"The whole avenue is shocked, it's the biggest thing," said Mike Mohabir, 45, a real estate agent. "He's a very popular guy ... he's a little celebrity."

The allegations that James participated in a scheme to murder several people for insurance proceeds was too incredible to believe for many Guyanese immigrants who knew him as the host of a cultural program on cable television.

"It's shocking," said bartender Max Persaud, 42. "Every Sunday he used to be on TV. Whoever don't know him, knew him from TV."

Until his arrest in June, James was a regular face on a cable program featuring Indian music, dance and local performers. He left cable station ITV, which features South Asian cultural programs, more than a year ago after the station reshuffled programming. He had recently been buying time on an Arabic cable channel, his attorney said.

James was also known to many people along Liberty Avenue, where he worked as an agent for the Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America and also sold policies for Metlife.

After reporters' inquiries at his former office yesterday, workers closed before lunch and pulled down shutters.

However, those familiar with James wondered if the allegations would smear the reputation of the growing Indo-Guyanese community.

Kawal Totaram, a well-known attorney whose office is across the street from James' former office, said he's familiar with James. Like others, he too was shocked by the allegations and hoped they were not true.

At the same time, Totaram, also from Guyana, said he feels the case could discourage other immigrants from engaging in unscrupulous business deals.

"It's a wake-up call for our community to re-examine its moral values and how we deal with ourselves," Totaram said. "As the business community grows, there will always be temptations for these sorts of unscrupulous acts."

James allegedly wrote policies on at least two people and then hired someone to kill them to collect the money. The scheme was allegedly hatched by Ronald Mallay, 57, who was arrested and charged Tuesday.

Federal officials say the investigation is ongoing and could involve other victims going back to 1998.

James' attorney, Thomas Sheehan, defended his client yesterday, saying he's a victim of baseless allegations from "questionable" informants.