Updated 02/03/2010 11:35 PM
Officials: Chaplain Tried To Smuggle Contraband Into Downtown Jail
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A jails chaplain was arrested Wednesday for bringing contraband into a Manhattan corrections facility.
Officials say Imam Zul-Qarnin Shahid, 58, of Staten Island is charged with four felony counts of promoting prison contraband for allegedly trying to sneak three razor blades and a pair of scissors into the Manhattan Detention Complex.
Abdu-Shahid was taken into custody Wednesday at the complex know as "The Tombs."
He is being held on $50,000 bond.
The Muslim cleric has served time for murder and robbery in the past.
His attorney tells the Associated Press that Abdu-Shahid has reformed his life and denies his client did anything wrong, and thinks he did not know the items were in his bag.
Abdu-Shahid has been employed as a chaplain with the Department of Corrections since 2007.
He has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.