At trial’s start, prosecutor says Brooklyn preacher lied to get rich, a claim his lawyer disputes

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor accused a Brooklyn preacher at the start of a New York fraud trial of telling lies and exaggerating his access to the city’s mayor to try to make millions of dollars before his lawyer countered that the evidence will come up short. The prosecutor, Jessica Greenwood, told Manhattan federal court jurors Monday that Lamor Miller-Whitehead looted a parishioner’s retirement savings and tried to extort a businessman. He has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud and attempted extortion charges. Miller-Whitehead’s lawyer, Dawn Florio, told the jury that the government will not meet its burden of proof.