Monday, February 8, 2010

A Muslim jail chaplain who is also a convicted murderer brought razors and a pair of scissors into one of the NYC's most dangerous lockups

Zulqarnain Abdu-Shahid was reporting to work at the Manhattan Detention Complex - known as "the Tombs" - when his duffel bag went through a mandatory scan. What correction cops found was stunning: three 1-1/2-inch-long straight razors and a pair of 7-inch scissors, authorities said. Abdu-Shahid of Staten Island was arrested and charged with promoting prison contraband. The 58-year-old imam, who's been with the department for three years, faces seven years in prison if he is convicted. Sources said Abdu-Shahid - who used to go by the name Paul Pitts - was convicted of a 1976 murder in Manhattan. He served 13 years in prison and was on parole until 2001, state records show.

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