The Brooklyn pastor who on Tuesday made a failed attempt at arranging the alleged Q-train shooter’s surrender is an ex-convict with ties to Mayor Eric Adams, with whom the controversial clergyman claimed to have spoken while the suspect was on the loose.
The Rolls Royce-driving Bishop Lamor Whitehead served a five-year prison sentence for multiple counts of identity fraud and grand larceny and was released in 2013, before forming a relationship with Adams.
Whitehead, of Leaders of Tomorrow International Churches in Canarsie, appeared at more than a dozen high-profile events with Adams attended while in the Brooklyn borough president post he held for eight years before being elected mayor in 2021.
The Post reported in 2016 that Whitehead had been helped by public support proclaimed by the retired NYPD captain, who introduced him at a concert that year in East Flatbush as “my good friend and good brother.”
Whitehead — who was busted in 2006 for a $2 million identity-theft scam and was ordained as a bishop a decade later — used the local limelight Adams provided to promote and raise money for Leaders of Tomorrow Brooklyn, a for-profit firm he launched in early 2014 that billed itself as a youth mentorship non-profit.
But in November 2014, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office sent Whitehead a cease-and-desist letter after he promoted a collaborative justice initiative with the prosecutor that didn’t actually exist. The NYPD and Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce also pushed back against Whitehead’s claims that they were partnering with his group on initiatives.
Whitehead’s legal troubles also did not stop after serving five years behind bars at Sing Sing.
On July 1, 2015, Whitehead was arrested for allegedly hitting his then 7-year-old son, according to a parole violation “release report” previously obtained by The Post. The case was dropped after officials found no probable cause to prosecute, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Service.
Months later, Whitehead was arrested in Uniondale, LI, for violating an order of protection, according to Nassau County police.
And as The Post reported in 2016, Whitehead had been spotted driving around Brooklyn in a Maserati and a Bentley — despite owing $261,000 for an outstanding 2009 court judgment over an unpaid personal loan.
Whitehead’s more recent run-ins with the law came after in 2006 the stolen Land Rover-driving New Jersey resident was arrested by police in Manhattan for a $2 million identity-theft scam using the names of Brooklynites and Long Islanders.
The then-27-year-old was charged with 10 counts of identity theft for allegedly targeting five victims in Suffolk County for a total of $250,000. Police believed he in Brooklyn swindled about $500,000 by stealing identities and obtaining lines of credit from financial institutions.
At the Teaneck home, cops found a stolen 9mm pistol and a bulletproof vest, a detective revealed at the time.
Brian Etta, a former volunteer for Adams’ campaign who separately sued Whitehead in 2007, told The Post in 2016, “I’m surprised from what I know about Eric [Adams] … that he would have a guy like Lamor Whitehead connected in any way, let alone closely.”
Still, Adams stood by Whitehead, comparing the clergy member’s rap sheet to his own arrest as a teenager when he was brutally beaten by NYPD officers inside a precinct after breaking into a sex worker’s Queens home.
“I was arrested at 15 years old … and because people embraced me when I was arrested, I embrace Lamor Whitehead,” Adams said during a November 2016 press conference. “I will continue to give him the support and guidance that was given to me to become a cop, a state senator and a borough president.”
Asked about the bishop being accused of hitting his 7-year-old son, Adams replied by noting that Whitehead wasn’t prosecuted and that the charges were dropped.
“We do not find people guilty based on your opinion, but by the greatest criminal justice system known to man,” said the then-BP. “So he did not do it.”
In recent years, the pastor at Leaders of Tomorrow International Churches has frequently praised Adams on social media.
Last year, on his 1.6 million-follower Instagram account, Whitehead repeatedly labeled the then mayoral candidate a “mentor and friend” as he urged his followers to vote for Adams.
“Congratulations To My Mentor, Friend And Someone Who I Can Say Really Help Me Become A Man!” he gushed on July 7, the day after he was declared winner of the Democratic mayoral primary.
“Today Is Election Day🔥🔥🔥 I Need Every To Go Out And Vote NYC FOR MY MENTOR AND FRIEND ERIC ADAMS @ericadamsfornyc,” he posted on Nov. 2, the day of the general election. “He Has Taught Me A lot And I Believe He Is The Man For The Job.”
His Instagram presence also included an October 2021 post when he wrote “Homosexuality Should Not be Allowed In The Pulpit” while promoting an afternoon Instagram live session.
The Brooklyn pastor also launched a political career of his own, running an unsuccessful 2021 Brooklyn borough president bid, a position now held by former City Councilman Antonio Reynoso.
An Adams rep declined to provide comment on his recent relationship with Whitehead.
On Tuesday, Whitehead was involved in an effort to orchestrate the surrender of Andrew Abdullah, a 25-year-old repeat offender who ended up being arrested at his lawyer’s office. Abdullah, who had 19 prior arrests, was first named Monday as a person of interest in the random Sunday morning slaying of Daniel Enriquez, a 48-year-old Goldman Sachs banker and Park Slope resident.
Police announced Tuesday afternoon that Abdullah was charged with second-degree murder for the broad-daylight fatal shooting as well as second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Additional reporting by Bernadette Hogan and Reuven Fenton
