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{{Short description|American mobster (born 1959)}}
{{Infobox criminal
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Hakeem Abdul-Shaheed
| honorific_suffix =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| image =
| image_upright =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Robert Edward Molley
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|03|04}}
| birth_place = [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]], [[New Jersey]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| death_date = 
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| resting_place =
| nationality =
| other_names = "Midget Molley"
| citizenship =
| occupation =
| years_active =
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=2}}
| conviction_penalty = Ten years' imprisonment (1980) <br> Nineteen years' imprisonment (1990)
| conviction_status =
| spouse = 
| children = 
| relatives =
| allegiance =
| conviction = Attempted murder (1980) <br> Drug trafficking (1990)
}}
'''Hakeem Abdul-Shaheed''' (born '''Robert Edward Molley'''; March 4, 1959), also known as '''Midget Molley,''' is an American convicted [[drug dealer]] and [[organized crime]] leader.<ref name="Marder 1990"/><ref name=biography.com/><ref name="Suhr1">{{cite news|url=http://www.chasingevil.org/2007/10/midget-alleges-hate-crimes.html|title=The Midget Alleges Hate Crimes: A Very Questionable Claim|last=Suhr|first=Jim|date=2007-10-03|agency=Associated Press|access-date=2008-12-24|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819025909/http://www.chasingevil.org/2007/10/midget-alleges-hate-crimes.html|archive-date=2010-08-19}}</ref> He acquired the nickname '[[Midget]]' from his family, in reference to his short height.<ref name=biography.com/> He stands at 5'2".<ref name=biography.com/>

==Early life==
Robert "Midget" Molley was born on March 4, 1959, in [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]], to Benjamin Franklin Molley, a [[Pentecostal]] pastor, and Helen Louise Molley.<ref name=biography.com/> He was the ninth of twelve children. The family was religious and strict and Robert would often have to listen to family sermons late into the night.<ref name=biography.com>{{cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/people/midget-molley-485778|title=Midget Molley|publisher=Biography.com / [[A&E Networks]].|accessdate=10 June 2016|archive-date=10 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610093728/http://www.biography.com/people/midget-molley-485778|url-status=dead}}</ref> Midget Molley's father died of a brain tumor in 1969, obliging his mother to seek work in local hotels,<ref name=biography.com/> away from the home where six of the Molley children still lived.

Around the age of six, family members noticed that Robert was not growing at the normal rate as kids his age, thus they began joking by referring to him as a midget.<ref name=biography.com/> The title stuck and Robert became known as Midget Molley.<ref name=biography.com/> He reached an adult height of {{convert|5|ft|2|in|cm}}.<ref name=biography.com/>

In 1976, Midget Molley became a member of the [[Nation of Islam]],<ref name=biography.com/> under the national leadership of [[Wallace D. Muhammad]]. He belonged to Temple #10, located in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the Nation of Islam he was known as Brother Robert 8X. He subsequently changed his name to Hakeem Ali Abdul-Shaheed<ref name=biography.com/> to reflect the path the Nation of Islam had taken after the death of [[Elijah Muhammad]].

==1980s==
{{BLP sources section|date=June 2016}}
In 1980, Molley was convicted for attempted murder and was sentenced to serve ten years at [[Bayside State Prison]].<ref name=biography.com/> He was released after serving six years.<ref name=biography.com/>

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, D.C., 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, New Jersey|Vineland]], called his group the ASO Posse and often flaunted his drug-financed wealth by wearing a gold crown valued at around $1.5 million.<ref name="Philly-archives-1"/><ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/sci/pdf/afro.pdf |title=Afro-lineal organized crime |access-date=2011-04-03 |archive-date=2012-10-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019210412/http://www.state.nj.us/sci/pdf/afro.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

On January 1, 1989, Abdul-Shaheed walked into Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino Ballroom wearing his gold crown and surrounded by "his most trusted distributors."<ref name=biography.com/> Law enforcement personnel were angered by this display of ill-gotten wealth.<ref name=biography.com/>

===1989 conviction===
In February 1989 Abdul-Shaheed and 20 of his distributors were arrested after a seven-month investigation by the United States Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.<ref name=biography.com/><ref name="Philly-archives-1"/><ref>{{cite news |author=Staff writer |title=Raid on Cocaine Ring Results in 16 Arrests |agency=AP |date=1989-02-16 |accessdate=24 December 2008|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE3D81230F935A25751C0A96F948260&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FSubjects%2FD%2FDrug%20Abuse%20and%20Traffic |work=The New York Times}}</ref> Abdul-Shaheed was suspected of two murders in Atlantic City,<ref name="Philly-archives-1"/> 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 kingpin and sentenced to over 19 years in Federal prison<ref name="Marder 1990"/> under the 848 statute. The crown he had worn was never found,<ref name="Philly-archives-1"/> 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.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

