White Boy Rick Redux

Detroit criminal legend "White Boy" Rick Wersche is the subject of an excellent case profile by Alan Lengel on DeadlineDetroit. Lengel makes a compelling case for Wersche's release, particularly in light of last year's Supreme Court ruling against life sentences for teenagers.

Sentenced to life as teenager for trafficking cocaine he was a sensation in the sensational coke-soaked Detroit 80's. His "White Boy" Rick moniker, youth and race made him a media poster boy that thrust him into the headlines and into Detroit legend while other similar criminals went relatively unmentioned.

Snips that caught my eye:

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Gregg Schwarz, a retired FBI agent who worked Detroit drug cases in the 1980s and has been pushing for years for Wershe’s release, echoes similar sentiments: “This is a kid who tried to become a big deal but he never made it. He didn’t have anyone working for him.

"Now the parole board says he might still be a danger to society. Based on what? Was he ever arrested with a gun? No. Did he ever kill anybody? No. Did he ever assist the FBI and other local agencies? Yes.”

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Interestingly, the U.S. Supreme Court has started to show more compassion for teens accused of murder. Last year, the court ruled that judges could no longer automatically sentence a teen to life without parole without considering youth and upbringing. In 2010, the court ruled that it was unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile to life without parole for crimes other than murder.


Those rulings don’t apply to Wershe since he wasn’t ever accused of murder, let alone convicted, and he’s now eligible for parole. But the findings of court go right to the heart of the matter in the Wershe case: The court is saying you can’t throw away the key for lifers convicted as teens without at least considering mitigating circumstances like youth and a messed-up upbringing -- particularly when murder is not involved.Wershe fits that bill.

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Father's Influence


At 14, Wershe’s dad, Richard Wershe Sr., a law enforcement informant, introduced him to the FBI and Detroit police. Wershe started working as informant in the Detroit drug world, but the FBI used his father’s informant number when writing reports out of concern it would look bad that they were using a juvenile, according to Mucelli, Wershe’s attorney.

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Richard Wershe know as "White Boy Rick" was a Detroit's first ever caucasian kid drug kingpin that turn most of Detroit's East Side into to world's biggest drug store. Folks fear him. Even the police are scared of him. He was murder for hire buddies on his side if your stand in his way.

Here's how he did it.

1. Richard Wershe started to work for the Curry Brothers on Dickerson St. north of I-94 FWY. and Harper Ave. He lived in Hampshire St. near Dickerson St.

2. Johnny Curry [[ one of Curry Bros.) was impressed of Richard's drug dealling that he appointed him his second in command.

3. Richard was named "White Boy Rick" and decided to spread out his drug corners further than E.7 Mile Rd. and Kelly Rd. to near the suburban borders of Harper Woods and Grosse Pointes. After the Curry Bros. was disbanded, White Boy Rick went on his own and have some of the murder for hire buddies named the Best Friends and The Jones Brothers as his crew. White Boy Rick called his former Curry Bros. prime supplier and Art Derrick to deliver mega pounds of cocaine from his private jet. Some of private jets used to own by the Rolling Stones.

4. By 1988. White Boy Rick was arrested for possession of narcotics. He had 11 pounds of crack in his car! He was about to be released on $100,000 bond but was forfeited on another charge of drug possession in one of Rick's friend's home on Hamsphire St. just a block from his house. He was found guilty and was sentence to life in prison.

Rick Wershe is serving a LIFE sentence for one *non-violent* drug charge he got when he was *17 years old* [[back in 1987). Three years prior at the age of 14 yrs old Rick was recruited by the FEDs, DEA and Detroit police to work as a teenage undercover drug informant. Free Rick Wershe!!!


http://www.thefix.com/content/story-...70041?page=all


http://www.theoaklandpress.com/artic...mode=fullstory


https://www.facebook.com/freewhiteboyrickwershe
http://freerickwershe.com/Home_Page.html
https://twitter.com/freerickwershe


Letter from Ex Detroit cop -> https://sphotos-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/h...95049953_n.jpg


Letter from a former Federal agent who worked with Rick:
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http://articles.latimes.com/1991-05-...detroit-police
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/12/us...ith-theft.html
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/08/us...ezzlement.html

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Originally Posted by Lowell

Detroit criminal legend "White Boy" Rick Wersche is the subject of an excellent case profile by Alan Lengel on DeadlineDetroit. Lengel makes a compelling case for Wersche's release, particularly in light of last year's Supreme Court ruling against life sentences for teenagers.

