The Smoking Gun Verifies Rick Ross' Past as a C.O.

[Mumbo Sauce]

The Smoking Gun went in and verified "The Boss of Miami's" history as a Correctional Officer.
Despite nonstop denials of his past, when The Smoking Gun does its research, its hard to deny!
They got records and official documents to verify.....Details below.


JULY 21--Apparently desperate to distance himself from any affiliation with law enforcement, the rapper Rick Ross has recently denounced as fake photos purporting to show him in a former career as a Florida prison guard. But Department of Corrections (DoC) records show that Ross, whose raps detail the Miami gangster lifestyle and his supposed days trafficking cocaine, did, in fact, work as a correctional officer for 18 months. Ross (real name: William Leonard Roberts) was appointed a prison guard in December 1995 at a salary of $22,913.54, according to the below personnel record, which was provided to TSG by Jo Ellyn Rackleff, a DoC spokesperson. The rapper's social security number is identical to that of the jail guard. According to the official document, Ross was earning $25,794.34 when he left the department in June 1997. After graduating from the DoC training academy, Ross was assigned to the South Florida Reception Center in Dade County (the lockup is one of three statewide that serves as an intake facility for new prisoners). When a photo of a uniform-clad Ross surfaced last week on No link ?, the 32-year-old performer claimed that unnamed "online hackers" put "my face when I was a teenager in high school on other peoples' body. If this shit was real don't you think they would have more specifics, like dates and everything?" He added, "Fake pictures are created by the fake, meant to entertain the fake." The photo, No link ?, shows a 19-year-old Ross at a DoC ceremony (he was part of the department's 60th graduating class). He is pictured shaking hands with Marta Villacorta, who then headed the South Florida Reception Center. Villacorta, now the department's South Florida regional director, was identified by Rackleff, who examined the photo Ross claims was Photoshopped. In a No link ?, Ross replied, "No, that's not true" when asked if he had worked as a prison guard. He claimed that the phony story was being circulated by detractors upset by his success in the rap world, where, "I came out of nowhere and just took over the streets.

The questions over Rick Ross’ previous employment status has seemingly been answered by website TheSmokingGun.com, which released records showing the Miami rapper was at one time a corrections officer.

Ross, born William Roberts, is known for his gritty tales of drug dealing and the street life, but he also apparently graduated from the Florida Department of Corrections (DoC) training academy.

The rapper's social security number matches that of a William Roberts, who was assigned to the South Florida Reception Center in Dade County.

The 32-year-old rapper was appointed a prison guard in December of 1995 at the tender age of 19. He left the job in 1997.

In a previous statement Ross denied the allegations and labeled pictures of him in a correctional officer’s uniform were fraudulent.

"My life is 100% real," Ross told AllHipHop.com in a previous statement regarding the photo. "These online hackers putting a picture of my face when I was a teenager in high school on other peoples' body. If this s**t was real don't you think they would have more specifics, like dates and everything? I'm in the entertainment business and a lot of people who like to hate because I'm on top of my game. Like I said before my life is 100% real. I live by this die by this. Fake pictures are created by the fake, meant to entertain the fake."

The woman identified in the pictures shaking hands with Ross is Marta Villacort, who was head of the South Florida Reception Center.

At press time, Rick Ross was unavailable for a comment on the prison report.

"My life is 100% real," Ross told AllHipHop.com in a previous statement regarding the photo. "These online hackers putting a picture of my face when I was a teenager in high school on other peoples' body. If this s**t was real don't you think they would have more specifics, like dates and everything? I'm in the entertainment business and a lot of people who like to hate because I'm on top of my game. Like I said before my life is 100% real. I live by this die by this. Fake pictures are created by the fake, meant to entertain the fake."

[GROOVE da Budweiser King]

You know cats is always talkin bout Soulja boy but at least he aint frontin about being something he aint..make is so bad it aint really that bad being a CO...get your money how you can...SH*T LOL

[mr.shadeed]

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True. Soulja Boy is being himself. I'm trying to figure out why rappers can't have regular jobs before they do music full-time.
The backlash from music fans comes from the fact that Rick Ross' music is very one-dimensional, not to mention it sends a subliminal message that you can be a superstar drug dealer and be successful.
Rick Ross (outside of music) actually owns SEVERAL businesses and is active in helping the community, but does telling that story sell records?! The answer is NO, so he has to "Push it to the Limit" to be revelant. Sad but true.

[GROOVE da Budweiser King]

Yeah you're right...i'm glad it's just "entertainment" though..lol

[mr.shadeed]

They didn't have to go and get the original document to prove it though lol.

[GROOVE da Budweiser King]

yeah they aired his ass out lol