Attorney for Richard Wershe Jr. 'White Boy Rick': he has support system in Michigan after jail release

FOX 2 - After more than three decades behind bars, Richard Wershe, Jr., also known as "White Boy Rick" is finally free was released from a Florida prison Monday.

"He always knew he would get out it was just a matter of how long that fight would go," said his attorney Ralph Musilli.

He was originally arrested and convicted of possession with intent to deliver hundreds of grams of cocaine. He started at 14 as an FBI informant working undercover. Wershe was the longest-serving non-violent juvenile offender in Michigan history. 

Wershe's attorney Ralph Musilli said his client told him this when they spoke about the possibility of him being released a few years ago: "He said you know, I'm really not worried about my life or anything else, I've been in prison for 30 years, I have no life."

But today as a free man, Wershe's outlook may be different, but he's keeping his plans quiet.

"He's asked me not to comment about his future," he said.

But Wershe's attorney did say that his client will have family support and that he will spend time with his mother, sister, and his son he did not get to see grow up.

"He's going to come home, he's got support system here in Michigan," Musilli said. 
 
Wershe's attorney says his client's freedom was not because of the good graces of the government. 

"He fought his way out, and we forced them to let him out," he said.
 
Wershe's attorney believes this case highlights what's not just about the justice system.
 
"It's not only about the destruction of a man's life, but the absolute corruption of the government that caused that," Musilli said. "When you are talking about using a 15-year-old to infiltrate drug houses it's appalling," said Musilli.

The Florida Department of Corrections says a house on Hampshire in Detroit is the stated residence upon release. Longtime residents on the block say it's where Wershe grew up. But this attorney says he will not make Detroit his home.

FOX 2: "Do you know what city he will live in?" 

"Yes, but not telling," Musilli said.

But this man who grew up with Wershe and lives across from his childhood home says he also spent time behind bars and he wants his friend to know there is life after incarceration.

"You're out of prison so that's the hope within itself," he said.