Richard Wershe Jr., whose work as an informant inspired the 2018 movie White Boy Rick, has filed a $100 million lawsuit against FBI agents, Detroit police officers, and other federal prosecutors for coercing him into assisting police as a young teen.
According to the Detroit News, the lawsuit, which names the city of Detroit, former Detroit police officers, former FBI agents and former U.S. attorneys, alleges Wershe was pressured into helping law enforcement as a teen informant.
“Listen, the justice system hasn’t been fair to me over the last 33 years,” Wershe said during a Tuesday press conference. “I’m not blaming the people that are in office now. I’m not blaming the U.S. Attorney’s office that’s here now. I’m blaming the people from the past, the people that did it to me – the retired FBI agents, the retired [Detroit Police Department] officials, the retired U.S. attorney that released my grand jury testimony.”
While serving as the youngest informant in FBI history, Wershe was arrested for cocaine possession in 1988 and sentenced to life in prison at 17-years-old.
The suit, filed in federal court in Detroit, comes on the first anniversary of Wershe’s release from prison after serving 32 years and seven months behind bars. According to the lawsuit, he served the longest sentence bestowed on a minor for a nonviolent offense in the history of Michigan.
The Detroit Police Department, FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office have also declined to comment on the allegations.
Wershe’s story was the basis of the 2018 film White Boy Rick, starring Matthew McConaughey and Richie Merritt. The title referred to Wershe’s nickname in his younger days.
