Rick dressed in tracksuits and wore pricey Fila sneakers. While he was in prison, Wershe introduced his sister, Dawn, to a car salesman. Thats why her height, weight, eye color, hair color, etc are unavailable on the internet till today. 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. Darlene subsequently moved to the suburbs. Jul 18, 2017. "Were there some exaggerations? This picture of him is a still from his role in the movie Beverly Hills Cop. 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. Learn more. I told on the wrong people, Wershe confessed. Steve Garagiola, ClickOnDetroit The FBI covered their tracks. Wershe, the police claimed, was a dangerous cocaine godfather known to his underlings as White Boy Rick.. Home. But, there is no confirmation as nothing about her personal as well as professional life is known. -The Atavist Magazine, Yes. Richard Wershe Jr.'s daughter, Kiesha Wershe, is a well-known drug dealer. It was a significant amount, but it wasn't the hundreds of kilos that Detroit's drug kingpins were moving at the time. During this period, he was earning about $30,000 a month. A Florida clemency board has denied an early prison release for the man known as "White Boy Rick," once one of the FBI . Kiesha Wershe is the daughter of the famous drug dealer Richard Wershe Jr. Richard Wershe is also known as White Boy Rick. This all happens almost exactly the same in the movie. In May 1987, when he was 17 years old, Wershe Jr. was arrested and charged with the possession of eight kilos of cocaine. Who is George Osborne's fiance Thea Rogers? About a year later, he moved back in with his father. I have been made to feel welcome and accepted. He said, 125,000, Ill make sure you get it as long as that boy is dead. His keyword, Dead. This came from Gil Hills mouth to me.. "FBI Special Agent Gregg Schwarz, who was stationed in Detroit at the time, asks, "Kingpin of what? "I was, I would say, a hustler," Wershe Sr. admitted. They put up pictures of a criminal hierarchy, and each one showed 17-year-old White Boy Rick at the top of the ladder with every dangerous, hardened criminal in the city listed as his underling. 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. When the FBI carried out Operation Backbone, an elaborate sting operation targeting public corruption in Detroit, Richard Wershe Jr. assisted them. It was wonderful. Having just turned 51 years old, Wershe began a new chapter in life together with his fiance Michelle McDonald, whom he began dating in middle school. "I know that the drugs I sold destroyed peoples lives," Wershe said in 2017. The Wershes could barely make the ends meet. He was a witness for the FBI when he was between 14 and 16 years old. After serving 32 years and seven months, Richard "White Boy Rick" Wershe Jr., left Kissimmee, Florida with his head high. As a result of both the impending film and the White Boy documentary that had just been released, interest in Wershe Jr. had been on the rise, so much so that a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections was on hand doing live TV interviews before 7 a.m. on the morning of the 9 a.m. hearing. The mothers name is Not Available. Ever since he was released, Richard Jr has been an advocate for prison reform and works with Team Wellness to help ex-convicts. They wanted information. Yes. Matthew McConaughey starred as Richards father, Richard Wershe Sr. More: Former Detroit hitman wants White Boy Rick to be released from prison. RICHARD Wershe Jr., known as White Boy Rich was an undercover FBI informant in the 1980's. 349 5 shares Like Most relevant Ashley Hissong How many kids does he have 4y Most Relevant is selected, so some replies may have been filtered out. -Documentary. The law enforcement to which hes referring are the FBI agents who came to his door for his father in 1984. Also, we have no information about his son and daughter. No, at least not according to Rick's real-life sister, Dawn. "It was all about Rick. Rick says they robbed somewhere around 20 homes together (not shown in the movie). 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Wershe Jr. grew up in a lower middle-class household in East Side of Detroit. The FBI, though, wasnt there to send him to prison. He is seen throughout the film dealing firearms on the street and complying with his son's drug activity. 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. No one knows," says Wershe. The FBI eventually arrested the Curry brothers and many of their associates and built cases against them with the information that Wershe had supplied them over the years. Who is Keisha Wershe? Thats how Richard Wershe Jr. became the FBIs youngest informant. I go to pay for a meal, and someone recognizes me as White Boy Rick, and they say, I got this.. The guy's girlfriend came home and called 911 when she saw Wershe writhing on the floor. Basically, Gil told him not to worry about anything. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Spending 27 years in prison for a drug offence committed when he was 17. Chambers, praised White Boy Ricks climb up to the top: He rose all the way through the ranks. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, 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, was released from prison in Florida, on July 20, 2020, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Supporters say Wershe's cooperation against corrupt public officials proved to be the reason for a conspiracy of lies to keep him inside. Copyright 2023 ClickOnDetroit.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. At the time he landed the role, he was also the head of the Detroit Police Department's homicide division. After he was done working as an informant for the FBI, Richard Wershe started selling cocaine himself. 