Although Operation Backbone was only one of several outside investigations into corruption in the DPD and Detroits city government during the late 1980s and early 1990s, its focus on narcotics corruption and its relative proximity to Mayor Coleman Young made it an attractive subject for the press and one of the most consequential scandals to play out in Detroit during that period. Internal investigations into police corruption, such as the major inquiry into widespread drug corruption during the early 1970s, were frequently stonewalled by regular officers and police higher-ups alike. "I think he's very remorseful for the crimes that he's committed, especially while incarcerated. The roster also includes rapper Kash Doll, a former exotic dancer. After four days of deliberation, he was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute more than 650 grams of cocaine. Even more compelling for Groman and the FBI were the statements of an informant in the Curry narcotics investigation describing a call between Curry and Gil Hill concerning the Lucas killing. 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 . . 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. Harris apparent comfort with corrupt activities and his connections to other corrupt officers suggest that his experience with illicit activities may have been more extensive than he has admitted. And two, Terry actually had a bullet graze his eye and the doctors messed up the surgery. Lewis has been a major drug dealer in Metro Detroit since 1990, the government said -- and previously was partners with Tommie Hodges, another major drug dealer before the . A fourth, Carl Young, was arrested in California recently and charged with conspiracy in Michigan. The money orders arrived in an envelope with the return address of a 1,900-square-foot ranch-style home near Masch Avenue and Eight Mile in Warren. 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. "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. He choked me, blacked (sic) my eye, bruised my arm while I was still in a cast.. "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. In one video co-directed by Detroit rapper Trick Trick, Brown steps from a luxury sedan in slow motion, smooths wrinkles on his suit and attends a clandestine meeting in an industrial ruin. Brian Brown agreed to deliver the money to the Bob Evans restaurant in the Detroit area, the DEA agent wrote in the search warrant filing. The sly, cultured and fastidious 32-year old Holloway was gunned down inside The Broadway, a trendy urban clothier in downtown Detroit, on October 8, 1990. Two months later, while free on bond, Brown allegedly beat one of his rappers, Charli Baltimore, whose real name is Tiffany Lane-Jarmon. The man was cut from a different cloth.. The FBI estimated that they sold anywhere between $150 to $200 million worth of drugs in the 1980s. The plan was to use an undercover FBI agent, posing as a major Miami drug trafficker, to root out police corruption within the DPD. The history of drug corruption among Detroit police goes as far back as the mid 1950s, when a handful of current and former DPD narcotics officers were convicted for working with a massive heroin trafficking network. Gunshots Ring Out As Trade Turns Ruthless. In the aftermath of the episode, which came to be known as the Rochester Street Massacre," some anti-STRESS activists speculated that the incident may have been a result of two groups of corrupt law enforcement officers competing for access to the city's lucrative drug trade. 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. Mob Hits By M.L. 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. FBI task force members set up surveillance nearby and watched the man for seven days. ''Fifty thousand here. Case Files South DEA agents allege Brown was a hands-on leader of the drug ring. The prosecution chose not to use the tapes at the trial, saying the case could be made without them. In August 1990, Flowers was arrested on a weapons charge after gunmen wearing ski masks shot up the C.P. (WJBK) - Richard Wershe Jr., known since the late 1980s by his street sobriquet of White Boy Rick, claims he got his start in the drug trade as a 14-year-old informant for the FBI. If I had cooperated then Id have to bring people in like the Mayor, his family. ''One will be promoted and graded according to his work and conduct,'' the policy read. Watson would provide these Detroit drug dealers with firearms to protect the heroin. 0499. Youth Curfew Regulations and Devil's Night, Community Involvement in the War on Drugs, Interrogation: Torture and False Convictions, Crimetown: Police Sergeant Jimmy Harris Plans Drug Shipments on Undercover FBI Video, one of Detroits first major drug kingpins, widespread drug corruption in the 10th Precinct. A few weeks later, in August 2014, the Altima was back at the home in Skokie before returning to California. Leon Lucas allegedly owed money to Leo Curry, a prominent drug dealer and one of the leaders of the Curry Brothers drug organization. The brothers used discount coupons and two-for-one sales to lure buyers to the highly addictive drug. Browns legal team denied allegations contained in the lawsuit, which is filled with references to violence, drugs and federal raids. ''Those tapes really hurt,'' said Anthony Chambers, who is Larry Chambers's lawyer but is not related to his client. It felt like it happened that fast. Carter was shockingly shot to death in his hospital bed on September 12, 1988 and in the weeks that followed, Holloway staged his own kidnapping outside a fast-food burger joint and went into hiding. Therefore, although exceptional in some respects, the corruption unearthed by Operation Backbone can nevertheless provide important insights about larger patterns of police misconduct in Detroit and the institutional flaws that enabled police criminality. The DEA informant traveled to the Bob Evans restaurant at the prearranged time and met with a man who handed over a green bag filled with $100,060. In October 2014, DEA agents tracked the Volvo from Redford Township to California and arranged a traffic stop. 