Ricky Ross (drug trafficker)

For other people with the same name, see Rick Ross (disambiguation) .

Ricky Donnell Ross
Born	January 31, 1960 (1960-01-31) Troup, Texas, U.S.
Alias(es)	Freeway
Charge(s)	Conspiracy to illegally traffic cocaine (100kg)
Penalty	Life, then commuted to 20 years by a U.S. Federal Court Of Appeals
Status	Incarcerated in 1996, released in 2009

Ricky Donnell Ross (born January 30, 1960), also known as "Freeway" Rick Ross, is an American convicted drug trafficker best known for the "drug empire" that he presided over in Los Angeles, California, in the early-1980s.

Biography

The nickname "Freeway" came from Ross's ownership of several properties along the Los Angeles-area Harbor Freeway as well as the existence of a freeway near his childhood home. During the height of his drug dealing, Ross claims to have sold "$3 million in one day." According to the Oakland Tribune, "In the course of his rise, prosecutors estimate that Ross exported several tons of cocaine to New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, and made more than $600 million in the process."

In 1996, Ross was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of trying to purchase more than 100 kilograms of cocaine from a federal agent. Ross became the subject of controversy later that year when a series of articles by journalist Gary Webb in the San Jose Mercury News brought to light a connection between one of Ross's cocaine sources, Danilo Blandon, and the CIA as part of the Iran-Contra scandal. The decision in Ross's case was brought to a federal court of appeals where his sentence was reduced to 20 years. His sentence has since been reduced further for being a model prisoner and he was moved to a halfway house in California in March 2009, and was released on September 29, 2009.

Cocaine use and business

Cocaine introduction

It was through Fraser Brown, a college friend, that Ross was introduced to cocaine. Through Fraser, Ross found a connection to purchase cheap Nicaraguan cocaine: two Nicaraguan exiles, Oscar Danilo Blandon and Norwin Meneses Cantarero. Ross began distributing the cocaine around US$10,000 less per kilo than the average street price, his point of distribution being the Bloods and Crips street gangs. Eventually, Ross purchased his cocaine directly from Blandón and Meneses. By 1982, Ross had received his moniker of "Freeway Ricky," and is claimed to have been selling up to US$3 million worth of cocaine per day—and purchasing 455 kilos of cocaine a week. In addition to cocaine, Ross was also able to purchase surveillance equipment, such as minicameras and recording equipment. Some of the gang members that worked for him bought weapons ranging from Uzi submachine guns to semi-automatic pistols to fight rivals, and they also bought expensive jewelry and flashy cars. Rick Ross was also best friends with Johnathan Williams and rap group Swag Blanket.

Drug empire

With thousands of employees, Ross claimed he operated drug sales not only in Los Angeles but in places across the country including St. Louis, New Orleans, Texas, Kansas City, Oklahoma, Indiana, Cincinnati, North Carolina, South Carolina, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Seattle. He has said many times that his most lucrative sales came from the Ohio area. He made similar claims in a 1996 PBS interview. According to the Oakland Tribune, "In the course of his rise, prosecutors estimate that Ross exported several tons of cocaine to New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, and made more than $600 million in the process." Adjusting for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, that is more than 1.6 billion dollars.

Iran-Contra involvement

Main article: CIA and Contras cocaine trafficking in the US

Ross's capture was facilitated by his career-long dealer Oscar Danilo Blandon, who "set up" Ross. Blandón had close ties with the Contras, and had met with Contra leader Enrique Bermúdez on several occasions. Blandón was the link between the CIA and Contras during the Iran-Contra affair. Gary Webb interviewed Ross several times before breaking the story in 1996. Ross claims that the reason he was unfairly tried initially was because of his involvement in the scandal. Blandón received a 24-month sentence for his drug trafficking charges, and following his release, was hired by the Drug Enforcement Administration where he was salaried at US$42,000. Blandón was not a U.S. citizen/national, and is the only known foreigner not to be deported following conviction on drug trafficking charges in U.S. history. The INS was ordered to grant Blandón a green card, despite the criminal convictions, to allow him to work for the DEA. The DEA claims that they no longer employ Blandón, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Lawsuit against rapper Rick Ross

On June 18, 2010, Ross sued rapper Rick Ross (real name William L. Roberts) for using his name. Freeway Ricky Ross filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Ross in a California Federal Court. Jay-Z had been called to testify in the lawsuit, as he was CEO of Def Jam when Ross was signed to the label. The reformed drug kingpin was looking for $10 million in compensation in the lawsuit.

Also, the release of rapper Rick Ross' album, Teflon Don, was threatened to be blocked by Freeway Ricky Ross. A week after the lawsuit was filed, the rapper responded to the charges: "It’s like owning a restaurant, you’re gonna have a few slip and falls. You get lawsuits, you deal with them, and get them out of your way ... sometimes you lose." He then denied rumors that he would change his name to "Ricky Rozay" as a consequence of the lawsuit.

After the lawsuit was dismissed on July 3, 2010, the album Teflon Don was released as scheduled on July 20, 2010. A federal judge ruled that the case should be refiled in California state court because it fell under California state law. Ross refiled the case with the State of California and the federal case is on appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

In popular culture

Ross was a key figure in filmmaker Kevin Booth's documentary, American Drug War: The Last White Hope. The second episode of the first season of BET's American Gangster documentary series was focused on the story of Ricky Ross and his connection to the Iran-Contra scandal. While in Texarkana prison, Ricky Ross became the first federal inmate to create a social networking website. Ross is played by actor Glenn Plummer in the film, 100 Kilos. Ross was recently featured in VH1's critically acclaimed Planet Rock History of Crack and Hip Hop Documentary. The documentary was a look into the interconnection between top hip hop talents such as Jay Z, Snoop and Wu Tang and the growth of the Crack Epidemic. Freeway Rick Ross was an integral part of the show, along with the prior listed talents.

In the song "My Favorite Mutiny" by The Coup, rapper Boots claims the Central Intelligence Agency directed Ross to distribute crack: "before the CIA told Ricky Ross to put crack in the sack." The song "Mathematics" by Mos Def contains a reference to the link between Ross and the CIA: "Nearly half of America's largest cities is one-quarter black/ That's why they gave Ricky Ross all the crack." In the Murs song "The Science" (from his 2008 release Murs for President) the rapper says "...and they gave us dope (Crack)/From the CIA by the way of Nicaragua/Shipped to Rick Ross/He's the Black Godfather." He continues to rap about conspiracies surrounding the CIA's dealings with Ross throughout the song.

American rapper Rick Ross acquired his moniker from Ross, and rapper Freeway took his nickname from him.

Personal life

Rapper Slim da Mobster is Ross' nephew.

External links

• Freewayrick.com Rick Ross's Home Page
• Freewayenterprise.com Rick Ross's Social Media Site
• Jimmy DaSaint and Freeway Ricky Ross's Book Black Scarface
• AmericanDrugWar.com AmericanDrugWar.com
• Profile on the show American Gangster
• Freeway Ricky Ross Timeline - November 2, 2006 Streetgangs.com
• How John Kerry exposed the Contra-cocaine scandal – Salon
• The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions – U.S. Department of Justice
• [Interviewed on Vocalo.org] [1]
• [Interviewed on latalkradio.com] [2]
• Interview with Freeway Ricky Ross by Dominic Streatfeild