New York “Bling Bishop” Lamor Whitehead has pleaded innocent
Controversial Brooklyn Bishop Lamor Whitehead protested his innocence to the newly filed fraud and racketeering charges on Instagram in a bizarre Instagram rant on Tuesday, urging supporters to “don’t drink the Kool-Aid.”
“The bishop is not guilty and I will fight it,” Whitehead, 44, said during the 15-minute Instagram video, which shows him sitting on a plush white couch in front of two studio portraits of himself.
“Nothing has changed. I’m still the same bishop,” he said. “And I’ll say it again. Just because you got arrested doesn’t make you guilty. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid. I tell you everything you’ve already drunk it Don’t drink it again. Give it time.”
Whitehead, who retreated to his swanky McMansion in New Jersey after being released on a $500,000 bond late Monday, compared his current predicament to the aftermath of his claims he was robbed at gunpoint during a live sermon in July .
Critics questioned whether the pastor staged the robbery – until two men were charged.
“I just want you to do some research,” Whitehead said on Instagram Tuesday. “Don’t let the media influence you. That’s what you did when my church was robbed.
“You allowed the media, you allowed what people said, you allowed what they said, you allowed anything to confuse you,” he said. “Please investigate.”
The flamboyant minister, who has a penchant for designer clothes, shiny jewelry and engines cruising around town in a Rolls Royce, has been embroiled in controversy for years.
While Whitehead boasted a friendship with Mayor Eric Adams, he was convicted of identity theft in state court in 2006 and served seven years in prison.
The new federal indictments allege that he scammed a parishioner out of $90,000 to buy her a new home and extorted $5,000 from a local businessman.
In a bizarre Instagram rant, he urged his supporters, “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid.”
Whitehead retired to his swanky New Jersey McMansion after being released on a $500,000 bond late Monday.
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The flamboyant minister has been embroiled in controversy for years.
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He also faces numerous civil lawsuits.
Despite the new legal challenge, Whitehead remained defiant, describing himself as “a man of excellence, a man of integrity”.
“And if I weren’t a man of God, the enemy wouldn’t fight me like this,” Whitehead said. “Well, I want you to keep me in your prayers and I won’t listen to the noise either.
“You did that to me before,” he continued. “All bloggers, each with their own way of telling the story. I don’t care. I give you no light.”
https://nypost.com/2022/12/20/nyc-bling-bishop-lamor-whitehead-declares-innocence/ New York “Bling Bishop” Lamor Whitehead has pleaded innocent
