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INTRODUCTION:

This is the true story of Rayful Edmond III, known as the 'King Of Cocaine.'  At his peak, he sold 2,000 kilos a week and reaped gross profits of $70 million dollars per month.  His empire included 150 soldiers.

He lived a lavish lifestyle.  He often flew to Las Vegas to gamble and New York and Los Angeles to shop.  He spent $150,000 on shopping sprees.

In 1987, this 22-year old man was responsible for distributing 90 percent of Columbian cocaine onto the streets of Washington, D.C. and his gang was suspected of 40 murders.

DRUG BARON:

Rayful Edmond, III, born in 1965, (pictured above, top photo) was a notorious drug kingpin who is largely responsible for introducing crack cocaine into Washington, D.C.   At his peak, Edmond sold 2,000 kilo’s a week, worth 10’s of millions of dollars.

Edmond controlled as much of 90 percent of the D.C. drug trade in the mid-late 80's and he had drug connections with Columbian drug lords.

Edmond spent six figures on cars, travel, bling and clothes.  He once spent more than $457,619.00 in an exclusive Georgetown store (Linea Pitti) owned by Charles Wynn who would later be convicted on 34 counts of money laundering for the Edmond gang. The shop specialized in expensive Italian men’s clothing from 1987-1988.

Edmond was often seen around town in expensive cars: Mercedes’s, BMW’s and Ferrari’s.

Edmond’s gang tried to murder pastor Rev. Bynum, who was shot 12 times during an anti-drug rally in his Orleans Place neighborhood where the Edmond gang sold large amounts of drugs, up to $80,000 per day.

Edmond was arrested in 1989 at the age of 24.  His arrest and trial were widely covered by local and national media.  Fearful of reprisals from members of Edmond’s gang, unprecedented security was imposed during the trial.  Despite heavy security, some witnesses who were scheduled to appear at the trial were mysteriously murdered.

Jurors were kept anonymous and the juror’s seating area was enclosed in bulletproof glass for the duration of the trial.

Edmond was flown in by helicopter daily for his trial.  Edmond would be convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Edmond’s mother (Constance “Bootise” Perry) and several sisters and cousins were sentenced to 14 years in prison for participating in his criminal enterprise.

Less than a month after entering Lewisburg Prison, a telephone monitor recorded Edmond making drug deals from prison.

Edmond was never punished for any of these telephone calls, despite the fact that many of Edmond’s calls from prison were three-way calls that are prohibited under prison regulations.

In 1991, a former police informant contacted the FBI to report that Edmond was dealing cocaine from prison.

The FBI learned that Edmond was arranging drug deals from prison through Columbian suppliers that he met in prison. One of these former inmates was Osvaldo Trujillo-Blanco, who upon release from Lewisburg had become Edmond’s main drug supplier.

In 1992, Trujillo-Blanco was assassinated in Columbia, cutting off Edmond’s supply of cocaine.  The FBI suspended its investigation of Edmond.

In 1994, an inmate told the FBI that Edmond was continuing to broker cocaine deals from prison involving Washington area cocaine dealers.

After extensive investigation and the seizure of a multi-kilogram cocaine shipment near Newark airport, the FBI requested that Edmond be removed from the general population.

While held in temporary segregation, the FBI searched Edmond’s cell and found evidence of drug trafficking.

When confronted with the evidence, Edmond offered to cooperate with law enforcement officials in order to secure his mother’s release from prison.

Edmond was returned to the general population.  His cooperation resulted in numerous indictments and convictions of drug traffickers, including the indictment of six people in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and the arrests of ten others in Washington.

While he is still incarcerated, Edmond is now part of the witness protection program and his location is unknown.

Sources: Wikipedia.com, the Dept. Of Justice ( www.doj.com ) and “The Life of Rayful Edmond: The Rise and Fall, Vol. 1.”