8:08 am. Courtroom sketches from Rick's trial in 1988. He has stayed quiet for weeks, but that changed when he spoke to the Daily Mail about his past month as a free man. This came up at Richard Wershe Jr.'s 2017 hearing. Wershe's 30-year-old son sat next to me at a screeening Thursday night in Novi for the . Based on the information Wershe Jr. provided, they cracked down on the drug dealers and seized hundreds of weapons, kilos of cocaine, and millions of dollars. -The Atavist Magazine, Yes. Reporters and the police broadcasted the teenager all over the news with headlines that called him the leader of a drug cartel. One gang lord, B.J. However, the reason may be for her safety or privacy purpose. Now, his relationship is perfect. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. Even now, the only trade Wershe knows is crime. After he was shot, Wershe Sr. did not want him to work with the FBI again. Wershe's son, Richard Williams who goes by simply Rich W is a University of Michigan graduate. No. Johnny and other members of his organisation each served 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to several charges. At that time, this personality was just 17 years old. Wershe's life story was turned into a true-crime documentary called "White Boy" that was picked up by Netflix. RICHARD Wershe Jr., known as White Boy Rich was an undercover FBI informant in the 1980's. However, the allegations did come back to haunt him when he ran for mayor.Gil Hill, who died in 2016 at age 84, had been famous for portraying Eddie Murphy's boss, Inspector Douglas Todd, in three Beverly Hills Cop films. "We were very overwhelmed," she had toldWXYZat the time. Also, we have no idea about his brother and sister, and we dont know their names either. 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. 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?. Richard Wershe Jr. will be staying behind bars longer than he had hoped. The film has received mixed reviews from critics, but there's nothing mixed about the reaction from Wershe's sister, Dawn Scott, who expressed frustration over her family's portrayal in anexclusive interview with WXYZ in Detroit. He has three children, including a son named Richard Williams. He was very thrilled," McDonald said. My palm prints weren't on it." Other Curry gang members arrived to the home before the ambulance and attempted to load Curry into the backseat of a car, possibly to dump him somewhere. Events. 'Rick refused so my dad took the money and threw my ex-husband and Rick out of the house,' Scott said. His wife, Cathy Volsan (Mayor Coleman Young's niece), 24, began having an affair with Wershe, then 17. Wershe was released from a Florida prison in July, ending his 32 years. Also, his father was also an FBI informant. Richard Wershe, Jr. (Photo: Darlene Carr) The agents decided then and there to make an informant recruitment. 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. Did I do something wrong? Publicity about the case in 2017, by which time he had spent nearly three decades behind bars in Michigan as a nonviolent drug offender whose offense was committed when he was 17, led to him being paroled, but directly to US Marshals who took him to begin serving five years in Florida State Prison on a 2008 car theft ring conviction (crime committed behind bars). -The Atavist Magazine. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. But they worried that if they took action on their findings, the agency would get wind of their all-too-young informant. Under the much-criticized 650-Lifer Law, Richard was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, despite being a non-violent offender. So the FBI left Richard Wershe Jr. to fend for himself. This image released by Sony Pictures shows and Matthew McConaughey, left, and Richie Merritt in a scene from "White Boy Rick." He did it just as big as me, the Curry brothers, Maserati Rick whoever you want to name.. Under the law at that time, it was supposed to cost him the rest of his life, which is just ridiculous. Lured by their wealth and expensive things he had only seen in magazines, Rick started spending time with Johnny. Voice quavering, Rick Wershe Jr., who as a teen in 1980s Detroit was painted as a murderous drug kingpin, dabbed his eyes recalling one of the last conversations he had with his father, who he'd . The real White Boy Rick did conspire with major players in the local Detroit drug trade. However, he was already accustomed to the affluent life that the steady money from the FBI allowed him to lead. Almost all of those who were convicted under the original law have been released. They were seen stepping out together but Wershe says that the relationship was tumultuous. September 14, 2018, 1:43 AM by Allan Lengel. No. F.B.I. "It's hell on wheels," Wershe said. In 1984, Rick Wershe is a struggling single father living in Detroit during the height of the crack epidemic and war on drugs. Despite his age, he proved himself to be invaluable to the FBI. 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. Ever since he was released, Richard Jr has been an advocate for prison reform and works with Team Wellness to help ex-convicts. They are in relation from previous few years of a strong relationship. After his release, he went back to his long-term fiancee Michelle Macdonald whom he has been dating since middle school. Rick bought a house down the street and kept selling drugs, mainly crack cocaine. He was making more money than most adults he knew. Source: Detroit. It took 30 years for Richard Wershe Jr. to win his freedom. