Ex-Patriots receiver is in jail for an inept series of crimes
Even Reche Caldwell's mom thinks he's not good at crime.
By
John Breech
•
3 min read
Ten years ago, former NFL receiver Reche Caldwell was catching passes from Tom Brady. Now, he's sitting in an Alabama jail, serving out the remaining term on a 27-month sentence that was handed down in January 2015 after he went on one of the most inept crime sprees of all time.
Caldwell's crime-ridden downfall was recently featured in ESPN the Magazine, and it's almost brutal to read.
After Caldwell's NFL career ended, he headed to Tampa, Florida, where he started a gambling ring that was taking in almost $225,000 in bets each month, according to ESPN. If you're going to start an illegal gambling ring, it's probably best to keep it a secret. That's not what Caldwell did.
Caldwell was running the gambling ring out of a building that would have over 40 cars parked out in front of it each weekend so people could bet on NFL games. The building was also located right next to an elementary school.
When Tampa police caught wind of the gambling ring, it didn't take long before they had undercover informants betting with Caldwell.
On wild-card weekend in January 2014, the jig was up: Tampa's SWAT team busted into Caldwell's building. After the arrest, the former receiver seemed to regret putting his gambling ring next to an elementary school.
"I see now, yup, not the greatest location for that kind of thing," Caldwell told ESPN. "Too big, too fast. I laugh at my stuff too. What else can you do? I have to laugh."
Caldwell had been under the impression that cops didn't take gambling that seriously.
"All I know is, everyone kept telling me, 'The police don't care about this stuff, you'll never get caught,'" Caldwell said. "And the next thing I know I'm headed to prison, saying goodbye to my kids, wondering. 'What happened to me?'"
Starting a gambling ring right next to an elementary school sounds bad, until you realize what happened next.
Caldwell heard he could make some serious money selling a synthetic type of MDMA (a pure form of MDMA would be ecstasy or 'Molly'). The former receiver decided to order some synthetic MDMA from China, and that's when things got ugly.
The package from China got flagged by UPS and after that, an undercover cop was sent to deliver it. At that point, Caldwell didn't really have an out: He couldn't deny ordering the package because he had been tracking it on his cell phone.
After he signed for it, the SWAT team showed up again.
"He had been caught red-handed," Caldwell's attorney, Nicholas Matassini, told ESPN. "And by that I mean the drugs were literally found, by police, in the hands of my client, who was also tracking them on his phone."
Not even Caldwell's mom could believe what was happening.
"Good lord that boy was a bad criminal," Caldwell's mother said, "and thank Jesus for that."
When your own mom thinks you're not very good at being a criminal, that's probably when it's time to find something else to do.
Caldwell lucked out in his case: His lawyer argued -- and proved -- that the MDMA that was ordered from China wasn't that potent. Since Caldwell didn't order pure Ecstasy, he wasn't going to be hit with a full jail sentence.
The former Patriots receiver was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
The jailed receiver hasn't played in the NFL since 2007, when he appeared in eight games for the Washington Redskins. The 2002 second-round pick spent six seasons in the league after being drafted by the Chargers.
Besides San Diego and Washington, Caldwell also spent a season in New England, where he caught 61 passes for 760 yards and four touchdowns from Tom Brady, although he's mostly remembered in New England for the passes he didn't catch. Caldwell had two big drops in the Patriots' 38-34 AFC title game loss to the Colts.
Despite being out of the league for over six years now, Caldwell still has NFL ties. He's the older brother of Andre Caldwell, who just won a Super Bowl ring with the Broncos.
