WASHINGTON — Rayful Edmond, a drug kingpin once believed to control about a third of the cocaine trade in the nation’s capital during the crack epidemic of the 1980s, has died in federal custody, the Bureau of Prisons confirmed Tuesday.
Edmond, 60, was known at the height of his criminal empire as the “king of cocaine” in Washington, D.C. He oversaw a sprawling drug network that fueled the city’s devastating crack epidemic, contributing to a dramatic rise in homicides and the destruction of countless lives. Armed enforcers, wielding Uzi submachine guns, protected Edmond’s territory as he ran an operation linked to at least 30 murders, although none were directly attributed to him.
The Bureau of Prisons did not release details about the cause of Edmond’s death. Rob Sperling, a spokesperson for the bureau, said only that Edmond had died, without elaborating on the circumstances.
In 1989, at the age of 24, Edmond was arrested and later sentenced to life in prison for his role in running a vast drug distribution network. His operation was estimated to be moving up to 1,700 pounds of cocaine per month, generating millions of dollars each week. At the time, Edmond was a household name in D.C., living a lavish lifestyle that included sponsoring local basketball tournaments and frequent trips to Las Vegas for high-profile boxing matches.
His trial was marked by unprecedented security measures, and jury members were kept anonymous for their protection. He received a sentence of life without parole and was sent to a maximum-security prison in Pennsylvania. He continued to run a drug distribution network from inside the prison, and when he was caught, Edmond received an additional 30-year sentence.
He began cooperating with authorities. Federal prosecutors, in a motion to reduce his life sentence, said Edmond helped jail dozens of other drug dealers and break up distribution rings and even taught prison authorities how to better prevent trafficking inside the prison system.