A Murder Scheme Involving a Hog Farm Goes Wrong

A murder-for-hire plot. A rented van. And a plan to feed the victim to hogs on a Pennsylvania farm!

That’s what federal investigators say was at the center of a disturbing Capital Region case that has now led to prison time for a New York man.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Jeal Sutherland, 58, of Colonie, was sentenced to 87 months, just a little over 7 years, in federal prison for using an interstate commerce facility in a murder-for-hire scheme targeting a Capital Region man.

He was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine.

As previously reported by CBS6 Albany, the FBI began investigating Sutherland in November 2024 after a confidential informant, described in court documents as a convicted murderer on lifetime parole, revealed details of the alleged plot while cooperating with authorities.

Federal prosecutors say Sutherland used his cell phone between November 2024 and January 2025 to arrange the killing of a man who is the father of a child with Sutherland’s girlfriend at the time. Court documents state Sutherland "agreed to forgive a debt owed by the person he hired to carry out the murder."

Murder for Hire Plot Goes Hog-Wild

Investigators say the plan involved luring the intended victim into a rented van and taking him to a hog farm in Pennsylvania, where the animals would consume the remains. According to the Department of Justice, Sutherland also agreed to pay an undercover FBI agent, whom he believed to be a hog farmer, for use of the farm.

CBS6 Albany previously reported that investigators recorded conversations over several weeks as the plot developed. In one meeting on January 26, 2025 at a Latham bowling alley Sutherland reportedly provided $1,450 in cash, burner phones, and a bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon to finalize the plan.

Court documents also detail other strange acts tied to the scheme. In late January 2025, Sutherland reportedly admitted that he directed another man to place the carcass of a Canada goose on the doorstep of the victim’s mother with a threatening note was stuffed in the bird’s beak.

The intended victim was never harmed. The FBI arrested Sutherland on January 27, 2025, the day after the bowling alley meeting, and he has remained in custody since.

In announcing the sentence, First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III said Sutherland believed he could “order up the murder of his romantic rival right from his cell phone,” adding that the FBI and federal prosecutors intervened before anyone was killed.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli called the plan “deeply disturbing” and said the case demonstrates the agency’s commitment to disrupting violent crimes before they happen.

“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. 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.”

Sutherland was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Albany.