A former inmate who robbed Brooklyn pastor Lamore Whitehead, aka “The Bling Bishop,” during a livestreamed sermon is asking for leniency in his sentence because the flamboyant preacher is also a con man.
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 parishioners’ retirement funds and other brazen crimes, lawyers for the robber, Say Quan Pollack, argued in a letter to the judge.
“The arrest, trial and conviction of one of the victims, Bishop Lamore Whitehead, merits this court’s mention and consideration,” attorney Gary Villanueva wrote in a Friday letter to Judge William Kunz.
“While Bishop’s crimes and convictions do not exonerate Say Quang, they are nevertheless factors the court will take into account in imposing an appropriate sentence that is no more severe than necessary to achieve legitimate penal objectives,” he argued.
Pollack, 25, pleaded guilty in November to one federal count of robbery in connection with the July 2022 robbery at Whitehead’s Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in Canarsie.
Whitehead, known for his penchant for designer suits and flashy jewelry, was livestreaming a sermon from his parish when three masked gunmen broke in and stole $1 million worth of jewelry and other items from the pastor and his wife.
Pollack and another man, Juwan Anderson, are scheduled to be sentenced this month for their roles in the crime.
A third shooter, Shamar Leggett, was shot and killed in a shootout between police and U.S. marshals in New Jersey in January.
Villanueva’s six-page letter to Judge Kunz did not specifically address why Whitehead’s “horrific” crimes should impact Pollack’s sentence, but it did draw attention to his client’s difficult childhood.
Pollack’s childhood was marked by “instability, anxiety, parental neglect and reduced educational opportunities,” his lawyers wrote.
A few weeks after robbing Whitehead, Pollack was accepted into an underwater welding training program and was arrested just two weeks before he was due to travel to Texas to begin his training, Villanueva added.
“He has had to live with the agony of defeat, having come so close to his dream only to have it wither like a raisin in the sun,” the defense lawyer said.
Whitehead was convicted of defrauding multiple parishioners out of $7.2 million.
Whitehead’s victims included Pauline Anderson, who gave Whitehead $90,000 of her life’s savings to buy a house, Villanueva’s letter said.
Instead, Whitehead quickly used the cash for “luxury car payments and travel,” his lawyer said.
The pastor, who claims to have been friends with Mayor Adams, made headlines when he tried to intervene in a failed attempt to reason with the subway shooting suspect just two months before the livestreamed robbery.
The flamboyant conman’s shenanigans drew condemnation from police and lawyers.
During his sentencing in June, Whitehead maintained his innocence and claimed he was a “pillar of the community.”
“As far as regret goes, I am very sorry,” he insisted. “I would hate to see anyone get hurt.”
The ousted religious leader was previously serving a five-year prison sentence for charges related to a $2 million identity theft scheme in which he opened lines of credit in other people’s names and purchased luxury vehicles.
Gary Villanueva could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
