Summary
Overview
This episode tells the remarkable true story of Rick Wershe Jr., known as 'White Boy Rick,' who became an FBI informant at age 14 in 1980s Detroit. The podcast explores how the FBI recruited him to infiltrate the city's drug trade, how he later became a major cocaine dealer himself, and his controversial life sentence under Michigan's harsh drug laws. Despite helping federal authorities expose corrupt cops and city officials, Rick spent over 30 years in prison—longer than any other person convicted under the same law.
Rick's Early Life and Detroit's Drug Epidemic
Rick Wershe Jr. was born in 1969 on Detroit's east side, where he lived with his father Richard Sr. and sister Dawn after his parents separated. As Detroit's auto industry collapsed in the 1980s, the city became a hotbed for crack cocaine distribution. Rick's father was a hustler who sold guns and knew FBI agents as customers, which would later provide the connection that changed Rick's life forever. Despite being white in an increasingly Black neighborhood, the Wershe family stayed put, with Rick's grandparents living directly across the street.
- Rick Wershe Jr. was born in 1969, a couple years older than the host
- His parents separated when he was six, and he lived with his father and sister Dawn on Detroit's east side
- The auto industry was disappearing from Detroit, leading to white flight, violence, and a crack epidemic
- The Wershe family was an anomaly as a white family that stayed in the neighborhood, with grandparents living across the street
- Rick's father was a hustler and gun dealer who knew FBI agents as customers
" Richard Wersh, senior, he was a hustler and he had a fascination with money. That was his big focus in life was to make money. And his son, Rick, definitely adopted that from him. "
Becoming an FBI Informant at Age 14
In spring 1984, FBI agents visited the Wershe home looking for information about Detroit's drug trade. When Rick's father couldn't identify people in surveillance photos, 14-year-old Rick piped up and started naming major players like Johnny Curry. The FBI made the unorthodox decision to recruit the teenager as an informant, keeping it off the books by officially listing his father instead. They paid Rick to infiltrate the Curry gang, giving him money to buy cocaine and maintain the lifestyle needed to gather intelligence.
- FBI agents came to the Wershe house in spring 1984 with surveillance photos
- 14-year-old Rick identified major drug dealers like Johnny Curry when his father couldn't
- The FBI recruited Rick as an informant, keeping it off the books by officially listing his father
- Rick's father was approved as the official informant in June 1984, but it was really his 14-year-old son doing the work
" I don't know who those people are. I'm sorry, I can't help you. But Rick Jr. piped up and he's like, oh, well, this guy is Johnny Curry or that guy is Big Man Curry and just started pointing people out. "
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