Lexington Islamic leader charged in murder-for-hire plot over business deal, unpaid debt

(Lexington Herald Leader) An Islamic religious leader in Lexington has been charged in a murder-for-hire plot, according to records in federal court.

The Islamic Center of Lexington leader Mahmoud Shaker Shalash, John Sadiqullah, and Abdul Hadi were charged in federal criminal complaints with conspiring to hire a hitman to kill someone.

The complaint lists alleged recorded conversations, meetings and acts involving Shalash to further the scheme, including giving the victim’s photo and telephone number to a person Shalash and Sadiqullah believed could arrange to have someone killed.

That person was secretly cooperating with investigators, according to an affidavit from William J. Jackson, an officer on a federal task force with the FBI.

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