Reche Caldwell was apparently a much better football player than criminal.
The former New England Patriots wide receiver, who spent seven seasons in the NFL, had a tremendously tough time walking away from the league. In a feature by David Fleming of ESPN.com, Caldwell’s post-career criminal endeavors are well-documented.
After leaving the game, running a failed event planning company and struggling with post-football boredom, Caldwell started a gambling ring in West Tampa, betting on football because his “experience and expertise about the game were back in high demand.” Caldwell was reportedly doing $225,000 in wagers each month, hiding his money in coffee tins or wherever it would fit. His first criminal misstep was having his gambling ring operate in a car detailing shop, which was right across the street from a school.
“I see now, yup, not the greatest location for that kind of thing,” Caldwell says with a chuckle. “Too big, too fast. I laugh at my stuff too. What else can you do? I have to laugh. I really thought I was some kind of a criminal? All I know is, everyone kept telling me, ‘The police don’t care about this stuff, you’ll never get caught,’ and the next thing I know I’m headed to prison, saying goodbye to my kids, wondering: ‘What happened to me?'”
According to Fleming, Caldwell’s operation was eventually swarmed by a SWAT team, as he regularly, obviously gambled with undercover cops.
“Damn, man, you blasted the door with a tank? Why didn’t ya just knock? I woulda let y’all in.”
The highlight of Caldwell’s criminal activity, without a doubt, is when he wanted to get involved in the MDMA-Molly business. He reportedly opened up Google, typed in MDMA-Molly-China and ordered the drug from pop-up ads, delivering it to his girlfriend’s home door. When the package was flagged and delivered in a sting attempt, Caldwell drew an X on the signature and continued to make poor decisions.
“Caldwell answered the door and quickly scanned the yard, street and air searching for trouble. Sensing none, he drew an X on the signature pad and reached for the box. Caldwell remembers the agent drew back, then improvised: “With international deliveries, I need a verifiable signature or I can’t release the package.” Caldwell glanced back over his shoulder at his phone sitting on a hallway table, realizing at that moment that using an app to obsessively track this package, along with another kilo he had forwarded to Atlanta, probably wasn’t the smartest idea. If this is it, he thought, they already got me. Caldwell shrugged, waved for the clipboard and gave what turned out to be his last high-profile signature.”
Caldwell is currently servicing 27 months in prison for his criminal activity, involving possession of Molly and gambling charges. Check out Fleming’s full story, as Caldwell really made some bone-headed decisions. Unexpectedly, for someone so bad at being a criminal, Caldwell owned up to all the bad choices. Hopefully, when he’s released, he can use his brain the next time he thinks of making a quick buck illegally.
