Jeal Sutherland, Murder-for-Hire, New York 2025

A 57-year-old Colonie man has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot targeting a Capital Region man.

Jeal Sutherland, 57, of Colonie, New York, used his cell phone to arrange the murder of a man who is the father of a child with Sutherland's then-partner.

Between November 2024 and January 2025, Sutherland agreed to forgive a debt of the person he hired to kill the victim and pay an undercover FBI agent for use of a Pennsylvania farm to dispose of the victim by having pigs consume the body.

The intended victim was not harmed and the FBI arrested Sutherland on January 27, 2025.

Sutherland has been in custody since his arrest and faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years when he is sentenced by United States District Judge Mae A. D'Agostino on September 22, 2025.

The FBI's Capital District Safe Streets Gang Task Force investigated this case, with assistance from the Colonie Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua R. Rosenthal and Joseph S. Hartunian are prosecuting this case.

United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated: "Jeal Sutherland hatched a vicious plot to kill a romantic rival and intimidate his victim's family."

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndny/pr/colonie-man-pleads-guilty-murder-hire-plot