Sweet freedom: ex-convict Shakoor Watson overcame a heroin addiction to build a thriving bakery. (Guts & Glory).

When you step in Shakoor's Sweet Tooth, you're immediately conflicted. The cakes that line the glass showcase of this Brooklyn eatery seem to shimmer and call out to you, like so many gems in a jewelry store. And they are just as rich. Moist, red velvet cake and traditional triple-layered favorites, such as German chocolate cake, carrot cake, and strawberry shortcake, compete with lemon meringue pie and peach cobbler.

But it is owner Shakoor Watson's original sweet potato cheesecake that brings customers back. It's absolutely addictive--something that Watson understands better than most.

Watson, 45, is not ashamed to say that he has been a recovering heroin addict for the past 12 years. And that he is an ex-convict. He was 28 at the time, a baker and an intravenous drug abuser who would do almost anything for a fix, including beating and robbing a man for drug money. The assault yielded exactly $1 and a seven-year sentence, for robbery and assault, in some of New York's most notorious prisons: Bikers, Attica, and Sing Sing.

About a year into his prison term, Watson began looking for an anchor to cling to; he soon found it in Islam. Drawn to the religion's frequent calls to prayer, he became Muslim and changed his name from Elonzo to Shakoor, which means "grateful and appreciative." He found himself rediscovering the self-pride his parents had tried to instill in him when he was growing up, and began reaching back for the strong values that had once been his foundation. Slowly, he began to reclaim his life.

"Some guys in prison are always talking about what they're going to do when they get out, but my transformation began inside," says Watson. "I wasn't waiting until I got out to get it together. I came out of jail running."

After working for $4 an hour at a Key Food supermarket for a few months, the baker's union to which Watson had once belonged called. They offered him a job at Pechter Fields, a wholesale bakery in Brooklyn, New York, and he later worked for Fink Bread in New Jersey. After Pechter Fields went out of business, its main competitor, Acme Cake Co., lured Watson back to Brooklyn. While at Acme, Watson frequently brought in ideas for new recipes. Although he was told they were no good, a month later he'd spot his idea coming off the conveyer belt. So, he turned what could have been anger into fuel. Instead of bringing his recipes into work, he began making them at home and selling them to family and friends.

By then, he was married to Marissa Watson, 43. "In our first phone conversation, he told me all about his past," she says. "He didn't have to do that. He took a real chance, so I did too. Shakoor is a man of his word. If he does something, he does it right. And his outlook, as far as doing something positive and becoming a positive force for others, is real."

Marissa had saved money, hoping to open a small bookstore and cafe. But Shakoor's success with baking from home convinced her that they should stick to what worked. They traded their $10 mixer for a $500 model and converted a rundown storefront in their Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood into Shakoor's Sweet Tooth, opening the door in March 2000. That first year, from March through December, they grossed $40,000. Last year, sales were three times that. They project 2003 sales of at least $200,000, supported in part by a growing wholesale business.

Three restaurants now feature Shakoor's cakes on their menus. The couple has also launched a catering and takeout business. Although they've hired a cook, Shakoor still does all of the baking himself; some of the recipes are his, and some were handed down by his mother, who worked in a bakery for 40 years. The Watsons are in the final stages of converting Shakoor's recipe for sweet potato pound cake into a mix, which will be sold in supermarkets nationally. These successes would be enough for most, But not for Watson. He is currently trying to team with a school to develop training and mentoring programs for delinquent boys. Future plans include operating a school that would teach cooking and character building.

"You build a callous over your heart when you do negative things," he says. "It takes just as long to wear that callous back down. You do it by humbling yourself. In order to grow, you have to be humble, and you have to have character. You get there by helping others."

On June 15, Shakoor Watson will join dozens of black men participating in a 10-city event, Real Men Cook for Charity. Representing New York City, he will serve up his signature sweet potato cheesecake. The proceeds will benefit various charities that serve at-risk youth and underprivileged families.

Good food and good deeds: Watson has built a new life--and a fast-growing business--by combining the two.

RELATED ARTICLE: breaking free from the offender population.

Shakoor Watson's story is an inspirational one. But do stories like Watson's represent a path to freedom for others? Dr. Paul Karsten Fauteck, the author of Going Straight: An Ex-Convict/Psychologist Tells Why and How (iUniverse.com; $23.95), answers with an emphatic "Yes!"

Going Straight is a straightforward, no-nonsense guide to relinquishing the life of an M.O.P (Member of the Offender Population) to become a happy, respectable, and successful member of society. The book is for M.O.P.s and their parents, spouses, children, and loved ones. It is also relevant for those interested in .crime, punishment, and rehabilitation. An M.O.P., according to Fauteck, is anyone who lives or aspires to a criminal lifestyle, including (but not limited to) those who have been arrested, convicted of a crime, and sent to prison. Now a respected forensic psychologist, Fauteck spent nearly a decade as an M.O.P., serving several years in federal prisons (he was granted a presidential pardon in 1992). As a result, his expertise is rooted not only in clinical study, but also in personal experience. His experiences make Going Straight a one of a kind, must-read, self-help book for those who truly want to break free.

Fauteck's Website, www.go ing-straight.com, provides information and resources for those who want to go straight or want to help others do so. He is currently gathering materials for his next book, which will profile ex-convicts who have become productive members of society. To share your story or the story of someone you know, contact Fauteck at 7144 North Harlem No. 186; Chicago, IL, 60631; or via e-mail at pf@crim rehab.com.

Alfred A. Edmond Jr.