Sentenced to life as teenager for trafficking cocaine he was a sensation in the sensational coke-soaked Detroit 80's. His "White Boy" Rick moniker, youth and race made him a media poster boy that thrust him into the headlines and into Detroit legend while other similar criminals went relatively unmentioned.

Snips that caught my eye:

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Rick was screwed over.

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Originally Posted by Drexciya68

Rick was screwed over.

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It's because his uneducated friends from the hood peered him to be a street pharmacist and his parents didn't even know until its too late.

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Originally Posted by Danny

It's because his uneducated friends from the hood peered him to be a street pharmacist and his parents didn't even know until its too late.

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A harsh lesson to learn, but he is right where he needs to be IMO

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Originally Posted by leapfrog

A harsh lesson to learn, but he is right where he needs to be IMO

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A kid who is busted with drugs deserves life in prison why repeat violent offenders get let out? That certainly hasnt worked well in Detroit.

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Originally Posted by leapfrog

A harsh lesson to learn, but he is right where he needs to be IMO

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Totally disagree. The mandatory minimums set up by politicians in the 80s trying to sound tough on crime did nothing good for this country. We now have 25% of the WORLDS prison population while we are only 5% of the worlds population, because of the war on drugs. Now we have privatized prisons moving in making billions off locking up non violent offenders and then putting them to work for $2 a day. I call that modern day slavery. There is no place for corporations to be handling the duties of justice, thats just sick and wrong and corrupt from the very start. You can bet your ass that these privatized prison companies and their many investors are all trying to keep and put away as many people as they can all in the name of the war on drugs and with the help of mandatory minimums.

let all non violent drug offenders out!

how people can complain about welfare queens one second while paying taxes to feed and house these guys in prison makes no sense to me whatsoever.

Steve Fishman: Parole Board Lacks Guts to Free 'White Boy Rick'

https://d2nyfqh3g1stw3.cloudfront.ne...yrick_8100.jpg

Richard Wershe as a teen and now.

[COLOR=#7F2B2A !important]September 18th, 2013, 10:32 PM[/COLOR]

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[COLOR=#2C2C2C !important]Criminal defense attorney Steve Fishman wrote this column in response to a column by Deadline Detroit's Allan Lengel, who insisted that the Michigan Parole Board is committing a crime by keeping Richard "White Boy Rick" Wershe Jr. behind bars for 26 years. Wershe was convicted of cocaine trafficking as a teenager and was sentenced to life without parole under a law that mandated the unparolable sentence if caught with more than 650 grams of cocaine. The law was later changed and he was re-sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
Fishman authored a letter to the administration of Gov. Jennifer Granholm on behalf of a group of people pushing for clemency for Wershe. Wershe was never a client, and Fishman did not know him while he was on the streets. Fishman said it was just the right thing to do to advocate for his release.
https://d2nyfqh3g1stw3.cloudfront.ne...hman2_8273.png
Attorney Steve Fishman [[Deadline Detroit photo)
By Steve Fishman
To my knowledge, Rick Wershe is the only person in Michigan still serving a life sentence for possession of over 650 grams. Everyone else, including at least one of my clients who was also a teenager at the time of the crime, has received parole since the drug statute changed.
Those of us who are old enough can recall the media hoopla when a 17-year old white kid with the media-friendly nickname "White Boy Rick" was alleged to be the capo di tutti capi of all the drug lords in Detroit in the mid-to late 80s.
As a lawyer who represented many of the guys who were in fact the top dogs in the drug business in those days, the notion that a 17-year old kid - black, white, or purple - could have been the boss of those grown men is so ridiculous as to deserve no further comment. And to suggest, as the Parole Board spokesman did in the article, that Rick Wershe's situation is comparable to other lifers - most of them serving sentences for violent crimes - is an insult to our collective intelligence.
Given the number of people supporting parole for Rick Wershe, including police officers, federal agents, prosecutors, and lawyers, the only possible explanation for his continued incarceration is a lack of guts on the part of the Parole Board.
It is long past time for the Board to recognize, as so many people involved in law enforcement already have, that the time has come to grant him a parole.
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http://www.deadlinedetroit.com/artic...k#.UkjCD8c0_Mg

