Actually, I think this is the real “untold story of Silk Road”:
That site doesn't dispute that Ulbricht founded the Silk Road with the explicit intent of, among other things, providing a platform for the sale of narcotics and other illegal items. In fact, it opens with this admission.
So, end of story. Ulbricht was charged with and convicted of money laundering, computer hacking, and conspiracy to traffic narcotics. This site agrees that he did those things. He wasn't charged with being DPR, that was just one point of evidence. At best the site could give reason to believe that Ulbricht wasn't the only one who should have been arrested, and also that his sentence was unduly harsh. But it doesn't dispute his guilt at all.
As always, Ulbricht's supporters hold two contradictory beliefs:
1. Ulbricht did nothing wrong in allowing the sale of narcotics on the Silk Road, which shouldn't be illegal anyway.
2. Ulbricht was wrongly convicted.
Whether or not narcotics should be illegal, they currently are and Ulbricht sold them.
While I certainly don't buy everything, this version of the story brings up major issues with the way this case was handled that are completely absent from the original linked article.
That conspiracy theory isn't compatible with the arrest of one of the alledged hitmen that was posted a few comments bellow.
Aren't two agents heavily involved in the case now in jail as a result of it?
Hardly a stretch to make, not to mention the case got thrown out and never even made it to trial. It's certainly in the realm of plausibility.
"hand-waive" seems inaccurate here, a lot of Ross's supporters flat out disagree with these charges in particular.
I don't claim to know what happened here, but it seems pretty clear that there was some very shady behavior by law enforcement officials who took plea deals and were this never required to reveal it's full extent. There was also probably some parallel construction that makes much of the narrative presented in this article a lie.