The Ballad of Dickie and Ricou
And other Gone South news
Dear readers!
Happy Friday. We have some news to share.
First, we aired a new episode this week about a pair of prolific drug smugglers from the Florida Keys named Dickie Lynn and Ricou DeShaw. It’s the first of a two-parter about two lifelong friends whose lives start as a buddy comedy and turn into a cautionary tale about America’s war on drugs and mass incarceration. Dickie and Ricou grew up literally riding sea turtles off the coast of Islamorada and Key Largo. They both exited adolescence just as pot smuggling was becoming a big thing in the Caribbean. In another era they might have wound up owning a local seafood spot or a charter boat company. Instead they made millions smuggling pot and, later, cocaine, before the law finally caught up with them.
In four seasons of Gone South, this is the first story we’ve done that takes place in the state of Florida. As I wrote on Instagram the other day, people often ask me if Florida counts as “The South.” (They ask the same thing about Texas.) It got to the point that I had to look it up, and was reminded that Florida was not only a Confederate state, it was the third state to secede from the Union, after South Carolina and Mississippi — two heavy-hitters in the “true-crime space”1 whose membership in The South is never questioned. Still, South Florida, specifically the Keys, does have a claim to being something else entirely. It was my first time down there, and it’s definitely unique.
Anyway, as I always do to guests on the show, I hounded Dickie and Ricou for photos of themselves during the period in which their crimes took place. They did not disappoint. The photo above is circa 1977. Dickie, as evidenced by the gold-sequined hat of some kind, had been in the game for several years. Ricou, as evidenced by his general vibe, had just come off two years as a starting tight end for the Miami Hurricanes, and was just getting his feet wet.
Listen to the first episode here.
Second, Season 4 of the show has been nominated for a Webby Award in the Crime and Justice category. The other nominees include shows you may have heard of, like Dateline, that appear on networks you may also have heard of, like MSNBC and CBS. We’re the underdog in this category. And we’d love it if you’d vote for us!
You can vote for Gone South on the Webby Awards website.
Lastly, I was recently interviewed by the guys at Underworld Podcast about The Dixie Mafia, the subject of Gone South Season 2. The hosts, Danny Gold and Sean Williams, are serious journalists and deeply versed in the world of organized crime. I’ve really enjoyed listening to their show over the years.
Listen to the Dixie Mafia episode here:
Thanks for reading!
Jed