This blog is going on hiatus for a while.
As some readers know, I’ve been working on a book about the
46-year, trillion-dollar policy failure we call the War on Drugs. The central
figure in this sorry tale is Richard J. Wershe, Jr., known in repeated media
smears as White Boy Rick. What happened to him has happened over and over in
this criminal justice fiasco.
Prisoner
of War: The Story of White Boy Rick and the War on Drugs is a
down-in-the-trenches look at our national failure to stop the relentless flow
of illegal drugs and how people like Richard Wershe, Jr. became victims in this
lost cause.
Rick Wershe, Jr. is a Prisoner of War, and he has been,
going on thirty years.
 |
| Richard J. Wershe, Jr. (Photo: Florida Dept. of Corrections) |
He admits he screwed up by trying to become a cocaine
wholesaler. But it was law enforcement that introduced him to this dirty nether
world in the first place. They taught him how to sling dope and inform on
people and when his whispers about powerful people got too hot, they dumped him.
As a juvenile with no parental supervision, he made the stupid decision to join
the people he had been telling on. When he got caught, powerful people in the
criminal justice system made sure he stayed buried alive in prison. As his
lawyer has often said, Rick told on the wrong people.
The Informant America
blog has recounted the Rick Wershe, Jr. story in great detail, but Prisoner of War: The Story of White Boy Rick
and the War on Drugs shows how he became a soldier, then a prisoner in this
losing war that has been based on government lies and false claims of numerous “victories.”
The book explores the extent of the failure of the War on Drugs. Rick Wershe, Jr. is one example.
This country has been waging a “war” on the sale and use of
mind-altering substances since the middle of the 1800s. For a while, we called
it Prohibition. It didn’t work then and it isn’t working now. The government
has flat-out lied for years through successive Presidencies and Congresses about “progress”
and “victories” in the War on Drugs.
I will be developing a website for the book and it will offer
a wide range of information about Rick Wershe and the War on Drugs. These blog
posts will be in an archive on that website.
Prisoner
of War: The Story of White Boy Rick and the War on Drugs will
go on sale in 2018.
***
In the meantime, Rick Wershe, through his family and friends,
is trying to do right by the community, to give back after causing so much pain
during his brief time as a dope slinger.
His holiday food drive continues to be a success. His
lifelong pal, Dave Majkowski, reported the fall food drive for the needy
collected over $3-thousand in donations, which were used to buy hundreds of
pounds of ground beef, chicken, milk, eggs and other badly needed food items
for the hungry. Dave says the food drive will likely resume in the New Year.
You can stay up to speed on this by regularly checking the Free Richard Wershe,Jr. Facebook page. Or you can donate directly to Rick’s food drive for the
needy by contacting Pamela Dickerson
at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 13031 Chandler Park Dr., Detroit, MI 48213. The
telephone number at the church is: (313) 821-2380.
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| A small portion of the food for the needy purchased with your donations to the Rick Wershe, Jr. food drive. (Photo: Courtesy Free Richard Wershe, Jr.-Facebook) |
***
One last note for now:
Rick has been moved to a new “facility” in Florida. He’s
now at the Putnam prison in East Palatka, Florida. It’s about 60 miles south of
Jacksonville in the northeast section of Florida.
Here’s how to write to him. Be sure to include his inmate
number on the envelope and at the top of your letter or note:
Richard
J. Wershe, Jr.
No.K70365
Putnam
Correctional Institution
128
Yelvington Road
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