The DEA case started with a confidential informant. Examining Johnny Currys phone records prior to the wiretap, Groman found that in the immediate aftermath of the Lucas murder Curry had made several calls to unlisted numbers of two members of the DPD: a Seargant named James Jimmy Harris, and the then-head of Detroits homicide section, a future Detroit City Council member named Gil Hill. Usergen Exclusive In February 2014, an undercover DEA agent negotiated with Brown to pick up money at an Olive Garden restaurant in Livonia. ''If you are planning on getting rich you must forget about your girlfriends and family. Wershe grew up on Detroit's east side, living on and off after his parents' divorce in a small brick house on Hampshire Street, a front-row seat to the . MAY (DETROIT) - Three individuals from metro-Detroit were convicted of violating various federal drug laws in a massive drug ring that trafficked hundreds of kilograms of heroin and cocaine, and thousands of pounds of marijuana in metro-Detroit, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade. '', A shoot-out began. "Rick Wersche played a pivotal role in introducing the undercover agent, which led to the arrest and conviction of a number of corrupt police officers," said Herman Groman. Interview However, when Groman asked Curry to record the storyin an affidavit, Curry refused, claiming that the meeting he had previously described never took place and that there had never been a direct quid pro quo between himself and Gil Hill. 0499. On September 17, 1990, Edmond was sentenced to . The seizure did not send Brown back to prison, but he forfeited a 2007 Harley-Davidson Road King. Both groups of law enforcement officers apparently mistook each other for criminals and a gun battle broke out between them resulting in the death of one of the Sheriffs Deputies and the permanent paralysis of another. Gangster Report, Copyrightdocument.write(new Date().getFullYear());Deadline Detroit, Inc. - All Rights Reserved, 'Detroit In Black And White:' Why We Got Kicked Off 910 AM, Randy Wimbley Leaving Fox 2 After a Decade on the Air. Browns lawyer, Steve Fishman, and the U.S. Attorneys Office declined comment. In 2015, Ohio led the nation with the highest-number of opioid overdose deaths with 2,698 for the second straight year, according to a study by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Philadelphia ''You wonder what's happening to those kids,'' Mr. Bunting said. The plan was to use an undercover FBI agent, posing as a major Miami drug trafficker, to root out police corruption within the DPD. He declined comment Tuesday. Usergen Black Mafia Family boss Demetrius (Big Meech) Flenory, born and raised in Detroit and Americas most notorious dope boss of the last three decades, is alleged to have taken his nickname from Demetrius Holloway, who was the king of the coke game in Motown during the late 1980s. 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. Rayful Edmond III was a notorious drug dealer in the 1980s in Washington, D.C., who made millions supplying the city with crack cocaine. DETROIT (FOX 2) - In one of the largest racketeering and conspiracy busts in Detroit 's history, 40 members of the Detroit gang Almighty Vice Lords have been arrested on charges ranging from. And I can tell you, he won't be back. Kincaid, according to the records, felt entitled to a piece of Holloways profits because it was his connections in the dope game that got Holloway on his feet after his release from prison three years earlier. Although Operation Backbone was heavily sensationalized by the press, the involvement of Detroit police in narcotics corruption was by no means new to Detroit. February 27, 2023 By scottish gaelic translator By scottish gaelic translator 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. Posted at 10:10 PM, Dec 21, 2021 . The indictments also named, although only as an unindicted co-conspirator, Johnny Currys wife, a woman named Cathy Volsan-Curry whose uncle was Mayor Coleman Young. Menu. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Inside the Cadillac, Michigan State Police troopers found $143,940 hidden in a secret compartment. But the good times quickly turned ugly when he was beaten and shot in a quarrel with Otis Chambers over money. They also found a loaded and stolen .40-caliber Smith & Wesson semi-automatic handgun on a nightstand in the master bedroom, a commercial money counter and drug packaging materials, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. Area code. In order to understand the investigation into corrupt Detroit police officers it is first necessary to examine how the FBI came to suspect that corruption was taking place. While behind bars, he got caught up in a scheme to sell stolen cars that resulted in a criminal conviction in Florida. Police towed the car and opened the trunk. The alleged drug conspiracy also involves Browns main girlfriend in Detroit, according to a DEA informant. It was around that time that Groman and others in the Detroit FBI office began to suspect that police corruption was at play in the handling of the Damion Lucas murder. 