Ricky Donnell Ross, also known as "Freeway Rick," was a prominent figure in the South Central Los Angeles drug trade of the 1980s, supplying vast quantities of cocaine to various parts of the country.
Throughout his rise to notoriety, prosecutors estimated that Ross exported several tons of cocaine nationally, ultimately amassing a staggering fortune of over $600 million.
Despite his academic struggles, Ross attended Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, where he played tennis, although his illiteracy prevented him from securing a college scholarship.
In 1996, Ross was sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of selling 100 kilograms of cocaine to a federal agent. The same year, a series of articles published by the San Jose Mercury News, written by Gary Webb, exposed the connection between Ross's primary cocaine supplier and the CIA, which was part of the Nicaraguan Contras scandal that funded the rebels.
Thanks to a legal technicality, the U.S. federal court of appeals reduced Ross's life sentence to 20 years, and he was released from prison in 2010.
Since his release, Ross has reformed and now resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two children, actively speaking to high school students and community groups about the dangers of drug use and the importance of staying away from drugs.
