Chagra was released from prison for health reasons in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 9, 2003. Ten smugglers, two airplanes, and four U-Haul trucks had been seized in the predawn trap. I knew he would take a hard look at narcotics and organized crime.. He let himself in with a specially made key and walked upstairs. He made a motion for Judge Wood to recuse (disqualify) himself in the Stricklin case. WebDrug kingpin who was charged with the murder of the US district court judge who would have presided at his drug trial. During his tenure as magistrate, Boyd and Lee Chagra became friends, and when there was an opening for the job of U.S. attorney after Jimmy Carters election in 1976, Lee, Sib Abraham, and others supported Boyds appointment. The Indian wasnt a man most folks would care to meet in the darkthere was a .22 pistol under his stained leather jacket, and his face looked like forty miles of bad highway. In a single short sitting he lost almost $190,000. Please feel free to use any other table in the casino. Like so many sheep, the nickel-and-dime players started backing away. By early afternoon the party was over, and staff and hangers-on had gone. Youre going to get five years each. Id lay next to him and stroke his arm and hed say, Baby, I think I might go to hell. He didnt apologize for anything; he just said, I think Im going to hell. I said, You just have to ask God to forgive you, Daddy. I dont think he felt bad about the crimes. A fictitious name reference to the Judge John Wood assassination also appeared in an The FBI The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the public understanding of organized crime's history and impact on American society. Boyd was wrong. In a few years Abraham and Chagra had the leading anti-establishment law firm in the city. So Jimmys smuggling operation must be thriving as Lees law practice crumbled. Lee had been in Tucson trying a case for most of the past two weeks, and when the Friday night plane began its approach over the Upper Valley and through the Pass, he caught a glimpse of the lighted Christmas star on the slopes of Mount Franklin. [33] His wife was never released and she died in custody of ovarian cancer at age 41. He crossed the living room and closed the apartment door behind him. Jimmy Chagra, in another conversation recorded in prison and later transcribed, would not go quite as far, although he further muddied the waters. There was no way to count the number of ex-lovers who crowded the cathedral to say their last farewell, but they were discreetly scattered and only occasionally exchanged glances. He had seven children, including a daughter named Catherine, who wrote a memoir about the family. Jimmy Chagra died of cancer on July 25, 2008. He was living in a trailer camp in Mesa, Arizona. If Stricklin cooperated, they would work for his early release. All have, understandably, complicated feelings about their father. In the winter. Hughes never knew whom he called or whyLees life was like hornets nest, with thousands of isolated cells, and no one person, however close, ever saw more than a single cell. Jo Annie telephoned one final time, from her mothers house on Rim Road. In secret interviews Wallace as singing like a drunken angel. Chagra and his wife, Liz, and young daughter relocated to Las Vegas in 1978 and moved into a house across the street from attorney Oscar Goodman. [15], Chagra's drug dealings came under close scrutiny by law enforcement and the judicial system. Coming as it did in the midst of his misery, Lees brilliant defense of the Ardmore bunch had to be his most satisfying victory. I have never found anything, he said pleasantly, in any of these grand jury investigations. A few hours later, the 38-year-old attorney, stunned and bewildered, found himself being transferred to the county jail, handcuffed to Georgie Taylor, who was a legend in local drug circles (he had made a million before he was eighteen) and who happened to be Jo Annies nephew. For years there had been a rivalry between the two brothers, a fierce and unyielding competition that only the two of them completely understood. As was his custom when he was in one of these expansive moods, Lee sat in his new office with his feet on his desk, telling war stories and handing out money. Lee Chagra by some of his fans was murdered in his office and robbed of some $450,000 that might have been intended for a mob boss. What was happening here? The months of suspicion and hostile publicity almost wrecked Lees law career. Technically and legally, the unsworn interview shouldnt even have been a part of the grand jury report. Lee didnt protest as Clark led him out of the casino to the