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. 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. There, about 90 miles northwest of Detroit, the Shiawassee River meanders past a hamlet of low-rent, brick apartment buildings. ''What you have is four guys coming up from Arkansas who wander around and decide to take over the dope business in Detroit,'' said Mr. Bunting, the prosecutor. . ''They had kids out there almost auditioning for them. At his parole hearing last year, two retired FBI agents traveled hundreds of miles to support his bid for freedom. In 1988 and 1989, the Detroit News ran several stories noting increases in high profile police crimes, many of which involved drugs and drug corruption. But even with organized crime Im speaking of the Italian and Sicilians they knew not to be too flashy.. He choked me, blacked (sic) my eye, bruised my arm while I was still in a cast.. Nestel On 12/18/18 at 3:11 PM EST. Those in the DPD were not receptive to Gromans attempts to persuade them to reverse course in the Damion Lucas murder investigation and instead proceeded with their case against Davis. One of those officers, a decorated narcotics cop named Henry Marzette, later became one of Detroits first major drug kingpins, organizing massive narcotics transactions and other illegal activities until his death in 1972. Detroit News, News Bank - Access World News. Using the wiretap, Groman had heard Curry talking to an associate about a recent homicide of a 13-year-old bringing heat on his organization. Holloways successor, Cliff Jones and his Monster Squad got a looksee by investigators as well, according to FBI documents declassified in 2015. Archives Despite their sworn commitment to do everything within their powers to protect this very beleaguered community, they have contributed directly to the forces that have undermined further security," said then-U.S. Attorney Stephen Markman. James Harris actually moved up in the ranks after the Rochester Street Massacre. Police estimated Young Boys Inc., one of the city`s most notorious gangs, had . Inside one of them, a dealer with a brown moustache handed a bag. Drug Gangs James Harris was, of course, one of the police officers arrested and convicted as a result of the probe. And so ended the career of the biggest drug dealer in D.C. history Except that it didn't. Edmond went to prison for life in 1990 but continued to broker drug deals from the inside using the penitentiary phones and mail. Even after Harris acquittal in the criminal case resulting from the incident, the DPD could have still fired Harris for demonstrating a lack of restraint and judgment. Menu. Just a few years after Harris first joined the police force in 1968 he volunteered to work as an undercover officer in the DPDs STRESS program, a controversial plainclothes police unit whose members killed at least 22 Detroit civilians during its three years of operation (1971-1973). Low-level drug players, Lester (Little Les) Milton and Tommy (Toe Tag) Milton, wound up being convicted for carrying out the Holloway slaying. Holloways kingdom of cocaine began showing cracks by late 1986, as the Brown brothers branched out from muscle work to wholesale distribution and declared war on their former boss. The collection of 20 cars includes a $94,000 Maserati, an $88,000 Cadillac Escalade, an $81,000 Porsche Panamera and two Corvettes. A fourth, Carl Young, was arrested in California recently and charged with conspiracy in Michigan. This argument certainly holds some weight in the case of Detroit, with many of the citys major corruption scandals having centered around the drug trade. After his release, Harris participated in an interview with the creators of the Crimetown podcast to share his experience with Operation Backbone. Though one condition of his release was that Brown was not supposed to commit any new crimes for five years, Brown allegedly resumed his drug-dealing career, graduating from cocaine to heroin, according to court records. Not only did he retain his position as a police officer, he was soon granted a promotion. Brown said that the money was going to be delivered by a man driving an older model gold-colored Buick, Popp wrote. 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. On Nov. 30, 2015, the DEA was ready to raid Browns alleged drug empire, including at least seven locations across Metro Detroit. One day hes in prison, the next hes out here making moves, running the city. The references to drugs and and raids, however, are echoed in the DEAs overview of the investigation outlined in the federal search warrant document. ", Gimlet Inc. Crimetown, Episode 7, "Who Killed Damion Lucas?". I'm going to buy me three cars tomorrow - and a Jeep.''. 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. 5690-5694. ''Money, money, money,'' he says, gleefully. A BMB Records publicist declined comment. Investigations can be prolonged, especially, if there are money-laundering allegations involving cash, he said. The guy could have taught a class on how to make your dirty money work for you and become clean money. The brothers used discount coupons and two-for-one sales to lure buyers to the highly addictive drug. 