The FBI, though, wasnt there to send him to prison. Absolutely. Wershe spent nearly three decades behind bars in Michigan for a non-violent drug offense. Yes, the true story confirms that they separated when Wershe was around six. Richard Wershe Sr. didnt have any answers but his 14-year-old son, Richard Wershe Jr., knew every name. He looks great. Source: pressinformant.com. Therefore, it was a crime convicted while he was still behind the bars. informant at age 14. An off-duty cop was in traffic nearby and pulled them over. Moreover, in one of the interviews with WXYZ, Michelle said that everything went as planned and that Richard was happy, healthy, excited, and emotional. Wershe had driven his grandmother's car to a gas station, and his sister Dawn drove another car. The Estimated Net worth is $80K USD $85k. Inspector Hill and Mayor Young, though, would walk away free. White Boy Rick, aka Richard Wershes Daughter Now The whereabouts of White Boy Rick, aka Richard Wershes daughter, has not been revealed. A carjacker with a gun in his hand jumped into Wershe's car. When he was 15, Wershe Jr. was shot in the stomach by one of Johnnys associates at the latter house. Wershes attorney argued the vans are dangerous and inhumane, as Wershe had made the trip to Florida by prison van once before. A Florida clemency board has denied an early prison release for the man known as "White Boy Rick," once one of the FBI . We have no more Information about his Father; we will try to collect information and update soon. In researching the White Boy Rick true story, we learned that Wershe's activities as an off-the-books confidential FBI informant were kept under wraps at the trial, which ended with him being given a life sentence. The Curry brothers, Leo 'Big Man' Curry and Johnny 'Lil Man' Curry, were twins. Thats why her height, weight, eye color, hair color, etc are unavailable on the internet till today. Richard Wershe Jr. (born July 18, 1969), [2] known as " White Boy Rick ", is an American former drug trafficker and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant. After spending 32 years incarcerated, Wershe was released from prison in Florida, on July 20, 2020 having completed his sentence with credits for good behavior. Kiesha Wershe is the girl of renowned street pharmacist Richard Wershe Jr. Richard Wershe is also called White Boy Rick. The White Boy Rick true story reveals that, like in the movie, it happened when Johnny Curry was in jail awaiting trial. He was just aware of what went on around him in his community, a streetwise kid, and the FBI was willing to pay to find out just how much he was aware of. Keisha is out of the social media world. . Despite the Michigan Parole Board voting unanimously to grant Richard Wershe Jr. his freedom in 2017 after spending 29 years in prison, the then 47-year-old still had time to serve in Florida for a separate offense. The judge, who commented that Wershe looked like the bank robber Baby Face Nelson, went on to say that "as far as the court is concerned, he's worse than a mass murderer." -The Atavist Magazine, Rick's sister Dawn was dating a small-time criminal named Terrence Bell and she had become involved with crack cocaine. According to Deadline Detroit, Rich, who is in his 30s, has a white-collar job. According to the White Boy documentary, he did go to stay with his mother for the eighth grade when he was 13, but he didn't get along with her new husband and he was still in contact with his dad. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. Wershe Sr. had initially contacted the FBI to seek their help with his daughter, who, by then, had a severe drug problem. Home. "Everything went as planned. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. Is it peculiar that he gets released same year that we're makin' a movie that shines a little spotlight on him? In 1987, at 17 years of age, Wershe was arrested for possessing cocaine in excess of eight kilograms (18 pounds). He spent over three decades in prison, not getting the chance to spend time with his family. AKA Richard Wershe Jr.'s daughter, Kiesha Wershe, is a well known drug supplier. Though he wasnt an angel he already started looting peoples homes for cash Wershe Jr. had never touched cocaine in his life. Dawn blared her horn to alert Wershe, who came out of the store and got into the passenger seat of the car Dawn was driving. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Thats because White Boy Rick wasnt a drug lord he was an FBI informant. A film based on his life titled White Boy Rick was released Sept. 14, 2018. "I don't know what other words to use, not the way it was.". Starring newcomer Richie Merritt and Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey, the film tells the incredible true story of Richard (White Boy Rick) Wershe, Jr., the longest-serving non-violent juvenile. Later in the year 2017, Richard was again sentenced to 5 years in prison at Florida State prison on a 2008 car theft ring conviction. In September 2018, Local 4 shared a special documentary report on the life of Wershe, the now infamous figure in Detroits drug scene in the 1980s. "Well, they never really say (what drug it is)," Dawn told WXYZ reporter Carolyn Cliffordwhen asked about the drugs. When he was released from prison in Michigan in 2017, Wershe walked out of the prison and right into a prison transport van. Wershe Jr.s father saw this as an opportunity to keep food on their table. Al Profit/YouTubeNate Boone Craft, the convicted hitman who claims he was hired to kill Rick Wershe Jr. Wershe Jr. grew up in a lower middle-class household in East