Video In 1987 Detroit police caught Wershe Jr. with a large package of cocaine. There are other reasons to belive that James Harris actions during Operation Backbone were not his first time engaging in corruption. Although standard procedure in the DPD awarded promotions based on test scores from competitive written and oral exams, Harris was given his promotion directly on the recommendation of Chief William Hart, who cited Harris past work for the Mayor as the reason for his recommendation. In the early 1990s, Wershe cooperated with the FBI while behind bars in Michigan, and helped set up a sting that netted a string of crooked cops. Wersche's attorney claimed his client didn't get a fair shake. The municipality covers an area of 26.51 km 2 (10.24 sq mi) of which 0.56 km 2 (0.22 sq mi) is water. DEA agents allege Brown was a hands-on leader of the drug ring. Exclusive Even prior to Richard Wershe Jr.s involvement in Operation Backbone, the teenage drug dealer was a favorite subject for many members of the press in Detroit, who tended to overstate his prominence in the Detroit drug market and gave him the sensationalized nickname White Boy Rick. In actuality, Wershe Jr. began working as a DPD and FBI informant prior to his involvement in the drug trade. South Bannon Mortuary on East 14th Street during a funeral for two of Bluitt's dealers. Seven months later, in March 2013, Browns entertainment company, BMB Records, was created and registered at the same house raided by Detroit Police. Mafia biggest drug dealers who never got caught. BMB Records owner Brian Peanut Brown also is responsible for selling heroin laced with fentanyl, the synthetic pain medication fueling the nations deadliest addiction crisis, according to court records that chronicle a sprawling drug investigation involving Browns wife, a girlfriend, millions in drug profits and a mansion with a secret Narnia room. The plan was to use an undercover FBI agent, posing as a major Miami drug trafficker, to root out police corruption within the DPD. More than $1 million flowed into the rap labels two bank accounts between June 2013 and October 2015, according to court records. A month later, in January 2015, the investigation led to Birmingham, Alabama, where agents raided a home and arrested Eric Young, who banking records showed had wired money to Brian Brown. Lakeas Davis was charged with the murder of Damion Lucas and held in jail for 9 months before the charges were dropped and he was released. 'The Week That Was:' Will Kristina Karamo Seriously Damage Michigan's Republican Party? A DEA informant called the alleged drug dealers cellphone and arranged to pick up the cash at a Bob Evans restaurant near Dequindre and 10 Mile in Warren. In the early 1970s, an internal investigation of the DPD uncovered widespread drug corruption in the 10th Precinct, despite investigators reporting major obstruction from others within the DPD. Agents listening to the phone call determined the voice belonged to Brian Brown after comparing the voice to videos Brown posted on social media, according to the DEA. The 44-year old Lattner once led what was known as the World Domination Gang, a drug crew operating out of Detroit's near Westside in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The man was cut from a different cloth.. After the arrest of the Curry brothers, Groman met with Johnny Curry and asked him about the suspected police coverup of the Damion Lucas murder. Ricks father, Wershe Sr., was himself working as a police informant by the mid-1980s. At 17, he was on a fast track in the organization, making $3,000 a week selling crack on the east side of Detroit. In February 2014, an undercover DEA agent negotiated with Brown to pick up money at an Olive Garden restaurant in Livonia. For countless other problem officers, a lack of accountability similarly enabled continued misconduct and corruption. Former Fox 2 Investigative Reporter Vince Wade thinks Wersche's problem runs deeper than a notorious nickname. As the empire grew, the brothers bought vacation property in Jamaica and were planning to expand the business to Flint, Mich.; Toledo, Ohio, and elsewhere in the Middle West. Mr. '', See the article in its original context from. Uncategorized 16. Akia Brown is a member of the (drug ring) and is instrumental in hiding and concealing the money that is derived from narcotic sales, DEA Special Agent Stephen Popp wrote in the court filing. Recently the brothers who founded the business, Billy Jo, Larry, Otis and Willie Lee Chambers, and eight associates were convicted of conspiracy in a trial that offered a rare glimpse into the phenomenal rise and inner workings of a drug organization that was run like a Fortune 500 company. The media was all over the story of a 17-year-old drug lord. But jurors were questioned about whether they had seen them. Contributing to that belief, Willie Volsan reportedly bragged throughout his involvement in the operation about his