Thread by @VICENews

At 14, "White Boy Rick" Wershe was the youngest-known FBI informant in U.S. history.

Wershe alleges that cops coerced him into it, and then “used, abused, reused, and re-abused” him. trib.al/XrQqVqR

Now 52, Wershe is going after the same officials he says encouraged him to sell drugs in the first place. He spent nearly 33 years in prison before being released in July 2020. trib.al/XrQqVqR

Wershe’s story—which is chronicled in the 2018 film “White Boy Rick” and the 2017 true-crime documentary “White Boy”—began in 1984. trib.al/XrQqVqR

Law enforcement officials roped 14-year-old Wershe into increasingly dangerous tasks, like buying drugs for the police under the belief that officers would save him if anything went wrong, according to his lawsuit. trib.al/XrQqVqR

Wershe’s work put him near the leader of a drug-trafficking group known as the Curry Gang and later led to an assassination attempt. trib.al/XrQqVqR

After that, agents put a whole lot more on Wershe’s plate: He was allegedly supplied with a fake ID, thousands of dollars in cash, and instructions to go to Las Vegas, undercover. trib.al/XrQqVqR

Eventually, Wershe was caught, criminally charged, and painted as a drug kingpin, according to his lawsuit. By 1987, he had already become a “local and national celebrity.” trib.al/XrQqVqR

Based on a then-state law that required anyone in possession of 650 grams or more of cocaine to receive a life sentence, Wershe received life without parole for his alleged crimes that year. He was 17. trib.al/XrQqVqR

Now, Wershe demands a court order acknowledging that Detroit and various law enforcement agents violated his Fifth, Fourth, and First Amendment rights, as well as $100 million for the “intentional violations of his constitutional rights.” trib.al/XrQqVqR

“Had I not been an informant for the task force, I would never have gotten involved with drug gangs or criminality of any sort,” Wershe said in an affidavit. trib.al/XrQqVqR