Detroit’s Curry Brothers: The Drug Empire Connected to the “White Boy Rick” Story

#KRITICIZM - Long before the Black Mafia Family became one of Detroit’s most recognizable criminal organizations, another group of brothers controlled a lucrative drug network on the city’s east side. Johnny, Leonard and Rudell Curry—better known on the streets as “Little Man,” “Big Man” and “Boo”—became central figures in Detroit’s underworld during the 1980s.

The Curry organization distributed marijuana, heroin and cocaine through a collection of properties across the city. Their operation generated enormous profits, attracted the attention of federal investigators and eventually became connected to one of the most controversial informant stories in American law-enforcement history.

Three Brothers From Detroit’s East Side

Twins Johnny and Leonard Curry were born in 1959. Their younger brother, Rudell, was born approximately one year later. The brothers grew up in a predominantly Black, working- and middle-class neighborhood on Detroit’s east side.

Johnny, nicknamed “Little Man,” was often described as quiet, calculating and business-minded. Leonard, known as “Big Man” or “Leo,” reportedly had a more outgoing personality and enjoyed displaying the wealth that came with the organization’s success. Rudell was commonly called “Boo.”

The twins reportedly entered the drug business during the late 1970s by selling marijuana. As their customer base and connections grew, the organization moved into heroin and powdered cocaine. When crack cocaine began spreading through major American cities during the 1980s, the Curry organization reportedly added it to its operation.

Building an East-Side Drug Network

At its height, the Curry organization reportedly controlled numerous drug houses across Detroit’s east side. Different locations sold marijuana, heroin, powdered cocaine and crack.

The organization depended on a structured network of suppliers, distributors, street-level dealers, money collectors and enforcers. Large amounts of cash were reportedly stored at businesses and other properties controlled by trusted associates.

The Currys became known for their cars, clothing, nightlife and public appearances. Their lifestyle reflected the enormous amount of money moving through Detroit’s illegal drug economy during the 1980s. However, the wealth existed alongside the damage caused by addiction, neighborhood violence and the incarceration of young people drawn into the trade.

Estimates concerning the organization’s earnings vary widely. Some later accounts claimed the Curry organization generated hundreds of millions of dollars, but those figures are difficult to independently verify. What is clear from court records and historical reporting is that federal authorities considered it one of Detroit’s major trafficking organizations.

Johnny Curry’s Political Connection

Johnny Curry attracted additional attention because of his relationship with Cathy Volsan, the niece of Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young. Johnny and Cathy eventually married, creating a connection between a suspected drug figure and one of the city’s most influential political families.

That relationship fueled years of speculation about whether members of the organization received confidential information or protection from corrupt officials. Cathy Volsan later testified about allegations that information concerning police surveillance had reached Johnny.

The controversy eventually expanded beyond narcotics. Johnny later alleged that he paid Detroit homicide official Gilbert “Gil” Hill to steer attention away from his organization during a murder investigation. Hill, who later became Detroit City Council president and appeared as Inspector Todd in the Beverly Hills Cop movies, repeatedly denied wrongdoing and was never convicted over the allegation.

The Killing of Damion Lucas

One of the darkest chapters connected to the Curry investigation was the 1985 killing of 13-year-old Damion Lucas. The child was inside a Detroit residence when gunfire struck the home during what authorities believed was a targeted attack against an adult.

Federal investigators reportedly suspected members or associates of the Curry organization. However, the murder was never conclusively solved in court, and Johnny Curry has denied involvement or knowledge of the killing. In a 2018 interview, he maintained that he had nothing to do with Lucas’ death. Detroit’s Local 4 reported Curry’s denial and the continuing questions surrounding the case.

Because no one was ultimately convicted of murdering Damion Lucas, allegations connecting specific members of the organization to the shooting should not be presented as established fact. The unresolved killing nevertheless became an important part of the broader investigation into drugs, violence and possible police corruption in Detroit.

The Teenage Informant Inside the Organization

The Curry brothers’ story is inseparable from Richard Wershe Jr., later made famous by the nickname “White Boy Rick.”

Wershe lived in the same east-side environment and became friendly with Rudell Curry. Because he had access to people around the organization, federal agents saw him as a potentially valuable source.

In 1984, when Wershe was only 14 years old, the FBI and Detroit police began using him as a confidential informant. Agents reportedly supplied him with money and directed him to gather intelligence about the Currys and other suspected traffickers.

The decision to use a child inside a dangerous criminal organization remains highly controversial. Wershe later alleged that investigators introduced him to criminal activity, taught him how the drug trade operated and abandoned him after they no longer needed his assistance. Courts subsequently dismissed civil lawsuits he filed against federal and local authorities because they were submitted beyond the applicable statutes of limitations—not because a trial resolved every factual allegation he made. The Associated Press covered the dismissal and Wershe’s allegations.

Research from the University of Michigan describes Wershe as Johnny Curry’s teenage protégé and explains how the Curry investigation became nationally known because of his work as an FBI source. The university’s Detroit policing history project documents the connection.

Wershe’s information contributed to the government’s case, but his own story took a tragic turn. After authorities stopped using him, he became involved in cocaine trafficking and was arrested in 1987. He eventually spent more than three decades in custody before completing his sentences in 2020.

The Federal Case Against the Currys

By 1984, a joint FBI and Detroit Police Department task force was investigating the Curry organization. Agents used surveillance, informants and electronic monitoring to build their case.

In April 1987, federal prosecutors indicted the Curry brothers, their father and several alleged associates on narcotics-related charges. The case accused the brothers of operating a continuing criminal enterprise.

Johnny and Leonard pleaded guilty in September 1987 to operating a continuing criminal enterprise and committing tax offenses. Both received 20-year federal prison sentences without the possibility of parole under the sentencing structure in place at the time. They were also ordered to pay substantial fines.

Rudell pleaded guilty to a narcotics-conspiracy charge and received a shorter prison sentence. Other defendants associated with the organization also accepted plea agreements.

Johnny and Leonard ultimately served approximately 11 years before their release in 1999.

Beyond the Hollywood Version

The Curry organization returned to public attention when Wershe’s life inspired the 2018 film White Boy Rick, starring Matthew McConaughey and Richie Merritt. While the movie introduced millions of viewers to the names Johnny Curry and White Boy Rick, it compressed events, changed certain details and dramatized relationships for entertainment.

The real story was more complicated. It involved an expanding cocaine market, an underage government informant, allegations of political influence, questions about police corruption and an unsolved child’s murder.

Detroit’s Curry brothers represented an important period in the city’s criminal history. Their organization rose during an era when declining economic opportunities and the arrival of crack cocaine devastated many urban communities. The money, luxury vehicles and neighborhood status surrounding the Curry name could not prevent federal prosecution or years of imprisonment.

Their story remains compelling because it reaches beyond the rise and fall of one drug operation. It exposes the uncomfortable connections that can develop among traffickers, informants, police officers and political power—and the lasting human consequences left behind when those relationships collapse.