waiting limousine. The money was in the canvas tennis bag under the sink. Rumors persisted that while Stricklin was doing time at La Tuna, Lee arranged to destroy records that would have established Lees complicity in a number of smuggling operations. [6], Chagra was accused of (and was acquitted of, although he later confessed to conspiracy in a deal to help his wife) hiring hitman Charles Harrelson (actor Woody Harrelson's father) to kill Wood for $250,000; on May 29, 1979, Judge Wood was murdered outside his home by a shot in the back. This friendship, the fact that the prosecutor and the judge were seen socializing so often, caused some lawyers to question Woods impartiality. In less than fifteen minutes, he won $90,000. Lee couldnt hold a grudge, but Jimmy was the kind who would get you by the balls and never let go, said Jimmy Salome, a longtime family friend. He wanted to dress the way Lee dressed, in fine clothes and jewelry, and he wanted to hear whispers of respect when he walked into a room and silence when he told a story. In Western Texas, Powell was a prosecutor in the trial of American drug trafficker Jimmy Chagra for criminal enterprise violations. It wasnt just in hard-drug cases; Wood appeared to make no distinctions. He said he would meet her at home in a couple of hours. Universal Studios Is Coming to Frisco. The agents thought so little of the information gleaned in the interview with Johnson that they didnt even bother to place him under oath. Lee adopted a wardrobe suitable to his imagea black cowboy hat, fancy handmade boots, and an assortment of expensive jewelry, including a gold bracelet that spelled the word freedom. He named two of his chows Kilo and Poker., Look how sweet and dorky and innocent I look, Catherine Chagra said. That old watch-me-carry-the-world smile was back on his face. He told Jimmy Salome that he was taking out a new insurance policy. As Lee reached for the dice, he recited a spiel that was also part of his ritual. Later he built a reputation as a hard-driving prosecutor in charge of the docket in Del Rio, where he and Judge John Wood became fast friends. He had known about Lees cocaine habit, but since Clark had been appointed a judge, Lee hadnt flaunted it. Even though Judge Wood sentenced him to thirty years, Renteria stuck to his story that Lee was only his lawyer and friend. Hitman Charles Harrelson actor Woody Harrelsons father assassinated Wood outside the judges home in May 1979. I think I was about 20 and Lee was 27 or something. It was during this period that Lee was introduced to Mickeys black sheep uncle, Lou Esper, a pale, seedy, rat-faced Syrian hoodlum who had spent about half his fifty years in prisons. Now the government was trying to prove that Johnson had helped smuggle a pound of heroin out of Mexico. Jimmy was just talking. Thats the reason Im going to release it to you.Thats what Ive been trying to tell you. They learned later that Jimmy left town with about $50,000. On the morning of the day Lee was murdered, his bookkeeper, Donna Johnson, arrived at the office about ten oclock. While Lee ate, Jo Annie puttered with the Christmas decorations. It was a totally ludicrous story, Sib Abraham recalled, but it got very serious when the jury convicted him. In time, Lee and Sib became targets themselves. You help us and well help you, the agents told Stricklin. That woman was Vivian, Christa and Catherine and Cynthias mother, who came from humble beginnings in an unincorporated community near Brownwood. The consensus had always been that Jimmy Chagra would never amount to much. He and Clark went back to the suite for a while. Uncle Lou, who had recently been paroled in California, had a drug habit of long standing. Through it all, he had somehow clung to the central fact in his life: Lee Chagra was a topflight criminal attorney. He didnt advertise the fact, but Jimmy was helping to pay for the huge cost overrun on Lees new office. It looked as though he was set for the night. For six years now shed been divorced from Jimmy and nothing much had changed. Lets go downstairs and give them one they can write home about. Clark said he would dress and meet Lee in the casino. In 1995, he appeared as himself in the movie, Casino.. All have, understandably, complicated Boyds strategy was to indict Jimmy on multiple counts and wait for him to break. Where do you get off? And, of course, Jimmy Chagra. The model just had the bare branches., Catherine Chagra's 2015 book. If Jo Annie was conscious of this, she moved among them without rancor, beautifully composed and self-possessed. His father was a vice president of El Paso Natural Gas. [2][22][6] He was the first federal judge to die by assassination in