June Parole Board Hearing Set For 'White Boy Rick'

DETROIT (WWJ) - The fate of White Boy Rick could be determined later this spring.

The state parole board hearing on Richard Wershe's potential release has been scheduled for the morning of June 8 in Jackson, Michigan. Depending on the hearing's outcome, Wershe could be released after spending 29 years in prison — sentenced as a juvenile to life on cocaine charges.

Wershe has been denied parole as the longest-serving non-violent juvenile in Michigan's history.

Wershe's story made headlines around the world when he infiltrated local drug gangs as a baby-faced 13-year-old — at the request of Detroit police and FBI agents — and turned in evidence that convicted 14 dealers and gangsters, including some of the biggest drug dealers in Detroit history.

His longtime attorney claims 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.

A public hearing was granted to Wershe by the parole board earlier this month. His last parole hearing was in 2004.