An ex-con who robbed Brooklyn ‘Bling Bishop” Lamor Whitehead during a live-streamed sermon is requesting leniency on his sentence because the flamboyant preacher is also a fraudster.
Whitehead is a “career con man and liar” who was sentenced to nine years in prison in June after a jury found him guilty of stealing a parishioner’s retirement fund and other brazen crimes, the defense attorney for robber Say-Quan Pollack argued in a letter to a judge.
“The arrest, trial and conviction of Bishop Lamor Whitehead, one of the victims here, bears mention and consideration by the Court,” attorney Gary Villanueva wrote in the Friday missive to Judge William Kuntz.
“Although the Bishop’s crimes and conviction do not exonerate Say-Quan nevertheless they are factors which the Court may consider in fashioning a reasonable sentence that is not greater than necessary to achieve valid penological goals,” he argued.
Pollack, 25, pleaded guilty in November to one count of federal robbery in connection with the July 2022 stickup at Whitehead’s Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in Canarsie.
Whitehead – known for his penchant for designer suits and excessive jewelry – was livestreaming a sermon at the parish when three masked, gun-toting men barged in and stole $1 million in jewels and other items from him and his wife.
Pollack and a second man, Juwan Anderson, will be sentenced this month for their role in the crime.
The third gunman, Shamar Leggette, was shot dead in a gunfight with police and US Marshals in New Jersey in January.
Villanueva’s six-page letter to Judge Kuntz did not say exactly why Whitehead’s “appalling” crimes should impact Pollack’s sentencing, but he also drew attention to his client’s difficult childhood.
Pollack’s younger years were marked by “instability, insecurity, parental neglect and diminished educational opportunities,” the attorney wrote.
A few weeks after he robbed Whitehead, Pollack was accepted into an underwater welding training program – and he was arrested just two weeks before he was set to move to Texas to start, Villanueva added.
“He has had to live with the anguish of defeat, having come so close to a dream and having that dream dry up like a raisin in the sun,” the defense lawyer said.
Whitehead was convicted of swindling multiple parishioners out of $7.2 million.
His victims included Pauline Anderson, who gave Whitehead her $90,000 life savings in order to buy her a house, Villanueva’s letter noted.
Instead, Whitehead immediately used the cash to splash out on “luxury car payments and travel,” the lawyer said.
The preacher – who claimed to have rubbed elbows with Mayor Adams – made headlines just two months before the live-streamed robbery when he tried to insert himself into a failed attempt to talk down an accused subway shooter.
The flashy con man’s antics drew scorn from the police and defense attorneys.
During his sentencing in June, Whitehead maintained his innocence and insisted he was a “pillar of the community.”
“As far as remorse, I’m very remorseful,” he claimed. “I hate to see anyone hurt.”
The fallen religious leader previously served five years in prison on charges related to a $2 million identity theft scheme in which he bought luxury vehicles after opening lines of credit in other people’s names.
Gary Villanueva could not immediately be reached for a comment on Tuesday.