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. In November, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds gave Brown additional freedom. Many of them skipped school to work 12-hour shifts selling or making crack. Family of boaters. Employees were warned never to carry drugs and proceeds at the same time. During that meeting, Johnny Curry allegedly told Groman that he had met with Gil Hill shortly after Damion Lucas was killed and given him $10,000 dollars with the understanding that Hill would protect the Curry organization. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. She sat at her post 24 hours a day, sleeping ''when the traffic would slow down,'' she said, and taking turns on busy days with her 14-year-old sister, Alicia. They had as many as 500 employees, so many that they issued identification cards with snapshots to keep track of them, law-enforcement officials said. The product was crack, and the company, known as the Chambers Brothers Organization, came to control half the crack houses in Detroit, with sales calculated by a Federal agent at $1 million to $3 million a day. It was used on and off during the 1990s for nightclub functions until the owner, reputed drug dealer Joe Foster, 56, was shot to death a few blocks from the theater nearly 20 years ago. The trouble came when the east side hustler morphed from stool pigeon to dope man, riding in private jets, splurging on cars and jewelry and even shacking up with the niece of Coleman Young, who was then Detroit's mayor. ''They had kids out there almost auditioning for them. 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. Why was drug corruption such a ubiquitous feature of policing in Detroit during the second half of the 20th century? Darryl "God" Whiting was always so much more than a drug dealer. ''Money, money, money,'' he says, gleefully. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. "I essentially think that Richard Wersche is a political prisoner, because he told on the wrong people," he said. The home is owned by Akia Browns property management company and is the address on Brian Browns drivers license, according to Warren property records and the search warrant affidavit. Yet the lucrative nature of vice markets and the countless opportunities for corruption available to those tasked with enforcing them, only goes so far in explaining the persistence and extent of drug corruption within the DPD. Since Wersche's conviction, Michigan repealed its lifer law for major drug dealers and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that life sentences for juveniles were unconstitutional. ''I was standing in the corner,'' Mr. Colbert recalled, ''and Otis and my uncle was arguing and Otis looked at me and said, 'You know, I don't like you no way,' and that's when the guy, Karate, started swinging the bat on me. It's. The brothers came here in 1983 after the eldest, Willie Lee, got a job as a mail carrier. One important fact to note when considering this question is that the problem of police narcotics corruption was not unique to Detroit. He literally had the safety of undercover agents in the palm of his hand and he always did the right thing," said Gregg Schwarz. The problem is acute in the Midwest. Brown was a familiar face to Detroit drug investigators. Officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the. One witness testified that he saw a gang leader put the body of a rival drug dealer into a trash bin. Just as the FBI had suspected, Volsan-Curry told the undercover agent, whose real name was Mike Castro, that she could use her connections in the DPD to provide police protection for him to bring cash and drugs into Detroit. Then, towards the end of the investigation, the FBI tried to convince James Harris to flip, asking him to wear a wire and collect evidence of corruption among Gil Hill and other higher-ups. Paul Lir Alexander is known as one of the richest Brazilian drug lords. Shortly after the conspiracy began, Watson was losing money and he enlisted other Detroit drug traffickers to travel to West Virginia and sell more heroin. 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. The seizure did not send Brown back to prison, but he forfeited a 2007 Harley-Davidson Road King. Although Hill hardly acted surprised by the request, telling agent Castro he would consider it, he ultimately did not take the bait. Wersche won parole in Michigan, but Florida officials brought him down south to serve out his term on the car racket. Inside, officers found $69,980 in a secret compartment underneath the passenger seat and a pay stub belonging to another alleged member of Browns drug ring. At 17, he was on a fast track in the organization, making $3,000 a week selling crack on the east side of Detroit. The gun belonged to Brown, his girlfriend told agents, court records show. Deadline Detroit Editor Allan Lengel believes Wersche's nickname has worked against him. He was arrested . The punishment is mandatory life in prison. Interview Bias shot to death. The tendency to overlook police misconduct was not limited to the rank and file officers, or even to members of the DPD itself. One of those who responded to the lure was Terry Colbert. After his release, Harris participated in an interview with the creators of the Crimetown podcast to share his experience with Operation Backbone. Detroit News, News Bank - Access World News. International There, about 90 miles northwest of Detroit, the Shiawassee River meanders past a hamlet of low-rent, brick apartment buildings. Agents shadowed the Cadillac along southbound I-75 before arranging a traffic stop. Was selling alcohol a good cover for Al Capone? The surge of crack-cocaine in the 1990s and 1980s rolled through the country and laid waste to many city areas. Although Operation Backbone was heavily sensationalized by the press, the involvement of Detroit police in narcotics corruption was by no means new to Detroit. 