The man blamed for introducing crack to the streets of Washington, D.C., is dead.
Federal officials confirmed to the local Fox affiliate that Rayful Edmond died Tuesday at the age of 60.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Edmond died at a halfway house in Nashville.
He had been transferred there from prison in July after serving three decades in prison.
The Bureau did not immediately release his cause of death.
Edmond reigned as kingpin over Washington’s drug trade in the 1980s, but was sentenced in 1990 to life imprisonment.
His introduction of crack — a quick-acting and cheap form of cocaine — was widely cited both in making Washington the nation’s infamous “murder capital” and even helped bring down a mayor — Democrat Marion Barry.
According to Fox-5, Edmond’s criminal enterprise involved 150 people, had an annual revenue of $300 million, and played a role in at least 30 murders.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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