Side of Detroit. In Mayor Youngs city, to get Curry into trouble was dangerous for himself and bad for his business. As described above, this included "the cocaine king" Johnny 'Lil Man' Curry (portrayed by Jonathan Majors in the movie). I go to pay for a meal, and someone recognizes me as White Boy Rick, and they say, I got this.. Pandemonium followed. Campaigners for Wershe have suggested to reporters that the length of his incarceration may have been connected to him having provided the FBI with information leading to the arrest of family members and associates of former Detroit mayor Coleman A. Ever since he was released, Richard Jr has been an advocate for prison reform and works with Team Wellness to help ex-convicts. I don't think so. The judge's implication is that the drugs Wershe supplied destroyed lives and likely resulted in deaths.Wershe has claimed that his FBI handlers pushed him into the drug trade to serve their own ends. The end result of three hours of questioning was a ruling in Wershe Jr.'s favor. [9][10][11][12] In 2019, his application was denied by the Florida clemency board. -White Boy Documentary. They taught him how to pedal drugs on the street. However, Leon was not home but the boy and his mom were. Under the law at that time, it was supposed to cost him the rest of his life, which is just ridiculous. No one knows," says Wershe. The police took White Boy Rick right to the media. Keisha is the daughter of Richard Wershe Jr., who used to work for the FBI as an informant and sold drugs. In Detroit in the 80s, everyone knew when White Boy Rick was around. Richard Wershe, Jr. (Photo: Darlene Carr) The agents decided then and there to make an informant recruitment. "We were very overwhelmed," she had told WXYZ at the time. It makes you wonder how many other people might be incarcerated wrongly or unfairly, but because they don't have a light shone on them, they're [not] readdressing their incarceration. Johnny was one of the most powerful drug lords in Detroits underworld and Wershe Jr. constantly provided information on him and his criminal empire. It didn't help that Rick's father would leave the kids alone to go out of town to do business.The reigning drug operation in Rick's East Side neighborhood was run by twin brothers Leo 'Big Man' Curry and Johnny 'Lil Man' Curry, who lived just across the I-94 from the Wershes. informant at age 14. magazine.atavist.com. -Crime Watch DailyThe press had played up Wershe's nickname and labeled him a "teenage drug kingpin." He became sick." "My fingerprints weren't on the drugs. This came up at Richard Wershe Jr.'s 2017 hearing. He had previously plead guilty to two felonies related to a Florida stolen car scheme and was sentenced to five years in prison in 2006 on charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. They were relics of a time when Detroit was booming. I wasnt doing all that well at the time. 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. Soon after, he became an informant for the FBI. It contains clips from Richard Wershe Jr. interviews and photos from his time as an FBI informant and drug dealer. -The Atavist Magazine. 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. Published: July 20, 2020, Deadline Detroit, September 07, 2016, Allan Lengel, Last edited on 15 February 2023, at 08:20, "Newcomer Richie Merritt Lands Title Role in 'White Boy Rick' Opposite Matthew McConaughey", After 32 years behind bars, White Boy Rick Wershe Jr. to be released Monday, ONE-TIME DETROIT SUPER COP GIL HILL DIES OF LUNG DISEASE, FAMED CRIME FIGHTER NEVER SHOOK MURDER COVER-UP CLAIMS, Past Detroit Hit Man Claims Gil Hill Wanted Him To Kill Richard Wershe Jr, "Who is White Boy Rick? They caught him with 17 pounds of cocaine. A nearby policeman then appears to arrest them. -White Boy Documentary, With local drug lord Johnny Curry behind bars, it is believed that Wershe, then 17, was bringing in about $30,000 a month. California mom 'didnt hit brakes' before driving SUV off 100ft cliff with daughter in fatal plunge, Kim Jong-un creates entire college focused on building hypersonic nuke missiles to wipe out the West, Drunk girl loses her front TEETH during boozy bottomless brunch after TikTok stunt ends in disaster, Moderna Covid vaccine could be reserved for young people amid AstraZeneca blood clot fears, says expert, Ukrainian playboy 'behind Dubai naked photoshoot' is pictured with Hillary Clinton and made Obama campaign donation, Neighbours are battling against a bid to demolish a 'perfectly good' four-bed house to make way for a cycle path, was released from prison in Florida, on July 20, 2020. "I cant take it back." He did not, but his girlfriend soon arrived at the house and after realising what had transpired, quickly called for help. But we are trying hard to collect all the information about him and will update you soon. Cover photos. Wershe Sr. was a self-admitted hustler and found numerous inventive ways to earn money. -The Atavist Magazine, Yes. Both Wershe Jr. and Dawn chose to live with their father at their small brick house on Hampshire Street at Dickerson Avenue. The audience for the hearing packed the biggest room available in the state system. As Richard Wershe Sr. put it: I took the money. Hollywood went to work making a film version of White Boy Ricks life, while an HBO documentary crew moved into the prison to film a tell-all about his story. Public DomainRichard Wershe Jr.s 1988 mugshot. Date Published: 5/10/2022. Wershe's son, Richard Williams who goes by simply Rich W is a University of Michigan graduate. -The Atavist Magazine, This happened when Wershe was 14, well before he could drive legally. Wershe barely survived and left the hospital with a colostomy bag. [13], On July 20, 2020, Wershe was released from custody in Florida, having completed his sentence with credits for good behavior.