Indicted BK Bishop Boasts Mayoral Ties In Extortion Plot: Feds

BROOKLYN, NY — Brooklyn's so-called "Bling Bling Bishop" allegedly boasted about his connection to the mayor's office while extorting and bullying a businessman for $500,000.

Bishop Lamor Whitehead — the bishop famously robbed two years ago of jewelry during a live-streamed sermon from his Brooklyn church —made extraordinary claims about his connections to NYC government officials.

In court filings, Manhattan federal prosecutors allege that Whitehead swindled a parishioner, lied to the FBI and falsified bank documents, in addition to extorting the businessman, Brandon Belmonte.

Another of the charges relates to former parishioner Pauline Anderson, who says Whitehead convinced her to invest nearly $90,000 of her life savings into a real estate scheme.

Prosecutors said that Whitehead "falsely represented" that he would help Belmonte gain "favorable actions" from the New York City government via a specific New York City government official, who’s referred to in court papers as "the official."

Other court files make apparent that the unnamed official is Adams.

There is no evidence that the mayor, who is not charged in Whitehead's case or suspected of any wrongdoing in connection with it, was aware of how Whitehead allegedly exploited his name to advance his extortion plot.

"I’ll take it from there. I’ll deal with the City Council, I’ll deal with the Assembly over there, and I’ll deal with the Mayor’s office. . . . . But we gotta have ownership. I gotta be able to say, ‘Yo, yo [nickname for the Official], I own this. This is what’s goin on,’” Whitehead told Belmonte.

In another conversation, Whitehead allegedly informed Belmonte that he was so close to the mayor that he could assist them lift a stop-work order on the property. However, Whitehead informed him that ownership of the property had to be in his name, according to the feds.

“When I go to [the Official], I go, ‘Look, I own this right here. I need this up, off.’ I can’t come to him no other way… I got it, I’ll take care of it. That’s easy. Anything with that, boom," Whitehead said.

About one month before that, Whitehead claimed that he would meet with Adams in the coming weeks and that he would “tell [Whitehead] where the money is.” Whitehead claimed that if he told [the Official] “I’m doin real estate… this is what I need,” that it was “a done deal.”

Whitehead said that the mayor would help him get permission from the city to operate residential housing as affordable housing—without actually operating as affordable housing—and that he had “the key to the city.”

In text messages sent around May 2022, Whitehead repeatedly pressed Belmonte to wire him $500,000, saying that the money was urgently needed because “the meeting has been sent [read: ‘set’] for Friday with the [Official] and we are still struggling to get things done! What are we really doing?”

“I’m preparing for this meeting today so I’m glad that you really wanted to sabotage me and my business. One day you will really need me! And the meeting I set up today with you know how [read: ‘who’]," Whitehead texted Belmonte.

Adams has known Whitehead since his time as Brooklyn borough president, when he accompanied him to several public occasions, including a 2016 concert when he introduced the pastor as a "good friend," the New York Daily News reported.

The U.S. Attorney's office contends Whitehead spent the money on a luxury shopping spree.

"Whitehead carried out several duplicitous schemes in order to receive funds from his victims," FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said. "Additionally, when speaking with authorities, Whitehead consciously chose to mislead and lie to them."

The bishop became world-famous for a live-streamed robbery where gunmen burst into his rented Canarsie event space during a sermon, robbing him and his wife of what police said was over a million dollars of jewelry.

Two of the gunmen were caught back in 2022, police said.

Read more: BK Man Confesses To Flashy Mid-Sermon Robbery Targeting 'Bling Bishop'

"It was a very difficult time there," Whitehead said. "I began to reflect on that day and I began to relive that moment and I thank God for peace because this has been a very traumatizing time."