Rick Ross
“Freeway” Rick Ross (January 26, 1960) is a former drug lord and kingpin. Ross attended high school in Los Angeles, but remained illiterate. Ross was a skilled tennis player, but his illiteracy made him ineligible for college scholarships. One of the teachers at his high school dealt cocaine and offered Ross the chance to begin dealing. Soon, Ross was selling more than the teacher could provide, and moved onto working in the drug trade on a larger scale.
Ross made connections with the Nicaraguan drug trade, providing him access to significantly cheaper cocaine. Ross’ empire dealt in crack cocaine, rather than powder cocaine. With those connections, he could buy and sell in large quantities. Initially, Ross worked primarily with gang-related dealers in the Los Angeles area.
By 1982, Ross was selling up to three million dollars’ worth of cocaine daily in Los Angeles. Ross’ network expanded to include dealers in locations around the United States. Ross’ drug dealers and traffickers were equipped with the best equipment, including police scanners, to help them evade capture.
Ross was arrested on drug trafficking charges in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison under the Three Strikes law. This sentencing was later deemed erroneous and his sentence was reduced to 20 years. Ross was released in 2009, but was again arrested in the fall of 2015 for possessing funds related to the drug trade. He produced an autobiography and documentary following his 2009 release, and did a number of speaking engagements.