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. This was near the peak of the War on Drugs. At the age of 14, the FBI taught Wershe how to deal drugs and planted him inside one of the citys most dangerous gangs. He has a sister, Dawn, who is about three years older than him. In Mayor Youngs city, to get Curry into trouble was dangerous for himself and bad for his business. Richard Wershe Jr. mugshot for Florida Department of Corrections, Detroit historian: White Boy Rick Wershe prison release way overdue. Therefore, this personality is not active on any social media sites including Instagram and Twitter. Hes healthy. He was 17 years old then, at the time. 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. Richard was born in a working-class family that lived in a neighborhood on the east side of Detroit. Richard Wershe Jr. was arrested in his home in 1988 with 17 pounds of cocaine. I can tell you this, I have more peace in my life now than Ive ever had, he told the Daily Mail. 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. Watch the full documentary here to learn the story of White Boy Rick., Related: White Boy Rick Wershe Jr. denied clemency in Florida. AKA Richard Wershe Jr.'s daughter, Kiesha Wershe, is a well known drug supplier. -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. I don't agree I committed the crime that I was convicted of.". The information about where Keisha has not been made public. Rick Wershe Jr. began to see the corruption when a 13-year-old boy was shot by the Curry Gang and the Detroit police did nothing about it. Al Profit/YouTubeNate Boone Craft, the convicted hitman who claims he was hired to kill Rick Wershe Jr. Ricks information had gotten the drug lord locked up behind bars and White Boy Rick began to take his place. In 1987, at 17 years of age, Wershe was arrested for possessing cocaine in excess of eight kilograms (18 pounds). In Detroit in the 80s, everyone knew when White Boy Rick was around. Should he be there for [29] years for the crime he committed? 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. I became addicted to the women. Wershe in fact helped with the largest public corruption case in Detroit's history at the time. For the first time in 30 years, White Boy Ricks name was back in the headlines but this time, the real story was printed underneath. White Boy Rick, aka Richard Wershes Daughter Now The whereabouts of White Boy Rick, aka Richard Wershes daughter, has not been revealed. After less than a year, his father convinced him to come back to the East Side. He now has a recreational marijuana business called The 8th. The FBI, in turn, began to train the young Wershe Jr. on how to be a gangster. Public DomainRichard Wershe Jr.s 1988 mugshot. Richard was born in a working-class family that lived in a neighborhood on the east side of Detroit. 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's life story was turned into a true-crime documentary called "White Boy" that was picked up by Netflix. Soon after, he became an informant for the FBI. I was brought into this life by law enforcement, Richard Wershe Jr. reported to Vice, I was taught it, they left me alone, and a year later Im busted and put in jail for life.. All I can give you is my word. 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. "Where did the drugs come from? Johnny Curry was history. 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. He spent over three decades in prison, not getting the chance to spend time with his family. All rights reserved (About Us). Who Is White Boy Rick's Daughter Keisha Wershe? ", No. He had allegedly hid them in a box under a nearby porch. "We were very overwhelmed," she had toldWXYZat the time. He became a drug dealer. I wasnt doing all that well at the time. But we are sure that it is not available and his spouses name is not available. 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. But we are trying hard to collect all the information about him and will update you soon. We cant say their name. British actress Bel Powley portrays Dawn in the film, which hit theaters nationwide on Sept. 14. White Boy Rick also has two daughters and six grandchildren. White Boy Rick, a film based on his life, was released on September 14, 2018. He was locked up at the age of 17, to originally serve a life sentence under a law since ruled unconstitutional. After learning about White Boy RIck, find out about the unjust convictions of Richard Glossip and of Lawrence McKinney, who was given $75 to make up for 31 years of wrongful imprisonment. He was locked up at the age of 17, to originally serve a life sentence under a law since ruled. -The Atavist Magazine, Yes. -The New YorkerHowever, Wershe maintains that they weren't his drugs and that the corrupt cops planted them there. Yes, the true story confirms that they separated when Wershe was around six. When he was 14 to 16 years old, he worked as an FBI informant. And I thought it was the right thing keep some drug dealers off the street and get paid for it.. The White Boy Rick true story confirms that some of these encounters did occur at the roller skating rink like in the movie. 14:51 Richard Wershe Jr. is about to experience freedom for the first time in his adult life. "We were very overwhelmed," she had told WXYZ at the time. Assistant State Attorney General Scott Rothermel asked him why the police report indicates that less than thirty thousand dollars was confiscated. We have no information about his girlfriend/boyfriend. He was unanimously allowed parole in June 2017. 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." 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