The author and historian has kept in touch with Wershe over the years and has studied his case extensively. Under the law at that time, it was supposed to cost him the rest of his life, which is just ridiculous. -Documentary, Yes. On paper, they recorded White Boy Ricks tips under his fathers name. Rick started hanging out with their younger brother, Rudell "Boo" Curry, who shared Rick's interest in cars, motorcycles and girls. Johnny Curry was history. Today is a great day for truth, a great day for justice, a great day for vindication, Burnstein said when Wershe was released in July 2020. Soon after, he became an informant for the FBI. Wershe is a father of two daughters and a son. All I can do is try to be the best man I can from this day forward, Wershe says. At that time, this personality was just 17 years old. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Richie Merritt, Eddie Marsan, Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, White Boy Rick Documentary & Related Videos, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. When the FBI carried out Operation Backbone, an elaborate sting operation targeting public corruption in Detroit, Richard Wershe Jr. assisted them. He was 17-years-old. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Richard " White Boy Rick " Wershe Jr. is speaking out for the first time since his release from prison this summer. Wershe is a father of two daughters and a son. Likewise, in July 2020, Richard was released from custody in Florida after completing his sentence with credits for good behavior. However, after Wershe Jr. became an FBI informant, money began to flow in as they paid him for information. Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Instead, he remained incarcerated in Michigan for 29 years. We have no more Information about his Father; we will try to collect information and update soon. He became the longest-serving nonviolent juvenile offender in Michigan history. -The Atavist Magazine, This happened when Wershe was 14, well before he could drive legally. He was born into an average family that lived in an area on the east side of Detroit. Al Profit/YouTubeNate Boone Craft, the convicted hitman who claims he was hired to kill Rick Wershe Jr. Wershe didn't have a drug gang, he didn't have crack houses, he didn't control any parts of the city, and there's no evidence that he ever killed anyone or ordered anyone to be killed. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. In 1988, Wershe was sentenced to life in prison in Michigan under the states 650-Lifer Law, a drug statute that penalized those found in possession of more than 650 grams of cocaine or heroin with a stiff penalty of life imprisonment without parole. Inspector Hill and Mayor Young, though, would walk away free. Lured by their wealth and expensive things he had only seen in magazines, Rick started spending time with Johnny. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The guy who pulled the trigger was an acquaintance and swore that it was an accident, but Wershe wasn't completely convinced, especially since Curry had likely caught wind that he was an informant. He essentially goes by Rich W and is a graduate of the University of Michigan. No one knows," says Wershe. The police took White Boy Rick right to the media. He was a kingpin. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()), Victoria Persinger Wiki, Biography, Age, Spouse, Net Worth, Fast Facts, Jeremy Hartwell Wiki, Biography, Age, Spouse, Net Worth, Fast Facts. Fathers name is Not Available. Wershe was arrested but the cop never showed up for the trial. Despite his age, he proved himself to be invaluable to the FBI. The law enforcement to which hes referring are the FBI agents who came to his door for his father in 1984. See All. Rick says they robbed somewhere around 20 homes together (not shown in the movie). View our online Press Pack. Copyright 2023 ClickOnDetroit.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. The answer could be one that the city still isn't willing to face. In Detroit in the 80s, everyone knew when White Boy Rick was around. Like Matthew McConaughey's character in the movie, Richard Wershe Sr. was a tall, wiry man who came up with different ways to make money, including selling surplus electronics, sporting goods, satellite-TV equipment, and devices to pirate cable TV. -WXYZ-TV Detroit, Yes. In one of the meetings with WXYZ, Michelle said that everything went according to plan and that Richard was happy, solid, full of energy and enthusiastic. Dave Bartkowiak Jr., Digital Managing Editor. Then they had him thrown in prison for life. Nate Boone Craft, a hitman with thirty confirmed murders under his belt, claims that Inspector Gil Hill offered him a small fortune to kill the teenaged boy who knew too much. Source: Detroit. Richard was sentenced to life in prison in Michigan under the states 650-Lifer Law. White Boy Ricks new fame changed his life. The man who shot him had claimed it was an accident but Rick had his suspicions that there were people out to get him. Wershe claims that it was because he had helped the FBI with Operation Backbone, which targeted corrupt police and public officials. "I think everything went really well and he looks forward to everything that he