http://www.deadlinedetroit.com/artic...low_winter_sun

"Richard "White Boy Rick" Wershe Jr., now 44, was convicted as a teen of cocaine trafficking in Detroit in 1988 and is serving a life sentence. As a teen, he was an FBI and Detroit Police informant. In the early 1990s, while behind bars, he was instrumental in helping the FBI create a sting that netted corrupt Detroit and suburban cops.

At Deadline Detroit's request, Wershe mailed a review via mail of AMC's new Detroit cop show, "Low Winter Sun." https://d2nyfqh3g1stw3.cloudfront.ne..._boy2_8471.jpg
Richard "White Boy Rick" Wershe Jr.
By Richard Wershe Jr."Low Winter Sun" is a well-cast cop drama, and if you didn’t know better, you’d think the writers pulled some scenes right out of old Detroit Police case files. But let’s remember this is a fiction-based drama shot right here in the iconic Motor City.Nevertheless, the writers nail it when it comes to police corruption. With DPD, cops on the take, the cover-ups, the lies and police brutality and dirty cops trying to cover up their own crimes by pinning them on the very people society would like to believe are the only ones who commit crimes. SImply said, if you haven’t watched the show yet, give it a try and you’ll be hooked.The writers take you on a ride through the Motor City you’ll never forget. They show you the gritty underworld that most people don’t know exists. You’ll see every type of crime from the Greek Godfather to the blacks who grew up and claim to be doing some good with ill-gotten gains, to the white-trash white boys, who have a little crew of their own, who are trying to get a piece of the pie and what they think is the American dream.https://d2nyfqh3g1stw3.cloudfront.ne...nter1_8472.png
Detectives Frank Agnew [[Mark Strong) and Dani Khalil [[Athena Karkanis) in "Low Winter Sun."
Plus, there’s the few dirty cops who seem to think they’re smarter than all the other cops. But I can assure you they’re not. And as "Low Winter Sun" goes on, I’m betting the dirty cops come crashing down. Just as the writers have nailed every other part of the cop and crimes in Detroit, I’m sure they’ll get this part as well.Let’s hope "Low Winter Sun" has a long successful run in our city, and that more producers and writers bring their shows to Detroit to help bring it back to the thriving city it once was.Without corruption, the Motor City will bounce back with the help from hometown boys coming home like DPD’s new Chief James Craig and many others who truly care about bringing the Motor City back to its glory days."

"But some local law enforcement types -- including some who really had no clue as to Wershe’s activities on the streets-- came to his parole hearing in 2003 and


successfully torpedoed his chance for freedom, painting him as a far bigger player in the dope game than he actually was, and blaming him for playing a major role in


destroying the moral fabric of Detroit. One of the Detroit detectives who testified against Wershe was later charged with drug trafficking and mortgage fraud."


Wonder what the parole status is for this joker? He was a LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER convicted of drug trafficking. Surely he must be doing far, far more time


than White Boy Rick given that he was trusted to lock up drug traffickers.


"Wershe is credited with helping the government disrupt several of the Detroit's most brutal drug gangs in the '80s, including 30 members of the "Best Friends"


crack-dealing crew, whom agents say killed more than 80 people. Wershe's cooperation into the police corruption case led to 14 convictions of law enforcement officers


and public officials. Ironically, some of the most notorious drug dealers and killers that White Boy Rick helped convict—as well as all the policemen—now are free."


http://www.alternet.org/fascinating-...im-prison-life