5690-5694. Around the time of the Damion Lucas murder the FBI had been able to arrange a wiretap on Johnny Currys phone. The two young men, both drug dealers, had been friends for a year. "I know he will.". Davis was finally released after spending nine months in jail, and no further charges were ever brought in the Damion Lucas case. Accumulating more than a million dollars a month in heroin sales, these childhood friends lived lavish, privileged lifestyles, that today's nickel and dime street hustlers could only dream of. Former Fox 2 Investigative Reporter Vince Wade thinks Wersche's problem runs deeper than a notorious nickname. Personnel Policies On Crack House Walls. Veteran reporters aren't the only ones who have advocated for Wersche's release over the past 30 years. By Guy Gugliotta and. Brown coerced (Knight) into signing a recording agreement with his company BMB stating If you dont sign with me, I will destroy you and any career you think you may have, Knight alleged in a Wayne County Circuit Court lawsuit. News He was a kingpin, a dictator, a crime overlord and, for the past 24 years . Brown also supplied heroin to a convicted felon in Baltimore, a confidential source told DEA agents. Flenory, a genuine hip hop icon, has been in prison since November 2005 and is name-checked in rap lyrics by Drake, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z. Two officers injured as police hold colleagues at gunpoint, unaware they are posing as drug dealers A Detroit narcotics officer. This Metro Detroit writer and author reports on organized crime and runs the websiteGangster Report,This is republished with permission. Uncategorized The DEA would not discuss the case but confirmed the ongoing investigation. 8 + 1 equals? ''. '', Indeed, community leaders say the crack problem is as desperate as it has ever been. While all his contemporaries are wearing track suits and thick gold chains around their necks, Holloway was wearing $15, 20,000 Italian suits, looking more businessman chic than dope boy chic. During the raid, agents found heroin and fentanyl, a synthetic substance that makes smaller doses of heroin more potent. 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. ''We didn't have crack two years ago. Young told agents Brian Brown was his heroin supplier, according to the search warrant affidavit. Voice quavering, Rick Wershe Jr., who as a teen in 1980s Detroit was painted as a murderous drug kingpin, dabbed his eyes recalling one of the last conversations he had with his father, who he'd . Later, Harris began working for Mayor Coleman Youngs security detail. The Chambers Brothers became one of the largest drug gangs in the city of Detroit, and their use of young drug runners in designated apartments and houses was especially notable. 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. The lawsuit repeats some of the same allegations contained in the sealed federal search warrant, namely that Brown is a large-scale heroin dealer in the Midwest and that he is using BMB Records to launder drug money. Like all of the former employees of the organization who testified at the trial under grants of immunity, she has been offered assistance in the Federal witness relocation program. By: Simon Shaykhet. The 50-page federal court record contradicts Browns redemption story crafted after he emerged from a decade-long prison sentence for drug conspiracy in 2010. 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. Wershe Jr. was just 14-years-old in 1984 when he started working as an informant for the FBI. Since the Chambers brothers were arrested, it appears that some of their employees have returned to Marianna and taken crack with them. Several elements of the case made it exceptional and easily sensationalized by the news media: it involved undercover agents posing as drug dealers, it hinted at possible criminal activity and complicity on the part of high-ranking police officials including the then head of Detroits homicide division, and one of the civilians arrested happened to be Coleman Youngs favorite niece. Detroit Free Press, ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Three key lieutenants are still at large. '', Everyone in Marianna knew when the brothers were in town recruiting. Mob Hits Members Only East Coast The organization amassed great wealth in its brief reign before the brothers were arrested in February after an 18-month investigation. James Harris is arrested at the conclusion of Operation Backbone. By 1975 Harris had been promoted to detective and was the head of a squad within the homicide division of the DPD. During the 1980s and 1990s, as the War on Drugs intensified in cities across the United States, narcotics corruption in Detroit seemed to flourish. The operation began in 1990 and ended in May 1991 with the arrest of 11 police officers and 5 civilians. The rest of Detroit was meant to feel a little better, even though Wersche's conviction meant only one enemy had been taken out in the increasingly futile war on drugs. For countless other problem officers, a lack of accountability similarly enabled continued misconduct and corruption. Harris was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but was released in 2008 after receiving a commutation from President George Bush. 