Florida board denies clemency for ‘White Boy Rick’

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida clemency board has denied an early prison release for a man known as “White Boy Rick,” once one of the FBI’s youngest informants and the subject of a recent Hollywood movie.

The Executive Clemency Board sent a letter two weeks ago to Richard Wershe Jr.’s attorney, saying it has denied the request for a commuted sentence.

The letter didn’t state a reason.

Wershe’s current release date is in October 2020.

Wershe is in prison for his role in an interstate car theft ring which operated while he was already imprisoned. At age 14, Wershe was an FBI informant in Detroit who helped convict a major cocaine trafficking ring but he eventually got caught selling drugs himself.

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His story was the basis of the 2018 film “White Boy Rick.”

The Associated Press