Richard Earl Carter Sr.(1959-1988)
Richard "Maserati Rick" Carter Sr. stood out among the ostentatious, wealthy dealers in Detroit. None could rival Rick's talent for the dramatic, a quality he maintained even after his passing. The conviction of Silvester "Sil" Murray, along with the prominent figures of Y.B.I., presented an opportunity for ambitious young men, like Carter and his childhood friend Demetris Holloway, to ascend as the new generation of Detroit's criminal elite. In a mere three years, Carter and Holloway peacefully controlled Detroit's drug trade alongside other groups such as the Chambers brothers, the remaining members of the weakened Y.B.I., Pony Down, and Johnny Curry, whose wife Cathy was the niece of Detroit's mayor Coleman Young. Federal authorities took notice of Carter and Holloway's frequent trips to Florida and Los Angeles, which they allege were intended to secure a reliable supply source. The Holloway/Carter enterprise flourished, enabling them to lead a lives of luxury and extravagance.
Carter invested millions of dollars into businesses he founded, often focusing on east-side car-washes or hair salons. These endeavors operated as locations for his runners to make pickups or drop-offs. Investigators identified Carter as a "kilo man" in their reports on Detroit's numerous traffickers. This approach to his dealings underscored his affluence and significance, as only the most influential traffickers and wealthy individuals could manage such large inventories without experiencing severe financial strain.
As he rose to prominence, Carter and his group, known as "The Best Friends", according to a law enforcement official, "made enough enemies to fill Tiger Stadium." However, none seemed as determined to take down Carter as Edward "Big Ed" Hanserd, a former friend of Maserati Rick. Their bitter enmity began after a heated dispute over a debt owed to Carter at Hanserd's Unisex Hair Salon in the summer of 1987. Carter and Hanserd frequently engaged in public confrontations, often leading to exchanges of automatic gunfire between them. The conflict drew the attention of the media, who frequently reported on the activities of both men, noting their propensity for violence and their preference for automatic weapons, which posed a serious threat to the general public.
As Hanserd built an organization that began to encroach on the profits of Carter and Holloway, the upstart became a target for elimination, as evidenced by an impromptu meeting that resulted in a violent shootout between Rick Carter, Demetris Holloway, and Big Ed Hanserd. This encounter left Hanserd with a severe scar across his abdomen from a wound he sustained during the confrontation with Carter and Holloway. Maserati Rick made at least three attempts to kill the troublesome Hanserd, all of which were unsuccessful. Carter's failure to eliminate Hanserd would prove to be a fatal mistake, as another conflict on September 10, 1988, outside one of Carter's businesses left Rick hospitalized with bullets in his stomach and Lodrick Parker, one of Hanserd's associates, slightly wounded in the arm. Two days after the initial shooting, an assailant entered room 307 at Mt. Carmel Mercy Hospital and shot Maserati Rick. Carter was pronounced dead at 6:01 p.m.
The following day, the police announced that their primary suspect was Lodrick Parker, who was rapidly gaining a reputation as the most dangerous man on the east side of Detroit. Following his death, the legend of "Maserati Rick" received its final embellishments during an elaborate funeral, where he was laid to rest in a $17,000 silver coffin designed to resemble a Mercedes Benz, complete with spinning tires.
Carter invested millions of dollars into businesses he founded, often focusing on east-side car-washes or hair salons. These endeavors operated as locations for his runners to make pickups or drop-offs. Investigators identified Carter as a "kilo man" in their reports on Detroit's numerous traffickers. This approach to his dealings underscored his affluence and significance, as only the most influential traffickers and wealthy individuals could manage such large inventories without experiencing severe financial strain.
As he rose to prominence, Carter and his group, known as "The Best Friends", according to a law enforcement official, "made enough enemies to fill Tiger Stadium." However, none seemed as determined to take down Carter as Edward "Big Ed" Hanserd, a former friend of Maserati Rick. Their bitter enmity began after a heated dispute over a debt owed to Carter at Hanserd's Unisex Hair Salon in the summer of 1987. Carter and Hanserd frequently engaged in public confrontations, often leading to exchanges of automatic gunfire between them. The conflict drew the attention of the media, who frequently reported on the activities of both men, noting their propensity for violence and their preference for automatic weapons, which posed a serious threat to the general public.
As Hanserd built an organization that began to encroach on the profits of Carter and Holloway, the upstart became a target for elimination, as evidenced by an impromptu meeting that resulted in a violent shootout between Rick Carter, Demetris Holloway, and Big Ed Hanserd. This encounter left Hanserd with a severe scar across his abdomen from a wound he sustained during the confrontation with Carter and Holloway. Maserati Rick made at least three attempts to kill the troublesome Hanserd, all of which were unsuccessful. Carter's failure to eliminate Hanserd would prove to be a fatal mistake, as another conflict on September 10, 1988, outside one of Carter's businesses left Rick hospitalized with bullets in his stomach and Lodrick Parker, one of Hanserd's associates, slightly wounded in the arm. Two days after the initial shooting, an assailant entered room 307 at Mt. Carmel Mercy Hospital and shot Maserati Rick. Carter was pronounced dead at 6:01 p.m.
The following day, the police announced that their primary suspect was Lodrick Parker, who was rapidly gaining a reputation as the most dangerous man on the east side of Detroit. Following his death, the legend of "Maserati Rick" received its final embellishments during an elaborate funeral, where he was laid to rest in a $17,000 silver coffin designed to resemble a Mercedes Benz, complete with spinning tires.