over a century. But his eyes spun like a blur of cherries on a slot machine. It took Lee less that half a day to discover that the search warrant used to bust the Tennessee smugglers was faulty. Donna hadnt seen him this happy in months. Fayuqueros (smugglers) from Mexico usually make two trips a week across the border, carrying about 250,000 pesos ($10,000) worth of goods each way. Jimmy and the crew of the chartered jet were arrested by Colombian authorities. Goodman insisted that Chagra not testify. Gentlemen, he told the other players, this table is now reserved for a private game. I want to talk to you. Vivian was startled to see how much Jimmy looked like Lee, how he had grown out his moustache, how his hair was full and shaggy and touched now with streaks of gray. Youll do at least eighteen months. His eyes were open, but he was obviously dying. He would attach his belt to the giant solid-gold buckle with the thick crust of diamonds, and draw on his black alligator cowboy boots. The silence was monumental. They went down there, they took pictures of everything And I was able to take that model and demolish their case. He died from injuries resulting from an automobile accident that occurred on December 6, 1996. Just barely making it. Jo Annies own family, the Abrahams, had considerable wealth, and she continued to collect antiques and preserve an extravagant lifestyle. His office and home telephone records as far back as 1970 had been subpoenaed, and so had his income tax records. And Im going to charge you ten thousand dollars.. The following afternoon at the Aladdin, Lee took the worst beating Clark had ever seen him take. Shortly after the Ardmore trial, DEA agents visited Jack Stricklin at La Tuna federal correctional institution, where he was doing time for a drug rap Lee hadnt been able to get him out of. The best guess is that they divided at least $5 million. Thats the way Lee wanted it. Most afternoons as Donna and Sandy were crossing the parking lot after work, they saw her, and sometimes two or three other strippers from the Lamplighter, hurrying toward Lees office. Lee had $15,000 riding on the game. Lee wanted to be head of the family, and Jimmy was constantly jealous of Lee because he stole the glory that Jimmy wanted. While it was being renovated, he occupied an office in a building on Montana owned by another lawyer friend, Mickey Esper, who was related to Jo Annie. The rest of it, he said, his voice sure and unwavering, represents not guilty. Now they eat three meals a day and imported cheese. Then, in a fashion that was typical of his relationship with Lee, Jimmy decided to take it one step farther. Donna made fresh coffee and explained the new telephone system to Lee. The pit boss snapped his fingers and motioned for the guards to bring the velvet ropes. As it turned out, he was right.. Would you ask Kerr to take a lie detector test if someone tried to kill me? he demanded. Whats more, Kerr and Wood and the entire apparatus of the federal government were breathing down his neck. The agent had wormed his way into the confidence of one of Lees protgs, a singer and part-time actor named Joe Renteria who was hot to start his own smuggling ring. It was only the second time in US history that a federal judge had been killed. In the early summer of 1973 Lee experienced for the first time in his life how it felt to be on the other side. Jimmy was known to win or lose $1 million a night, according to Catherine. Lees younger brother Jimmy, who grew up hustling and hanging out with some of Lees more prosperous clients, wanted nothing more than to be recognized as Mr. Big. Patsy heard the bells from St. Patricks Cathedral in the next block and remembered Mom Chagra. When Patsy, who at one time weighed 180 pounds, finally worked up the courage to wear a swimsuit in public, Jimmy humiliated her mercilessly. To mark the 40th anniversary of the trial of drug kingpin Jimmy Chagra, who was accused of paying a hitman $250,000 to kill a federal judge John Wood, Oscar Goodman, former mayor and at the time Chagra's defense attorney, will join the late mobster's daughter, Catherine, to revisit the event. The family was worried about Lee. Of course, not all the authorities are so blas. Youve got everything I always dreamed of having, the lawyer said. Drugs are currently in fashion, but over the years whiskey, cigarettes, perfume, Swiss watches, silver, kitchenware, and of course, laborers have been staples in the trade. Jimmy was born the middle son of a Lebanese rug merchant family. He left his hat and keys on the couch and walked down the hall to Lees office. And hes this huge drug kingpin. 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