Hit man in Neulander killing is released

A month short of the 20th anniversary of the crime, Paul Michael Daniels, one of the hit men in the killing of Rabbi Fred Neulander's wife, walked out of prison, reputedly weighed down with unshakable guilt.

"Paul was released from physical prison, but he will be in mental prison the rest of his life," said his attorney, Craig Mitnick.

Daniels, 40, who pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 to 23 years in prison in 2003, was released from Southern State Correctional Facility in Cumberland County on Wednesday morning, officials said.

He is staying with family in New Jersey while he figures out what to do next, said Mitnick.

According to prosecutors, Daniels and Len Jenoff were hired by Neulander to kill his wife, who was bludgeoned in her Cherry Hill home on Nov. 1, 1994.

Jenoff, who at times claimed falsely to have worked for the CIA, was released in January.

Fred J. Neulander was once the respected leader of Congregation M'kor Shalom in Cherry Hill. Prosecutors said he solicited his wife's killing because their marriage was hindering his affair with Elaine Soncini, then a local radio personality.

Neulander, 73, was convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence.

His wife, the mother of three children, was known for her business skills as the founder of a bakery in South Jersey. At his sentencing, Daniels admitted to being an accomplice in the killing so he could get $7,500 to buy drugs.

Daniels and Jenoff testified that they used a lead pipe to bludgeon Carol Neulander in her home. The scene - staged to look like a robbery - was revealed as that of a killing for hire when Jenoff confessed his role in 2000 to Inquirer reporter Nancy Phillips, now the paper's city editor.

Daniels, who is now clean of drugs and alcohol, remains guilt ridden to this day, said Mitnick, who spoke to his client by telephone Thursday. "He wants to live his life never forgetting what he did to another human being and a family," Mitnick said.

He said Daniels was a victim of abuse as a child and alleged he was sexually abused in prison by guards and fellow inmates. A doctor's examination some years ago confirmed the sexual abuse, "but there was no way to prove it," Mitnick said.

He said he has been asked over the years why he represented Daniels.

"My answer was if he was not adequately represented, there is no doubt that Fred Neulander and Len Jenoff would have put all the blame on him, given how fragile he was, and I wasn't going to let that happen."

"If this was a story of mice and men, Paul Daniels is not the mouse. Fred Neulander is the mouse. He is the coward," Mitnick said.

While awaiting sentencing, Daniels had two tear drops tattooed near an eye while in jail and Mitnick said he asked about them.

"He said, 'One teardrop is for my mom. The other teardrop is for Mrs. Neulander,' " the lawyer recounted.

As for the future, Mitnick said he told Daniels he needs to learn to balance his guilt and remorse with "your ability to understand you have served your punishment and you have a right to live your life."