by
Richard "White Boy Rick" Wershe Jr.
It's 243.7 miles -- a 4 hour and 35 minute ride -- from the Oaks Correctional Facility in Manistee in northern Michigan to Piper's Alley Bar & Grill on S. Gratiot Avenue in Clinton Township.
Richard "White Boy Rick" Wershe Jr. lives in the prison and won't make the ride down Sunday. But he's holding a fundraiser at the bar from 5-9 p.m., with proceeds going to the Gleaners Food Bank. It's the second year in a row that he's done this.
"I'm just trying to do something good while I'm here," Wershe told Deadline Detroit. " I see how bad it is in the city. I'm just trying to help people who need a little help."
People who attend will be served a complimentary buffet meal. People are being asked to bring packaged food, which, along with donations, will be given to Gleaners. Wershe's paintings will also be auctioned off to raise money.
Wershe, 44, has been behind bars since the late 1980s. He was a teenager when was he was convicted in Detroit of drug trafficking. He's been serving a life sentence ever since, and so far, has been unable to get paroled despite having the support of retired FBI agents and other members of the law enforcement community.
Wershe dismissed the idea that his fundraiser is an attempt to polish his image for the parole board.
"I don't care what people think," Wershe said. "I just wanted to help people."
