Ricky Donnell Ross (born May 3, 1960), also known as "Freeway" Ricky Ross , was a drug trafficker best known for the "drug empire" that he presided over in Los Angeles, in the early 1980s.[1] The nickname "Freeway" came from Ross owning several properties along the Harbor Freeway.[2] During the height of his drug dealing, Ross claims to have made "2-3 million dollars a week".
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.[3] 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 is currently scheduled to be moved to a halfway house in California in March 2009,[citation needed] and to be released on September 29, 2009.[4]
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
