Pagan Politician

New York City Councilmember Dan Halloran was charged in April with aiding state Sen. Malcolm Smith’s alleged bribery scheme to run for mayor, bringing Halloran’s extraordinary backstory to light as the first “open” pagan to be elected in the U.S. Halloran converted in the 1980s to medieval Theodish, whose outfits and ceremonies resemble scenes from “Dungeons & Dragons” — horns, sacrifices, feasts, spear duels and public floggings. In 2011, the Village Voice reported Halloran was the “First Atheling” of his own Theodish tribe of 100 called New Normandy, but Halloran said in April that he’s now merely an “elder.”