(WWJ) Convicted Detroit drug dealer Richard Wershe Jr., better known as White Boy Rick, has been denied clemency in Florida.
According to a report by the Detroit Free Press on Wednesday, the Executive Clemency Board sent a letter two weeks ago to Wershe's attorney, saying it has denied the request for a commuted sentence.
The letter didn't state a reason.
Wershe was sentenced to life in prison in 1988 at 17 years old for possessing more than 650 grams of cocaine. It was later discovered that he had been an informant for Detroit police since he was 14.
Wershe was granted parole in Michigan, 2017 but owed the state of Florida 22 months on racketeering charges for his role in an interstate car theft ring.
In a plea for clemency last month, Wershe's attorney told the Florida board that his client has "paid his debt to society" and that's he has "been a model prisoner."
Although two FBI agents traveled to Florida to testify on Wershe's behalf, the pleas apparently fell on deaf ears.
Wershe’s story made headlines around the world when, at the request of Detroit police and FBI agents, he infiltrated local drug gangs and turned in evidence that convicted 14 dealers and gangsters. His attorney claimed that, as a direct result of Wershe’s help, the FBI was able to infiltrate a gang of Detroit cops that was transporting drugs from the Wayne County Airport to the streets of the city’s east side.
Wershe was long denied parole as the longest-serving non-violent juvenile in the state's history.
He is currently scheduled to be released in October of 2020.