close relationship with Gil Hill, the head of the DPD homicide section. While behind bars, he got caught up in a scheme to sell stolen cars that resulted in a criminal conviction in Florida. Furthermore, Volsan's daughter, Coleman's niece Cathy, dated a drug dealer named Johnny Curry, who, along with his twin brother, Leonard, headed one of the biggest drug operations in. Photo by Diane Weiss, published in the Detroit News. At his peak, DEA records estimate he was moving hundreds of kilos per week across the Midwest. Were asking our informants, who is this guy?, where did he come from? Featured James Harris actually moved up in the ranks after the Rochester Street Massacre. In the 1990s, the division found itself tackling serious Ponzi schemes, major bank fraud, and various drug-related crimes like money laundering, illegal prescription sales, and health care fraud . In May 2014, DEA agents interviewed a drug dealer who was ordered to travel from Los Angeles to the Chicago area and stay at a home in Skokie, Ill. COLUMBIA A former Detroit drug ring leader arrested in Columbia last year pleaded guilty Friday to federal drug trafficking charges. ''They were like slave traders, bringing kids up from the South and locking them in these crack houses,'' Dr. Taylor said. On Nov. 30, 2015, the DEA was ready to raid Browns alleged drug empire, including at least seven locations across Metro Detroit. There, about 90 miles northwest of Detroit, the Shiawassee River meanders past a hamlet of low-rent, brick apartment buildings. 1 shot-caller for the entire non-Muslim Black prison population in Michigan. The affidavit, obtained by The Detroit News, lists probable cause to raid multiple homes that allegedly are part of Browns empire. The 63-year old World Benji came out of prison briefly in 2017, but was locked back up for a parole violation shortly thereafter. Wershe Jr. agreed and set up the meeting. Brown would send the heroin to Alabama in vehicles equipped with a concealed or secret compartment , wrote Popp, the DEA agent. I'm going to buy me three cars tomorrow - and a Jeep.''. Starkman: Electric Vehicles and the Exploitation of Michigan Taxpayers, 'The Week That Was:' After MSU, Time for Michigan Democratic Lawmakers to Act Against Gun Violence. Members Only The story of that murder and the subsequent accusations of a police coverup are detailed at length elsewhere in this exhibit, so abasic summary will suffice here. The organization amassed great wealth in its brief reign before the brothers were arrested in February after an 18-month investigation. When agents found the man, he had the same Nissan Altima linked three months earlier to Browns wife Akia. One witness testified that he saw a gang leader put the body of a rival drug dealer into a trash bin. Those barriers made it hard for anyoneincluding Mayor Coleman Young, who initially ran on a platform of police reformto make meaningful changes that could have promoted accountability within the department. Another explanation of why the scourge of drug corruption was never fully resolved in the DPD is that police officers enjoyed an astonishing lack of accountability. Convinced that police corruption had compromised the Damion Lucas case, yet unable to prove it, Groman soon transferred to the public corruption unit of the Detroit FBI. Take a look at the BMB Records founder Brian Browns alleged drug empire and locations targeted by federal drug agents. During a Dec. 2 raid at the West Parkway home, agents found his girlfriend and an infant. Random FBI task force members set up surveillance nearby and watched the man for seven days. On social media, Brown portrays himself as a successful hood hero and last month posted a billboard near McNichols and I-75 promoting an upcoming self-help book. Willie Volsan proceeded to arrange for DPD Sergeant James Harris, along with several other DPD officers, to provide Castro with a police escort as he brought briefcases full of supposed drug money from the Detroit airport to a local bank for laundering. The FBI and Castro made four successful runs pretending to launder drug money, each time paying the corrupt police escort upwards of $5,000 for their illicit services. To kickstart the investigation the FBI once again relied on Rick Wershe Jr., who by then was incarcerated, having received a life sentence for possession of over 650 grams of cocaine in 1988. In addition to the phone call made from Johnny Currys phone to Harris unlisted telephone number shortly after the Lucas murder, a police raid of Johnny Currys home had produced a card listing multiple telephone numbers for both Gil Hill and James Harris. Eventually, that information helped Davis convince a prosecutor to drop the charges against him. Search. Wayne County prosecutors, for example, were also reluctant to seriously pursue charges against police officers, as they showed in the aftermath of the Rochester St. Massacre. 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