The death of Rayful Edmond III: Kingpin who shaped D.C.’s dark drug war

Black Owned Newspapers And Blogs

News / Black Owned Newspapers And Blogs 31 Views 0 comments

**FILE** Rayful Edmond III (Courtesy of NBC Washington) Rayful Edmond III, whose name became synonymous with Washington, D.C.’s crack cocaine epidemic and its deadly consequences, died suddenly Tuesday at the age of 60. Edmond, who spent more years in prison than out, was found dead at a Florida facility akin to a halfway house, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. No cause of death has been disclosed. Edmond’s influence over D.C.’s drug trade in the 1980s was unparalleled. Authorities estimated that his organization smuggled up to 1,700 pounds of cocaine into the city each month, generating $2 million weekly. His operation fueled a surge in violence that tore through the city’s Black communities, leaving devastation and loss in its wake. With his flashy lifestyle — custom silk suits, diamond jewelry, and courtside seats at Georgetown Hoyas games — Edmond commanded both fear and fascination. Prosecutors called him the “Babe Ruth of crack cocaine” for his ability to amass wealth and control through a network of loyal dealers. Even after his 1989 arrest and 1990 life sentence, Edmond’s power did not wane. From behind bars, he continued to orchestrate drug deals through coded telephone calls, exposing flaws in prison monitoring...

0 Comments