==2000s==
In 2006 Midget Molley was released from prison,<ref name=biography.com/> and he now lives in [[Atlantic City]]. Abdul-Shaheed speaks with young people about "staying free of crime" and also acts as "an advocate for incarcerated Muslims".<ref name=biography.com/>

Abdul-Shaheed founded the nonprofit organization named "The D=Bear Youth Foundation", which addresses problems with gangs & gang violence, drug use & sales, and teen sex.<ref name="Suhr1"/><ref name="D-Bear Youth Foundation"/>

==Books==
In 2007 Ali Rob wrote a novel based on Abdul-Shaheed's life and times, ''The Myth of Midget Molley''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Rob | first=A. | title=The Myth of Midget Molley: Life and Love of a Kingpin | publisher=D-Bear Publications Llc | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-9790048-4-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=41QNAgAACAAJ | accessdate=June 10, 2016}}</ref> A later book also written by Rob, titled ''Resurrection of A Legend'', also explores Midget Molley's life.<ref>{{cite book | title=Resurrection of A Legend | date=July 19, 2010 | author=Rob, Ali| isbn=978-0979004865 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Marder 1990">{{cite web | last=Marder | first=Dianna | title=A Flamboyant A.c. Drug Figure Sentenced To 19 Years In Prison | website=philly-archives | date=January 23, 1990 | url=http://articles.philly.com/1990-01-23/news/25907645_1_federal-sentencing-guidelines-months-of-house-arrest-guilty-pleas | access-date=June 10, 2016 | archive-date=July 1, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701180158/http://articles.philly.com/1990-01-23/news/25907645_1_federal-sentencing-guidelines-months-of-house-arrest-guilty-pleas | url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="D-Bear Youth Foundation">{{cite web | url=http://www.midgetmolley.com/dbearyouthfoundation.html | title=The D-Bear Youth Foundation | publisher=Midgetmolley.com | accessdate=10 June 2016 | archive-date=22 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322113755/http://www.midgetmolley.com/dbearyouthfoundation.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="Philly-archives-1">{{cite web | last1=Schurman | first1=Mike | last2=Gonzales | first2=Patrisia | title=The Downfall Of A Drug Kingdom In A.c. | website=philly-archives | date=June 11, 1989 | url=http://articles.philly.com/1989-06-11/news/26107247_1_drug-gangs-housing-projects-drug-ring | access-date=June 10, 2016 | archive-date=March 4, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071115/http://articles.philly.com/1989-06-11/news/26107247_1_drug-gangs-housing-projects-drug-ring | url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* [http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/american-gangster/episode-3-season-3/midget-molley/297378/ American Gangster]. Season 3, Episode 3. [[BET]]. 60 minutes.
* {{cite web | last=Hummel | first=Jack | title=Writer's journey from crack house to God's house | website=NJ.com | date=August 28, 2014 | url=http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.ssf/2014/08/post_93.html | accessdate=June 10, 2016}}
* {{cite web | title=Former A.C. drug kingpin free from prison, with extra money | website=Press of Atlantic City | date=November 22, 2009 | url=http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/atlantic_city/former-a-c-drug-kingpin-free-from-prison-with-extra/article_4f3eda5f-d58a-59f9-8e0f-f97844ceb3f1.html}}
* {{cite web | last=Suhr | first=Jim | title=Muslim Ex-Inmate Alleges Prison Abuse | website=The Oklahoman | date=October 3, 2007 | url=http://newsok.com/muslim-ex-inmate-alleges-prison-abuse/article/3139817}}
* {{cite web | last=Gonzalez | first=Steve | title=Muslim prisoner claims mistreatment post-9-11 | website=Madison County Record | date=September 28, 2007 | url=http://madisonrecord.com/stories/510563676-muslim-prisoner-claims-mistreatment-post-9-11}}
* {{cite web | last=Campbell | first=Douglas A. | title=3 Convicted As Members Of A.c. Drug Empire | website=philly-archives | date=October 11, 1989 | url=http://articles.philly.com/1989-10-11/news/26119031_1_drug-ring-drug-dealers-drug-charges| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222020912/http://articles.philly.com/1989-10-11/news/26119031_1_drug-ring-drug-dealers-drug-charges| url-status=dead| archive-date=December 22, 2015}}

==External links==
* [http://www.itsmidgetmolley.com]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul-Shaheed, Hakeem}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:American drug traffickers]]
[[Category:American people of Barbadian descent]]
[[Category:People from Atlantic City, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from Vineland, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Converts to Islam from Christianity]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:African-American gangsters]]
[[Category:African-American former Christians]]
[[Category:African-American Muslims]]
[[Category:Former Nation of Islam members]]
[[Category:Criminals from New Jersey]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American people]]
[[Category:Muslims from New Jersey]]

Hakeem Abdul-Shaheed - Revision history

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