victim’s mother.
The goose had a threatening note in its beak.
Colonie Man Sentenced to 87 Months for Murder-for-Hire Plot
Jeal Sutherland, age 58, of Colonie, New York, was sentenced today to 87 months in prison for using an interstate commerce facility in a murder-for-hire scheme targeting a Capital Region man. @NDNYNews release:… pic.twitter.com/FbbhUgbfF9
— FBI Albany (@FBIAlbany) February 10, 2026
The intended victim was not harmed.
Sutherland was arrested in January 2025 and has been in jail ever since.
According to the Albany Times-Union, Sutherland and the source he thought was a hog farmer talked several times between November 2024 and January 2025 about the plot.
Sutherland wanted his help to pick up the intended victim after he was freed from state prison and to offer him a job. The man would then be killed and taken to the Pennsylvania farm, where the evidence would by eaten by hogs.
A van to be used in the crime was to be provided by a nun, the complaint said, for $250.
Post a Comment