A Detroit-area man whose decades in prison for drug dealing and work as an informant inspired the movie "White Boy Rick" has filed a lawsuit seeking $100 million, claiming he was coerced into assisting police as a teenager.
Richard Wershe Jr. served prison time in Michigan before his release in 2017, followed by a few more years in a Florida prison for an unrelated crime. His lawsuit in federal court in Detroit alleges that his troubles in the 1980s were related to the pressures of pleasing local police and federal agents. There was no immediate comment from Detroit police on the lawsuit.
"White Boy Rick" was a nickname in Wershe's younger days. His story was the basis of the 2018 film starring Matthew McConaughey and Richie Merritt.
