Hakeem Abdul-Shaheed
| Hakeem Abdul-Shaheed | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 4, 1959 |
| Other names |
Robert Edward Molley Midget Molly |
Hakeem Abdul-Shaheed, aka Midget Molley, born Robert Edward Molley on March 4, 1959, is an American convicted drug dealer and organized crime leader.[1] Robert Molley acquired the nickname 'Midget' from his family, in reference to his short stature. He stands at 5'2".
Early life
Robert "Midget" Molley was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey to Benjamin Franklin Molley, a Pentecostal pastor, and Helen Louise Molley. He was the ninth of twelve children. Midget Molley's father died of a brain tumor in 1969, obliging his mother to seek work in local hotels, away from the home where six of the Molley children still lived.
Around the age of seven, family members noticed that Robert was not growing at the normal rate as kids his age, thus they began joking that he would be a midget. The title stuck and Robert became known as Midget Molley.
At the age of ten Midget Molley acquired a reputation as a hustler, associating with local criminals whose shoes he shined. Midget Molley admired their stories of kingpins and gangsters like Nicky Barnes, whom he sought to emulate. At 14, he ran errands for a local drug dealer.
Around this same time Midget Molley became a member of the Nation of Islam, under the national leadership of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. He belonged to Temple #10, located in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the Nation of Islam he was known as Brother Robert 8X.
In 1976 Molley changed his name to Hakeem Ali Abdul-Shaheed to reflect the path the Nation of Islam had taken after the death of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
Attempted murder conviction
In 1980 Abdul-Shaheed was arrested and charged with attempted murder. He was sentenced to ten years imprisonment and served six at State Prison before release.
Late 1980s
Abdul-Shaheed was released and had returned to drug dealing by September 1986. He began trading cocaine supplied by Angel Diaz-Rivera and his wife Gloria, members of Colombia's notorious Medellin cartel of cocaine distributors. Abdul-Shaheed ran a three-member cocaine dealing operation with Victor "Shorty" Fernandez, a Dominican man, and Lucy "Luz" Bertone, a Puerto Rican woman. Each of the three received 600 kilos of cocaine per shipment. Bertone and Fernandez dealt in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, New York, while Abdul-Shaheed distributed his drugs in New Jersey, Syracuse, New York, Washington, DC, Maryland and Atlanta, Georgia.
Hakeem Abdul Shaheed (aka Robert E. Molley or Midget Molley), and most of its 60 some members were believed to be Five Percenters. Shaheed, a resident of Atlantic City and Vineland, called his group the ASO Posse and often flaunted his drug-financed wealth by wearing a gold crown.[2]
On January 1, 1989, Abdul-Shaheed walked into Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino Ballroom wearing a paper Burger King crown and surrounded by 60 of his most trusted distributors.
1989 conviction
In February 1989 Abdul-Shaheed and around 16 others were arrested after a seven-month investigation by the United States Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.[3] Abdul-Shaheed was suspected of two murders in Atlantic City, one in Syracuse, New York, two in Washington, DC, one in Maryland, and three in Atlanta, Georgia. He was convicted of none.
In 1990 Abdul-Shaheed was convicted of being a drug king pin and sentenced to 240 months in Federal prison under the 848 statute. The crown he had worn was never found, though federal agents have photographs of Abdul-Shaheed wearing it. Shortly after Shaheed’s arrest, several Jamaican drug dealers from Brooklyn Jamaican Posse moved into the Atlantic City projects to take over his territory.[2]
The last eight months of Abdul-Shaheed's incarceration was spent on death row, where he was housed after being brutally tortured for two hours by a number of prison guards at the infamous United States Federal Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. Nine guards and staff members of that prison were eventually removed from the USP Marion.
In 2006 he was released, and now lives in Atlantic City. Abdul-Shaheed now travels the country as a consultant, motivational speaker and advocate against abuse in American Prisons.
Abdul-Shaheed also heads a nonprofit organization called, THE D-BEAR YOUTH FOUNDATION, which deals with gangs & gang violence, drug use & sales, and teen sex.[1]
Books
In 2007 Ali Rob wrote a novel based on Abdul-Shaheed's life and times, The Myth of Midget Molley. A later book, Resurrection of A Legend, also explores Midget Molley's life.
References
- 1 2 Suhr, Jim (2007-10-03). "The Midget Alleges Hate Crimes: A Very Questionable Claim". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
- 1 2 Afro-lineal organized crime
- ↑ Staff writer (1989-02-16). "Raid on Cocaine Ring Results in 16 Arrests". The New York Times. AP. Retrieved 24 December 2008.