Recording Captures ‘Bling Bishop’ Bragging of Influence Over New York Mayor

Lamor Whitehead has faced multiple legal challenges since a million-dollar robbery last year put him in the spotlight.

The New York City prosperity preacher who was robbed of $1 million worth of jewelry during a church service last year allegedly told a real estate investor he has been accused of extorting money from that his influence with New York Mayor Eric Adams was so powerful he could get the mayor to “sit down with whoever I need him to sit down with.”

Lamor Whitehead is accused of extorting $5,000 and attempting to extort as much as $500,000 from New York real estate investor Brandon Belmonte. According to court documents filed March 29 in connection with the case, Whitehead was allegedly recorded telling Belmonte he could leverage his relationship with Adams to influence city officials in a way that would make money for both him and Belmonte.

“It’s unreal, bro. My connections, even with [Adams], but underneath connections. But bro, we gotta be all-in,” Whitehead was reported by the Daily News as having said.

Adams has previously acknowledged that he and Whitehead developed a relationship when Adams was Brooklyn borough president. Prosecutors say there is no evidence that Adams is under Whitehead’s influence or of any wrongdoing on his part.

Whitehead was arrested by federal agents Dec. 19 for allegedly scamming a member of the congregation at his Brooklyn church, Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries, out of $90,000 that she says he promised to use to buy her a house. He pleaded not guilty to two counts of wire fraud, one count of extortion and one count of making material false statements to the FBI in the case. He is out on a $500,000 bond and faces a maximum of 65 years in prison if convicted.

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Whitehead, who drives luxury cars and favors designer clothing and accessories, came into the  national spotlight last July when he was  robbed of $1 million worth of jewelry by three masked men while he was giving a sermon at Leaders of Tomorrow.

After the robbery, Whitehead sued two YouTube personalities for $20 million each for defamation of character after they made online comments suggesting he had staged the incident. Two suspects were arrested and charged with the robbery in September.

In March, federal prosecutors charged Whitehead with falsifying bank records to get approved for a mortgage on his million-dollar New Jersey mansion. Federal prosecutors said that to secure the loan for the $1.3 million home in Paramus, Whitehead made it appear that an LLC he controlled had an average bank balance of more than $2 million—the account actually held less than $10. Government officials said he also applied for a $250,000 business loan for the LLC based on fraudulent information.

Main Photo: Bishop Lamor Whitehead speaking to media in March 2022 / AP Photo by Mary Altaffer