Notorious DC cocaine kingpin Rayful Edmond dies at 60 – NBC4 Washington

A D.C. cocaine kingpin who spent more than 35 years in prison has died at the age of 60, just months after his release from prison, the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed.

Rayful Edmond, 60, was convicted in 1990 of running a cocaine ring that generated millions of dollars in sales and sent the murder rate so high that the district was dubbed the “murder capital” of the nation. The crack epidemic had the district in a vice grip for years with countless murders linked to it.

Edmond was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The notorious mobster was released from prison and moved to a halfway house over the summer.

In prison, Edmond became an informant

Edmond cooperated with the government after the FBI learned he was making large drug deals with a Colombian cartel from a federal prison in Pennsylvania. In 1994 he returned and became an informant.

Over the next 20 years, Edmond provided information to federal authorities that led to the convictions of at least 100 people, court records show.

Federal prosecutors have said Edmond helped jail dozens of other drug dealers, broke up distribution rings and even taught prison officials how to better prevent human trafficking in the prison system.

His help previously resulted in the early release of his mother, Constance “Bootsie” Perry, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for her part in her son’s operation. It also prompted the authorities to place Edmond under witness protection.

Retired undercover officer remembers Edmonds’ cocaine operation

In DC in the late 1980s, Edmond ran his cocaine operation from a house in the Northeast, where a young police recruit successfully infiltrated the gang.

“I was in there for about three days and was asked if I wanted to do undercover work,” the now-retired undercover officer told News4’s Jackie Bensen in 2019.

The undercover officer, known to the gang as Jimmy, recalled cocaine shipments being delivered by the truck.

“And a guy sitting in the back with an Uzi, with two Uzis,” he said.

At one point, Edmond became close to some of Georgetown University’s best basketball players. Coach John Thompson met with Edmond and told him to leave his players alone.

“Rayful respected that because Rayful was a big basketball fan,” the officer said.

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