has ahead of him.. "Where did the drugs come from? He regularly spent time with the brothers and they did not suspect a thing. In addition to driving a Jeep that blatantly referenced his life as an up-and-coming cocaine dealer, Richard Wershe Jr. wore chains and tracksuits, a belt made of gold, a mink coat (given to him by Johnny Curry), and a Rolex with diamonds encircling it. Wershe spent nearly three decades behind bars in Michigan for a non-violent drug offense. Convicted murderers came and went while Wershe was behind bars for possession. It took 30 years for Richard Wershe Jr. to win his freedom. Yes. Kiesha Wershe is the daughter of the famous drug dealer Richard Wershe Jr. Richard Wershe is also known as White Boy Rick. The FBI had nobody to blame for this new drug lord but themselves. In 2014, freelance writer Evan Hughes read Wershes outlandish claims about a conspiracy that had put him behind bars and started to look into whether they were true. They were relics of a time when Detroit was booming. It was a felony charged while he was still behind bars. In July 2021, Wershe sued the FBI, saying in the lawsuit that: "Had I not been an informant for the task force, I would never have gotten involved with drug gangs or criminality of any sort", and that the FBI's actions amounted to child abuse. magazine.atavist.com. Wershe Jr. has stated that although his father knew that he was still meeting with the FBI, he never realised how far the agency had gotten him involved with the Curry brothers. The former FBI informant at age 14, now starts his life over as an adult. The law was overturned but he was rejected as a menace to society by the Michigan Parole Board in 2003, despite (or perhaps because of) having assisted the FBI in the 1990s with a sting unsuccessfully targeting Gil Hill and drawing in the relatives of influential city politicians. In the 1980s, he gained notoriety in the streets of Detroit under the moniker White Boy Rick. Johnny and other members of his organisation each served 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to several charges. September 14, 2018, 1:43 AM by Allan Lengel. It was a significant amount, but it wasn't the hundreds of kilos that Detroit's drug kingpins were moving at the time. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. He was only 14 years old at the time. The true crime author believes that Wershe was jailed for an unjust length of time, especially considering the fact that he was groomed by the government at such an early age. The Curry gang was upset that Leon, who had promised the Curry crew tickets to the Hearns vs. Hagler fight in Las Vegas, didn't follow through (White Boy Rick was in Vegas with the Curry crew). Ever since he was released, Richard Jr has been an advocate for prison reform and works with Team Wellness to help ex-convicts. Wershe's 30-year-old son sat next to me at a screeening Thursday night in Novi for the . In the summer of 1984, FBI agents came to their house and started showing pictures of the Curry brothers and their associates. He's one of the few people I've met in jail that doesn't say, 'I'm innocent.' Wershe's son, Richard Williams who goes by simply Rich W is a University of Michigan graduate. Wershe says that the FBI barely scratched the surface of how deep the corruption ran, and releasing him meant that the truth might come out. The biggest confiscation occurred on East Side, where the Curry brothers were in charge. Dawn was doing crack cocaine while Wershe Jr., accompanied by Bell, began committing burglaries. Thats how Richard Wershe Jr. became the FBIs youngest informant. Matthew McConaughey starred as Richards father, Richard Wershe Sr. More: Former Detroit hitman wants White Boy Rick to be released from prison. Richard White Boy Rick Wershe Jr. is speaking out for the first time since his release from prison this summer. As stated in the White Boy documentary, one of those lawyers went on to become one of the officials who petitioned to deny Wershe's chance at parole in 2003, his one and only hearing until 2017. Dawn goes on to say that her family was never consulted for the film, but McConaughey did visit with Wershe Jr. at Oaks Correctional Facility in Manistee in March 2017 for more than 4 hours to prepare for the role. He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment. View more / View less Facts of Keisha Wershe. "Today was just it was, you know freedom," McDonald said. They wanted information. You tell me how its right that I served 32 years for a non-violent crime and someone who has raped or killed walks free in a few years, he told the Daily Mail. Wershe is a father of two daughters and a son. Burstein even served as a consultant for the White Boy Rick film. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. But Richard Wershe Jr. is ready to try. AKA Richard Wershe Jr.'s daughter, Kiesha Wershe, is a well known drug supplier. Wershe was released from a Florida prison in July, ending his 32 years behind bars that started after a drug trafficking arrest at 17 years old in 1987. It was at a time when the hysteria surrounding the War on Drugs in the U.S. was nearing its peak. While his father did not recognize them, Wershe Jr. did. The film starring Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey tells the fact-based story of Richard Wershe Jr., a Detroit teenager who became an undercover informant for the FBI during the 1980s and was ultimately arrested for drug-trafficking and sentenced to life in prison. Furthermore, Richard's father was also an FBI . When he was asked what t will be like when he hangs out with his father after his release he responded: "Honestly, I don't know, we've got some catching up to do.". Richard Wershe Jr. is an American convicted drug dealer and former informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. At present, Wershe Jr. is kept at the Reception and Medical Center state prison in Lake Butler, Florida and is scheduled to be released in 2020. RICHARD Wershe Jr., known as White Boy Rich was an undercover FBI informant in the 1980's. Did his involvement in helping the FBI expose corrupt cops and city officials lead to him being denied parole for 29 years? Who is George Osborne's fiance Thea Rogers? RICHARD Wershe Jr known as White Boy Rich was an undercover FBI informant in the 1980s. Wershe Jr. pleaded to the man to call him an ambulance. Yes. -Detroit Free Press. But a lot of people seem to feel and see I had a rough deal. Community. 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Richard Wershe Jr is a dad of three children and a granddad to six grandchildren, White Boy Rick was released from prison in July 2020, after serving 32 years, McDonald's worker slammed after serving 'half-eaten' burgers and 'ruining' food with too much sauce in TikTok video. Agent Gregg Schwarz would later admit: We brought him into the drug world. [3][4][5][6], Wershe and his working class family lived in a neighborhood on the east side of Detroit about seven miles (11km) from the city center. And to the 14-year-old Richard Wershe Jr., it was an adventure: What kid doesnt want to be an undercover cop when hes 14, 15 years old?. I don't agree I committed the crime that I was convicted of.". This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. His wife, Cathy Volsan (Mayor Coleman Young's niece), 24, began having an affair with Wershe, then 17. + View More Here. Wershe, who was caught with more than eight kilograms in his possession, was way past that mark.In 1998, the law was amended to retroactively allow for the chance of parole. I told on the wrong people, Wershe confessed. One of the first scenes of the film, which is also featured in its trailers, shows a strung-out Dawn fighting with her father in the street in her underwear. The FBI investigated Gil Hill's possible role in the cover up, but no charges were ever brought against Hill. "Everything went as planned. In addition to this, he was an amateur inventor. Wershe barely survived and left the hospital with a colostomy bag. Wershe Sr. was a self-admitted hustler and found numerous inventive ways to earn money. -The Atavist Magazine, Yes. One gang lord, B.J. OK? After he was done working as an informant for the FBI, Richard Wershe started selling cocaine himself. Richard Wershe Jr. was arrested in his home in 1988 with 17 pounds of cocaine. I cant look back.. In May 1987, when he was 17 years old, Wershe Jr. was arrested and charged with the possession of eight kilos of cocaine. During this period, he was earning about $30,000 a month. DETROIT -"White Boy Rick" has hit the big screen. Leo was loud and flashy, while Johnny was the clear-headed businessman who didn't use drugs and even avoided being in the same room as the ones he supplied. -Crime Watch Daily, No. See the events in life of Richard Wershe Jr. in Chronological Order, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gehW0KhK5Y, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSLTpGPrKfU, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SznO2lpacFY, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p14I6X5m1c. Wershe in fact helped with the largest public corruption case in Detroit's history at the time. The youngest known informant in the history of the FBI, Wershe became a confidential informant when he was 14 to 16 years old. Keisha is out of the social media world. Dawn's heroin use is a major characteristic of her character in the film. But they worried that if they took action on their findings, the agency would get wind of their all-too-young informant. Later in 2020, he was awarded credits for proper conduct. Wershe Jr. survived the ordeal and it appeared to the Curry brothers and their associates that he did not reveal anything to the authorities. A film based on his life titled White Boy Rick was released Sept. 14, 2018. -The Atavist, According to former hitman Nathaniel Craft, he says that he was hired by homicide detective Gil Hill to take out Richard Wershe Jr. so that Wershe couldn't confess to what he knew about corruption in the police department, including the cover up of Damion Lucas' murder. Richard Wershe is also called White Boy Rick. He had been assigned to show the movie's director, Martin Brest, around Detroit. More than a dozen police officers were implicated. 8:08 am. Almost all of those who were convicted under the original law have been released. Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy Limited 's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with Privacy. 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