MIHM S08E05 Still Standing P1 - Rick Wershe Jr

Rick Wershe, Jr tells his side of the story:

This episode follows the story of Richard Wershe Jr., aAKA “White Boy Rick,” an FBI informant and alleged cocaine kingpin in Detroit in the 1980s, who was sentenced to life in prison. Richard Wershe Jr. was 14 years old when was lured and groomed as an FBI informant and established as a drug dealer during the crack epidemic in Detroit. His intel led to the arrests of the brother of Detroit's mayor and several police officers. When it was discovered he was underage and agents were filing reports under his father's informant number, the FBI cut ties with him, but he continued to sell cocaine until his arrest a year later at age 17. Wershe Jr. was imprisoned for more than 30 years after being caught with eight kilos of cocaine in 1988. His sentence was in part a result of the 1978 “650 Lifer Law,” under which anyone found with over 650 grams of heroin or cocaine could be sentenced to life without parole.