[14]. 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. (WXYZ) After serving 32 years and seven months, Richard "White Boy Rick" Wershe Jr., left Kissimmee, Florida with his head high. It was a significant amount, but it wasn't the hundreds of kilos that Detroit's drug kingpins were moving at the time. Spending 27 years in prison for a drug offence committed when he was 17. He chose the latter and became a drug dealer. After Richard Wershe Jr. is paroled in Michigan, he'll immediately be transferred to prison in Florida, where he's expected to spend the next 3 years and 8 months. About a year later, he moved back in with his father. "Everything went as planned. [7] Wershe's father was also an FBI informant and first reported to the police and the federal agency alongside him before going solo. When the FBI carried out Operation Backbone, an elaborate sting operation targeting public corruption in Detroit, Richard Wershe Jr. assisted them. Learn more. Then they had him thrown in prison for life. He moved tens of kilos. He has stayed quiet for weeks, but that changed when he spoke to the Daily Mail about his past month as a free man. Both had worked for Chrysler for four decades. Agent Gregg Schwarz would later admit: We brought him into the drug world. (He's) happy, healthy and excited (and) emotional. I became addicted to that life." "They look like a bunch of drunks that just didn't care, wild and crazy, but they are the best people you'd ever meet," she said, noting that her grandparents helped raise her. Keisha is the daughter of Richard Wershe Jr., a drug dealer and former informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They are mostly portrayed as aloof and out-of-touch by Bruce Dern and Piper Laurie, despite living across the street from Richard Wershe and his kids. "[The film] said that my dad couldn't handle us kids and that he had Rick sell drugs because he couldn't cut the mustard to pay the bills, and that's the farthest thing, farthest thing from the truth." He was only 14 years old at the time. It wont be easy. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. [7] When Wershe was 16 the FBI, having secured 20 convictions through his infiltration of a violent drug gang, ceased to employ him as an informant. Wershe earned his parole in 2017 after nearly 30 years in prison. When he was 15, Wershe told the FBI that a major drug dealer had spoken of paying a bribe to Detroit detective inspector and subsequent city council president and mayoral candidate Gil Hill in order to quash the investigation into a 13-year-old boy's murder. Her date of birth and other information related to her family and educational background is unknown. Additionally, he has a white-collar job. Yes. He's one of the few people I've met in jail that doesn't say, 'I'm innocent.' The parole board was well-aware of the Matthew McConaughey movie, which had been filming in Las Vegas the night before the hearing. White Boy Rick was worse than a mass murderer. He has a sister, Dawn, who is about three years older than him. Other than that offense, he has been described as a model prisoner. At the age of 17, White Boy was arrested for possession of 8 kg of cocaine and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Dave Bartkowiak Jr., Digital Managing Editor. Richard Wershe Jr. is suing FBI agents, Detroit police and others a year after he was released from . YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Richard Wershe Jr. was sent to prison for life at 18-years-old. Convicted murderers came and went while Wershe was behind bars for possession. He was an FBI informant when he was 14 to 16 years old. According to retired FBI agent John Anthony, White Boy Rick was the most productive informant for the agency at the time. Though Rick didnt know it, there was a price on his head. Richard 'White Boy Rick' Wershe Jr. (Michigan Department of Corrections) After spending nearly three decades in prison, infamous former drug kingpin Richard Wershe Jr . "We were very overwhelmed," she had toldWXYZat the time. "Today was just it was, you know freedom," McDonald said. -The Atavist Magazine, Yes. OK? Wershe, now 52, spent three. It began airing on the Starz network in 2019 and was picked up by Netflix in April 2021. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The man who shot him had claimed it was an accident but Rick had his suspicions that there were people out to get him. After serving 32 years and seven months, Richard "White Boy Rick" Wershe Jr., left Kissimmee, Florida with his head high. After 32 years old imprisonment, Richard went back to his long-term fiancee Michelle MacDonald whom he has been dating since middle school. A member of Johnny Curry's crew shot Wershe in the stomach with a .357 when Wershe was 15. Hed even taken his girlfriend, Cathy Volsan, the mayors niece. He believes that the Detroit Police Department and city officials were against his release because he had helped the FBI expose dirty cops. Also, we have no information about his son and daughter. The real White Boy Rick did conspire with major players in the local Detroit drug trade. "He's very frank about who he is and what he did," actor Matthew McConaughey said during a CinemaCon interview. He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment. He was unanimously allowed parole in June 2017. 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