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. The case of James Harris is representative of the worst consequences of the lack of police accountability in Detroit. In April of that year a grand jury produced federal indictments leading to the arrests of Johnny and Leo Curry, as well as several of their close associates. Once in prison, Wersche returned to his roots as an informant, this time helping the FBI bust dirty cops. Brown was indicted in March 2016 on a gun charge, released on bond and placed on house arrest with a GPS tether. Officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Detroit Police Department seized $1 million in cash and jewelry, 68 automobiles and 250 weapons. "These police officers, ladies and gentlemen, committed a breach of trust to the community that can ill afford such a breach. The roots of the drug case date to 2012 and investigators have seized $550,000 in cash, 8 kilograms of heroin and the fentanyl. The organization amassed great wealth in its brief reign before the brothers were arrested in February after an 18-month investigation. Browns lawyer, Steve Fishman, and the U.S. Attorneys Office declined comment. 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. Both Kincaid and Holloway were schooled in street affairs as youngsters on Detroits eastside by the old Murder Row crew, also known simply as the Detroit Black mob. Yes, Taylor said. Prosecutors seized them as part of a multi-agency effort to halt drug sales in nearby English Avenue, the area nicknamed "The Bluff" that is known as a hub of the Southeast's heroin trade. Kash Doll, real name Arkeisha Knight, sued Brown and BMB last year, accusing him of welching on a $5,000 signing bonus. Eddie 'The Fat Man' Jackson and Courtney 'The Field Marshal' Brown were labeled 'Kingpins' in an era where their names reigned supreme in Detroit. 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. Chicago Agents learned the rent for the Skokie home was being paid for via money orders. The informant told DEA agents that Brown was one of the largest heroin dealers in the Midwest and had accumulated millions of dollars in cash, luxury vehicles and expensive jewelry, according to. Mafia Insider At his peak, DEA records estimate he was moving hundreds of kilos per week across the Midwest. ''But I'd like to think we put some fear in people. Chicago She removed the GPS tether, freeing him to travel for business purposes. Their alleged corruption raises questions about the systemic lack of accountability that allowed bad apples to make careers as police officers and rise through the ranks to positions of power, even when there had been earlier signs of their misconduct. Larry Buttrom, 51, of Livonia, Mich., pleaded guilty. The home is a narcotics stash location, otherwise empty except for heroin packaging equipment and two pit bulls in the basement, the informant told DEA agents, according to the search warrant filing. Harris refused to do so. According to the civil lawsuit, the FBI raided Kash Dolls home as part of the Brown investigation. One of the most memorable crews of Columbus was the X-Clan who reign throughout the late 1990s until their conviction during 2000. Although the law was changed in 1998, Wershe Jr. was not granted parole until 2017, having already served nearly 30 years in prison for a non-violent drug offense he committed when he was still a minor. Regions Usergen The Monster Squad had replaced the Browns and the Best Friends as Holloways strong-arm unit. ''We're getting the displaced workers coming here from Detroit,'' Chief Birchler said. I'm going to buy me three cars tomorrow - and a Jeep.''. Now a 47-year-old man, White Boy Rick was a former Detroit drug dealer and an FBI informant. The Detroit Police Department considered him the most powerful dope boss in the city at the height of the crack epidemic and dubbed him Public Enemy No. Kincaid was locked up for a murder he committed as a teenager in 1975. Some would say that's not bad for a kid with an 8th grade education, but as his legend grew, so did the stakes. Area code. It can take years to investigate multi-state, large-scale drug rings. The dealer also identified cars used to haul drugs money between California and Detroit. Exclusive Come the summer of 1987, Maserati Rick Carter got himself and Holloway entangled in a beef with Eastside drug chief Edward (Black Ed) Hanserd, a one-time customer of the pair turned competitor with a sudden flush supply line out of California. The multi-tiered organization would grow even bigger in the years to come. Investigators seized 1 kilogram of heroin, three firearms, $2,365 and three Harley-Davidson motorcycles, according to court records. The employers' guiding principles followed the workers everywhere. He said the presence of the media, and "the presence of a lot of kids in the courtroom created the atmosphere of almost like being a circus" every time they left the court. While promoting her memoir, Akia Brown claimed in a recent interview that she conceived two children with her husband while he was in federal prison. Volsan-Curry soon introduced Castro to her father Willie Volsan, who was the Mayors brother-in-law. According to court documents, he visited a plastic . Many other major cities at the time, including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, to name a few, also had major scandals featuring police involvement in the drug trade during that same period. In April 1980, Holloway went to federal prison for a robbery conviction and came out in 1985 ready for action. He is a former assistant U.S. attorney who in 2014 successfully prosecuted three fez-wearing drug dealers involved in one of the largest narcotics rings in Metro Detroit history. The lack of accountability for Harris put him in a position to abuse his power to help drug traffickers launder money and smuggle cocaine into Detroit. Philadelphia Brown would send the heroin to Alabama in vehicles equipped with a concealed or secret compartment , wrote Popp, the DEA agent. 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