What is Terry Lee Flenory doing now? Released after 30 years

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Who is Terry Lee Flenory?

American entrepreneur, investor and convict Terry P. O. Lee ‘Southwest T’ Flenory was born in Detroit, Michigan USA, on 10 January 1972, so Capricorn’s his zodiac sign. He’s perhaps best recognized as the brother of American criminal Demetrius Flenory, known better as Big Meech, who was the founder of Black Mafia Family, a money laundering organization. The two brothers were involved in many illegal activities from 1990 through 2005, and were both arrested in September 2008.

There are today rumors circulating the internet, claiming that Terry was shot dead by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) not long after he was released from prison, but this hasn’t been confirmed; he’s currently serving the remainder of his sentence at home.

Education and early life

Terry, his brother Big Meech and sister Nicole were raised in Detroit by their father Charles Flenory and mother Lucille; nothing has been shared about Terry’s family, because unsurprisingly they prefer to stay away from media.

Terry and Big Meech attended the same high school, and it was during that time that they became involved in illegal activities, working for local drug dealers by delivering drugs to their customers. Terry was also passionate about sports, and was on the school’s basketball team, but eventually chose life of crime over becoming an athlete.

He matriculated in 1990, and didn’t attend college.

Black Mafia Family – BMF

BMF was founded by Big Meech and Terry in 1985, and they initially only sold bags of cocaine for $50 on the streets of Detroit. They expanded their business in the ‘90s, and were distributing kilograms of cocaine in many US states, including Michigan, Louisiana and Kentucky, amongst over 10 others; the first investigation into BMF revealed that they had more than 500 people working for them.

Problems began in 2003 when the brothers got into a fight; Terry came to Los Angeles dissatisfied with Demetrius’ work, and founded his own crime organization, while Demetrius remained in Atlanta and continued leading the BMF. According to the DEA which wiretapped Terry’s phone, he believed that his brother’s ‘excessive partying’ brought negative attention to their business.

Arrest and release

Both Terry and Demetrius pleaded guilty to heading a criminal organization in November 2007, and were sentenced to spend 30 years behind bars in September 2008; Demetrius is currently imprisoned at the Federal Correctional Institution, Sheridan, and is scheduled to be released on 5 May 2028.

Terry was released on 5 May 2020 because of health issues, but only to home confinement; the reason behind his release was also the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus amongst the inmates.

Demetrius also attempted to be released under the same rules as Terry, however, the judge denied his request because he still presented himself as a drug kingpin in jail, while the prison staff had previously found forbidden items in his possession, such as a cell phone, drugs and weapons.

Record label BMF Entertainment

For their criminal organization’s money laundering scheme, Terry and Demetrius founded their record label BMF Entertainment, which signed popular rappers Fabolous, Young Jeezy and Jay-Z, amongst others; they had all been friends with Terry and Demetrius prior to the launch of the label.

Bleu Da Vinci, who was at that time signed to BMF Entertainment, released his first album “World Is BMF’s” in 2005, which was nominated for a Source Award; many underground magazines went on to write about Terry and Demetrius, including “The Come Up” and “S. M. A. C. K.”

In 2005 in St.Louis, Terry Flenory was arrested by the DEA for his role in running a drug enterprise. Wiretaps and other tactics brought him down. In 2008, Southwest T was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was released in 2020, citing COVID-19 health concerns. pic.twitter.com/wwl5vSWrEO
— Detroit Griot (@JustCallmeBHunt) September 27, 2021

The first series about BMF was written by American journalist Mara Shalhoup, entitled “Hip-Hop’s Shadowy Empire”, and she also published her book “BMF: The Rise and Fall of Big Meech and the Black Mafia Family” in March 2005.

Since 2021, the biographical crime series “BMF” has been airing; created by Randy Huggins, it stars Tyshon Freeman, Da’Vinchi and Demetrius ‘Lil Meech’ Flenory Jr, and tells the story of how Terry and Demetrius led their organization. The series has been nominated for two awards.

Love life and wife

Terry rarely speaks about his love life in his interviews, however, it’s still widely known that he’s today married to American businesswoman Tonesa Welch, who’s currently working at Notorious Queens as their executive producer.

Terry’s uploaded a number of pictures onto his Instagram account, which feature him and Tonesa spending time together. According to some of the rumors circulating the internet, the two were in a relationship when Terry was sent to prison, and they exchanged vows not long after his release. They have no children together, and it’s believed that both Terry and Tonesa think that they’re now too old for children.

There are also rumors claiming that Terry was a womanizer prior to being sent to jail, but this hasn’t been confirmed.

Terry’s married to Tonesa Welch as of February 2023, and doesn’t have children.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Many people believe that BMF is still active, and one can say that Terry’s still promoting the organization, as his Instagram pictures show him wearing T-shirts and necklaces with ‘BMF’ on them; he’s followed by close to 600,000 people on the social media network, and has posted over 260 pictures and videos.

Terry was physically active prior to being sent to jail, and worked out at the gym several times a week, but gained a lot of weight during the 12 years he spent in prison.

He’s still a huge fan of rap music, and some of his favorite rappers are Jay-Z, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.

Terry loves watching movies which star Will Smith, Robin Williams or Denzel Washington, and some of his favorites include “The Pursuit of Happiness”, “I Am Legend” and “Enemy of the State”.