Neulander Begins Defense

There's no word whether jurors at Rabbi Fred Neulander's murder-for-hire retrial in Freehold will hear from the rabbi himself.

The defense began presenting its case today with a string of witnesses aimed at undermining chief prosecution witness -- admitted hitman Len Jenoff.

An inmate testified Jenoff said in two jailhouse conversations that the rabbi had nothing to do with the slaying.

Neulander is accused of promising to pay Jenoff and an accomplice to kill his wife in their Cherry Hill home in 1994.

The defense contends Jenoff and Paul Daniels went to the Neulander home to commit a robbery and the rabbi had no part in it.