Richard Wershe Jr.
Richard Wershe Jr.
It took Richard Wershe Jr. 29 years to get paroled from Michigan prisons in what many saw as a grave injustice. He was locked up as a teenager for cocaine trafficking, and was consistently denied parole. Finally, the Michigan Parole Board in July granted him parole.
On Aug. 22, the U.S. Marshal's Service picked up the 48-year-old in Michigan to take him down to Florida to serve out another sentence. But appears there was a delay in his arrival due to harsh weather conditions.
Now, Wershe, aka "White Boy Rick," is finally down there and housed at the Reception and Medical Center state prison in Lake Butler, Fla., reports Kevin Dietz of WDIV.
The Florida Department of Corrections lists his release date as April 20, 2021.
Wershe is serving out a conviction for being part of a car theft ring. After helping the FBI in Detroit bust cops and Mayor Coleman A. Young's common-law brother-in-law, Wershe went into the witness protection program and eventually was housed in a Florida prison.
While behind bars, he helped his sister buy stolen cars that she later sold.
WDIV reports:
If Wershe serves all his time in Florida it could be a little more than three and a half years, but he will also be eligible to ask for release through clemency in as little as a few months. Wershe said he will stay positive and do everything he can to gain early release.
"I have to deal with it, and whatever it is, that's what I'm going to do," Wershe said.
