Did these Lexington men conspire to have a man kidnapped and killed? Trial begins.
While federal prosecutors told a jury Monday that two men standing trial in a murder for hire conspiracy plot would have done anything to get what they were owed, defense attorneys argued that the men’s actions spoke louder than their words.
Abdul Hadi and a man known as John Sadiqullah, though his actual first name is unknown, are charged with being part of a kidnapping conspiracy and a murder for hire conspiracy against a man who owed them money. Their attorneys argue that the men were angry after having been taken advantage of, but had not made any agreement to bring harm to anyone.
The victim in the case owned a tire shop and a taxi business in Lexington, and both Hadi and Sadiqullah drove for him, their attorneys said. The victim had convinced the men to lend him thousands of dollars to expand his business, but never paid the money back, they said.
A third man charged in the case, Mahmoud Shaker Shalash, pleaded guilty in January to charges of two counts of money laundering and one count of being part of a kidnapping conspiracy, according to court records. Shalash, who was 70 at the time of his arrest, is the former imam of the Islamic Center of Lexington, though he has not been associated with the center since May of 2019.
Shalash is set to testify against Hadi and Sadiqullah. Hadi’s attorney, John W. Oakley II, told jurors that the alleged kidnapping and murder for hire plot was uncovered because of an ongoing federal money laundering investigation against Shalash.
Shalash was “the most culpable person involved” and was let off easy with the plea deal, Oakley argued.
During the money laundering investigation, an undercover informant was part of a meeting with Sadiqullah and Shalash in which the victim’s debts to them were discussed. The meeting was recorded by the informant.
Federal prosecutor Andrew T. Boone argued that Sadiqullah and Hadi thought the informant was a hit man, and that the men had the intent to pay him to do whatever it took to get the money they were owed. Sadiqullah asked the man to kill the victim, prosecutors said.
In a federal affidavit, deputy U.S. Marshal William J. Jackson wrote that Sadiqullah said outright that he wanted the victim dead.
In the affidavit, Jackson wrote that Sadiqullah said: “It is not about the money. He took more than money from me. He took my livelihood. He really destroyed us. If someone could kill him for $10,000, we all four will pay someone $10,000.”
Shalash was initially also charged in the murder for hire conspiracy. That charge was dismissed in the plea agreement, according to court records. The agreement recommended that Shalash be sentenced to four years and three months in prison, five years of supervision upon release and a $20,000 fine, according to court records.
The alleged kidnapping plot reached a boiling point in May 2019 when Sadiqullah and Hadi followed the victim and his 11-year-old son to the victim’s Lexington business, Boone said. After approaching the victim at the business, Sadiqullah called the federal informant and told him that they had “captured” the man who owed them money, and that the informant needed to come and “take care of him,” Boone said.
Federal investigators were able to take the victim and his family into protective custody and Hadi, Sadiqullah and Shalash were arrested.
Hadi and Sadiqullah are both originally from Afghanistan, and so is the victim and several other parties involved in the events leading up to the federal conspiracy charges. Hadi was an interpreter working with the U.S. military and Sadiqullah was a security guard for Camp Nathan Smith, a U.S. military base in Kandahar.
Hadi and Sadiqullah’s work with the U.S. military made living in Afghanistan increasingly dangerous, Sadiqullah’s attorney Whitney True Lawson told jurors. Both men decided to move to the United States with their families in hopes of safety and a better life, their attorneys said.
After working for the victim for a while, both men grew to trust him and loaned him money, their attorneys said. Hadi loaned the man about $20,000 and Sadiqullah loaned him about $30,000. Shalash had loaned the man between $70,000 and $80,000.
Hadi and Sadiqullah’s attorneys said that the jury will hear recordings of their clients saying “very harsh” things, but Oakley argued that his client’s actions spoke louder than words.
Boone told jurors during his own opening arguments that the victim and his family moved to Orlando to get away from Hadi and Sadiqullah.
Oakley argued that the victim moved to Orlando to escape his debts to Hadi, Sadiqullah and others in the community, totaling about $1 million.
Hadi watched the victim’s Orlando home when only the victim’s wife and baby were home, ultimately following the woman when she left the house with the baby, Boone said.
Oakley acknowledged that both his client and Sadiqullah said things that could have been considered threatening, but argued that their actions showed they had no intent to conspire to harm the victim.
Hadi never met with the informant, Oakley said.
The trial is expected to last about four days.
This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 4:31 PM.
