The ostentatious bishop who boasted of being a friend of the mayor of New York, found guilty of robbery and extortion

Supposed friend of the mayor, walking display of luxury brand jewelry and clothing, with a shady past cleverly converted into a successful career as a preacher.

Bishop Lamor Whitehead, also called

because of his marked tendency to shine, has been found guilty of several charges, including the theft of a parishioner's mother's life savings and attempted extortion of a businessman. to finance his ostentatious and extravagant lifestyle.

Jurors found Whitehead guilty of all five charges against him in Manhattan Federal Court late Monday, including charges of falsifying documents and lying to the FBI.

Owner of several Bentley cars, tiled with brands and jewelry from head to toe, Whitehead's luck, 46, changed when he reported a robbery at the Brooklyn establishment where he preached to his customers in 2022. The loot was of more than a million dollars in jewelry, and the robbery, broadcast live - his pulpit was also virtual - drew the spotlight on him much more than he would have liked: he presented himself as an innocent victim of a robbery, but he immediately became be suspected of a great hoax.

Two of the perpetrators of the robbery were arrested shortly after.

“This story is not over... It's just a new chapter,” Whitehead wrote on social media this Tuesday morning.

“Keep listening... God is still God... You can laugh and talk now.”

His lawyer told a local newspaper that they will appeal the ruling.

The jury needed only three hours to reach the verdict.

The bishop faces a sentence of up to 45 years in prison and the sentence will be announced on July 1.

The trial began on February 26 and featured the main testimony of the single mother from whom he defrauded $90,000 - her life savings - by convincing her that he could help her buy her own home, despite the poor credit guarantees of the woman.

“I trusted him,” Pauline Anderson, a 58-year-old nurse, said on February 27.

She said she had experience in real estate.

He was a man of God, she prayed for me seriously.

I believe in God, so I believed that he would honestly help me get this house.”

The trial showed that, instead of helping Anderson, the bishop used that money to further mislead, buying designer clothes, a BMW and other luxury goods, according to prosecutors.

Whitehead also promised Brandon Belmonte, a Bronx auto businessman, that for $500,000 he could draw on his close ties to New York Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, to help him with an alleged joint real estate investment, federal prosecutors said. .

Adams, who was not charged with any crime in the case, was covertly mentioned by Whitehead in repeated communications that were introduced into evidence during the trial.

Prosecutors showed that the bishop, who had a previous conviction for impersonation, had lied and threatened to force his victims to give him money, in addition to misrepresenting his relationship with the mayor.

“He lied about access, he lied about influence, he lied about all of it,” prosecutor Derek Wikstrom said in his closing argument.

Whitehead was also found guilty of submitting false bank statements to obtain a $250,000 loan and lying to FBI agents, including falsely claiming that he did not own a second cell phone.

“Whitehead deployed several deceptive schemes to receive funds from his victims,” FBI Deputy Director Michael J. Driscoll testified during the trial.

“Furthermore, when speaking to authorities, he consciously chose to deceive and lie to them.”

The alleged closeness of the condemned bishop to Mayor Adams is one more notch in the circle of less than recommendable acquaintances.

In addition to the brothers who own one of his favorite restaurants in Manhattan, the councilor has seen how in recent months the FBI searched the homes and documents of two of his collaborators, one of them responsible for his campaign, for the alleged receipt of money from a foreign government (Turkey) to finance it.

The other was responsible for a deal at City Hall.

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