EAST PALAKATA, Fla. – Former FBI agents pushed for the early release of Rick Wershe Jr. during a clemency hearing Wednesday in Florida.
Wershe, known as "White Boy Rick," is set to be released from prison in the fall of 2020. He is serving a sentence for his involvement in a stolen car ring while he was in prison in Michigan. Wershe was arrested at 17 years old for drug offenses and was locked up in Michigan until age 48.
MORE: Why does Wershe owe time in Florida?
"I have never advocated, in all of my 35, 36 years in law enforcement, on behalf of an inmate," said Herm Gorman, a retired FBI agent.
Gorman and former FBI agent Gregg Schwartz believe Wershe should be released from prison as soon as possible. They told a clemency board that Wershe was instrumental in helping bust dirty police officers in Detroit while he was behind bars.
"He's contributed greatly to law enforcement," Schwartz. "I challenge anybody to tell me one prisoner who has contributed more to law enforcement than this man."
Read More: The Story of White Boy Rick
Schwartz said Wershe helped lead to the arrest of numerous people, something for which he has never been recognized.
The four-member clemency board, which includes Florida's governor and attorney general, seemed unimpressed with the FBI agents' statements asking for an early release.
The board questioned why Wershe should be granted the early release when he was committing crimes behind bars. Attorney General Ashley Moody noted that Wershe was granted more than 400 days of time served on a five-year sentence he was supposed to serve in Florida.
The board has not made its decision yet.