Who is Ricky Donnell Ross? The drug world knows Freeway Ricky Ross as a convicted drug trafficker best known for the "drug empire" that he presided over in
Los Angeles, in the early 1980s.
[2] The nickname "Freeway" came from Ross's ownership of several properties along the
Harbor Freeway. His old house he grew up in is where a freeway now stands.
[3] During the height of his drug dealing, Ross claims to have made "$2 millions in one day."
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.
[4] 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.
[5]
Biography
Early life
Ricky Ross was born on April 30, 1960 in
Troup, Texas. As a young child he moved to
South-Central Los Angeles,
California, with his mother. Originally interested in tennis, he pursued a
scholarship while attending high school. His coach, Bob Strohosky, who also later went into drug trafficking, eventually discovered that Ross was illiterate and had him removed from the school. Ross then attended
Los Angeles Trade Technical 
College and again pursued tennis, reaching the third spot on the team. To make money, he turned to selling drugs to pay for tennis lessons. However, an arrest led Ross to quit school.
[6]
Cocaine introduction
It was through Jericho Deerr, a college friend, that Ross was introduced to cocaine. Through Deerr, 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 believed to have been selling over US$3 million in cocaine per day—and purchasing 440 kilos of cocaine a week.
[6] 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.
[6]
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.
Iran-Contra involvement
Ross's capture was facilitated by his career-long dealer Oscar Danilo Blandón, 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 Agency 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.
[7]
Media
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.
[7] While in Texarkana prison, Ricky Ross became the first federal inmate to create a social networking website.
[8] A new reality show currently in production will go along with Ricky Ross as he leaves prison and moves into a halfway house in California. The show will follow his attempt to regain his former fortune through legal means, while at the same time making amends with the community.
[9]
References in Hip Hop culture
 |
| Rick Ross |
- American rapper Rick Ross acquired his moniker from Ross, and rapper Freeway took his nickname from him.
- Ross is played by actor Glenn Plummer in the film, 100 Kilos.[10]
References in Hip Hop lyrics
- 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."[11]
- 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."[12]
- The Game claimed, in his 2006 song "Ol' English," that he "Wanted to be Freeway Rick/He showed me how turn a stolen 5.0 into a brick.[13]
- in the Style-C song titled "the 11th Hour", Freaks says "Don't Be Fooled By Obama/ He's Still Part Of The Head of The Monster/ We've All Just Been Fed Propoganda/ You Want Me To Blame Ricky Ross For The Contra?/"
- Young Buck mentions that "Freeway Ricky Ross be home in the March" in the song "Did You Miss Me".
- 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.
- UK hip hop artist Lowkey mentions both Ricky Ross and the American rapper who took his name as a moniker in a freestyle on London's KISS 100 radio show: "...find the real Rick Ross and ask him, the real Rick Ross, not the fat cop in fake glasses...", referencing an incident in which the American artist was accused by Louis Vuitton of wearing counterfeit sunglasses on the cover of XXL magazine, and reports of him being a former police officer.[14][15][16]
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Who is Larry Hoover? The Gang world knows Larry Hoover as a convicted American murderer and the alleged head of the Gangster Disciples gang (also known as the Black Gangster Disciple Nation) in Chicago. Hoover is reputed to be the leader of the gang in spite of the fact that he has been in prison continuously since 1973.
On February 26, 1973, Hoover and another Gangster Disciple, Andrew Howard, shot and killed William Young over a debt[1]. Both were later arrested and sentenced to 150-200 years in prison. Howard was paroled in 1992. In 1974, after the death of David Barksdale, Hoover was appointed the new leader of the BGDN.
Two years later, Jerome Freeman left the BGDN, making the Black Disciples and the Black Gangster Disciples separate gang organizations. Even in prison, Hoover gave orders to his gang members and directed their illegal drug trade. On July 22, 1978, an inmate riot at the Pontiac Correctional Center in Illinois resulted in the death of three corrections officers. This uprising was rumored to have been ordered by Hoover. 21 inmates were indicted; ten were acquitted after an 11-week trial. Charges against Hoover and seven others were eventually dropped.
Hoover's continued involvement with the gang prompted a federal investigation. The five-year undercover investigation by the federal government led to drug conspiracy, extortion, and other criminal charges against Hoover. On August 31, 1995 Hoover was arrested at the Vienna Correctional Center by federal agents and moved to the MCC Chicago. In 1997 Hoover and six associates were found guilty of these charges, and Hoover was transferred to a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana to serve a life sentence.
