Ron Ilitch
Ronald Ilitch, son of the late pizza king Mike Ilitch, was found dead Friday at a room in the Marriott Hotel in Troy, WDIV reports. He was 60.
Unammed sources tell Derick Hutchinson that Ilitch died of an apparent drug overdose.
"On behalf of my mother Marian Ilitch and our entire family, I want to express our sadness and grief at Ron’s passing," Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings, says in a statement. "We’re devastated about this loss, and we ask for respect of the family's privacy during this difficult time."
Ilitch had a long history of problems. In September 2014, he pleaded guilty to cocaine possession, and was sentenced to one year of probation and service in an alternate work force program.
Jay Berkowitz, whose former wife is related to the Ilitch family by marriage, tells Deadline Detroit he occasionally ran into Ron Ilitch over the years.
"He was always very down-to-earth and personable," says Berkowitz, who now lives in Ventura, Calif.