'Money, Money, Money' In Some Family Videos. In Orchard Gardens, awaiting return of 'God'. "I don't know of anybody that I've dealt with over the years - and I've been in now, associated with the FBI for I'm going on 46 years - I've never seen anybody cooperate like Richard Wersche. According to Wershe Jr., DPD officers and FBI agent Herman Groman soon began asking him to take on a more dangerous role, going undercover to make drug buys from members of the Curry drug organization and selling the product to build trust with the Curry brothers. Documentary Please Donate - https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=ZV7RS7U9EU7QL Stringent guidelines set out ways to be inconspicuous: stay within speed limits and never wear gold chains or flashy sneakers while dropping off drugs or picking up money. People Two officers injured as police hold colleagues at gunpoint, unaware they are posing as drug dealers A Detroit narcotics officer. Opening arguments in the trial are scheduled for Monday. The 47-year-old Warren man has not been charged with a drug crime despite an ongoing, years-long investigation that was recently revealed when the government temporarily unsealed a federal search warrant affidavit. African-American One important fact to note when considering this question is that the problem of police narcotics corruption was not unique to Detroit. 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. Brown pursued her for his rap label because he has a penchant for big boobs and butts, Knight alleges. The outside investigations into Detroit corruption during the late 1980s and 1990s, including Operation Backbone, were a late and insufficient response to a systemic lack of accountability within the DPD that had allowed misconduct and corruption to fester for decades. It is inconceivable that Browns rap label generated millions of dollars to acquire expensive homes and vehicles, said hip-hop industry expert Regan Sommer McCoy, a Columbia University community scholar and founder of the New York-based archive project, The Mixtape Museum. ''There's no difference,'' said Victor Hall, president of Crackwise, a anti-drug community group. Mafia Insider He did six years in prison for peddling cocaine and heroin and got out in 2010. BMBs videos are cinematic, dramatic and occasionally star Brown. Thailand's police have apprehended a suspected drug dealer who allegedly underwent extensive plastic surgery to disguise himself as a "handsome Korean man" to avoid capture.. Local media have compared the case to the 1990s Hollywood film Face/Off, in which John Travolta and Nicholas Cage play an FBI agent and criminal respectively who swap faces using an experimental procedure. Since the Chambers brothers were arrested, it appears that some of their employees have returned to Marianna and taken crack with them. He got really big, really fast and changed a lot of the way business was being done. 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. Operation Backbone began in earnest in September 1990. The videotapes were confiscated by Detroit police officers in a raid of one of the organization's crack houses and later broadcast on Detroit television stations. He was prosecuted and convicted under the state of Michigans 650-lifer lawa statute that required a mandatory life sentence for anyone convicted of possession of over 650 grams of heroin or cocaine. In August 2012, Detroit police raided his home in the 4000 block of Fullerton, near Dexter and Davison, on Detroits west side. DEA agents learned a large drug ring needed money picked up from a Detroit-based drug dealer. Interview 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. Detroit Mr. Despite that connection, Detroit homicide investigators instead chose to pursue charges against a man named Lakeas Davis, who had allegedly been seen arguing with Leon Lucas weeks earlier. The FBI made two unsuccessful attempts to prove that Gil Hill was also corrupt. Rap mogul stays out of jail amid heroin investigation. "I essentially think that Richard Wersche is a political prisoner, because he told on the wrong people," he said. I am not convinced that these artists are actually making him that much money. At the time of his murder, Holloway was under assault on multiple fronts; the federal government was on the verge of dropping a drug and racketeering indictment and he was said to be at war with at least three separate crime factions. Take a look at the BMB Records founder Brian Browns alleged drug empire and locations targeted by federal drug agents. The two young men, both drug dealers, had been friends for a year. Crimetown: Police Sergeant Jimmy Harris Plans Drug Shipments on Undercover FBI Video from Gimlet on Vimeo. In November, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds gave Brown additional freedom. 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