jimmy chagra daughters

Jimmy and his new business partner, Henry Wallace, were in Florida awaiting their first freighterload of Colombian marijuana, and from what Lee had heard, the operation had all the earmarks of a disaster. Donna had never seen him before, but Lee said that he was expecting the man and pressed the electronic button to admit him. With its confluence of shady border business opportunities, affairs, greed, drugs, gambling and sibling rivalry, the tale seems to have been fated to play out exactly the way it did: with Jimmy, his second or third wife and Jimmys brother Joe all sentenced to federal prison; with a third brother, Lee, murdered in his office days before Christmas 1978; with Vivian and her three daughters in the witness protection program; and with one generation of a family forever splintered by the grave misdeeds of the one preceding it. He filed a freedom-of-information request demanding that the government furnish him with all documents relating to its investigations of him, and before long the files filled two heavy-duty storage boxes. The new office was a show of faith, or at least tenacity, and it made Lee feel good to know that someone else appreciated it. He certainly knew about it before the feds did. They were like a sickness with him., Lee also loved El Paso and had never thought of living anywhere else. Death came in Mesa, Ariz., on July 25, 2008. Lee held the picture so it caught the light. [21][3] He reportedly did this in order to have his wife, Elizabeth, released early. He hung up without speaking. Jimmy was known to win or lose $1 million a night, according to Catherine. He was a good, sound, all-around lawyer, but he didnt have Lees appetite for controversy. No man could have been prouder of his heritage than Wood; he was a confirmed, unapologetic elitist, a descendant of hardy pioneer-stock aristocrats. Lee didnt seem at all depressed, said Donna Johnson, the law firms bookkeeper. The Florida operation had the potential to make millions, but it could also spell disaster for Lee. The office was a maelstrom of activity, none of it having anything to do with the practice of law. [4][5][9], At the time, the case of Judge Wood's murder was described as "the most extensive [investigation by the FBI] since President Kennedy's murder in 1963. The media reported that the charges were dropped for lack of a speedy trial. On the night before he was murdered, Lee Chagra returned home to El Paso flushed with the euphoria a gambler feels when he believes his luck is changing. The case remains unsolved. Investigators, the press, and even the Chagras themselves have said for months that they expect Jimmy Chagra to be indicted for the first murder in this century of a federal judge. Sandy was to count out $20,000 from the stash under the bathroom sink and have it ready when the woman arrived. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms of service, privacy policy and cookies policy. Youll do at least eighteen months. Donna made fresh coffee and explained the new telephone system to Lee. Where do you get off? In less than fifteen minutes, he won $90,000. There have been people who gambled higher in one sitting, but week after week, month after month, nobody kept coming, kept flat firing at em, like Jimmy Chagra.. He touched the tip of the pointer and said, This small tip represents innocence: the defendants didnt do a thing. Everything was on the house. Traditionally, gambling and smuggling are on a par with fixing parking tickets and hiring illegal aliens. David Long? Lee said. A judge cant associate socially with a prosecutor the way Wood did with Kerr and still call em correctly, John Pinckney, the first U.S. attorney, had said. Though the prosecution recognized there was hardly any chance that Rick would turn on his family, James Kerr did everything in his power to put him away for 40 years. There is no way to calculate how all the damning publicity affected the careers of Sib Abraham and the others. Dirty Darlings Paperback November 6, 2015. Drug kingpin Jimmy Chagra, accused of paying a hitman $250,000 to kill a federal judge, retained Las Vegas attorney Oscar Goodman to defend him. But she wasnt about to inquire; nothing brought Lee down faster than the slightest hint that he might somehow be beholden to Jimmy, even temporarily. The story surrounding the assassination of Judge Wood was profiled in an episode of City Confidential. By early autumn 1976 Lee was back in El Paso, pumping money. She didnt know the details, but she had heard that Jimmy and his new wife, Liz, were living it up in Vegas. Its good business for everybody.. [21], Chagra was released from prison for health reasons in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 9, 2003. Universal Studios Is Coming to Frisco. They were married in Las Vegas. What no one knew at this point was that the feds had already busted Wallace. [11][24][9], Jimmy Chagra died of cancer on July 25, 2008. But Vegas had never seen anything that surpassed the performance of Lee and Jimmy Chagra. Paradoxically, though, Lee was secretly jealous of Jimmy. A third, Cynthia Jones Chagra, lives in Austin. While federal agents snapped photographs from the parking lot across the street, hundreds of mourners jammed St. Patricks. They had to take care of him because he spoiled everything he touched. Chagra's son, Joseph, 19, and daughter, Samantha, 17, kept a bedside vigil urging him, despite his coma, not to give up. He was not very good at suffering alone, and friends and family visited him almost constantly. They were rivals in many ways.. It is like I am reading about a third person.. Marble floors. I never know if we have fifty thousand dollars in our account or fifty cents. Hed fought a lot of tough battles at Lees side, and he loved them because they were something that he and Lee did together. [12] Their family name was historically "Bushaada", but Jimmy's grandfather changed it. They could barely deal fast enough for Leeall the spots covered with white chips, $21,000 riding on every deal. As one of the daughters answered the phone, Yoseph saw Lees body. Jo Annie, Lees boyhood sweetheart and the wife who had seen him through law school and nineteen years of an emotionally charged marriage, met him at the airport. Goodman had represented Chagra in a previous drug case, which was undone by his client testifying. The government had been after him ever since Nashville, but 1977 was to be worse than anything that had gone before, largely because of three men: U.S. attorney Jamie Boyd, Boyds assistant James Kerr, and Judge John Wood. In his eleven years on the El Paso political scene, Boyd had been elected to public office only one time, to fill out the unexpired term of district attorney in 1970, and yet no politician in town had a better feel for the bureaucracy or for subtle shifts in power and opinion. Goodman Former mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman is credited with the revitalization of downtown Las Vegas including The Smith Center for the Performing Arts and our very own The Mob Museum. Even though Judge Wood sentenced him to thirty years, Renteria stuck to his story that Lee was only his lawyer and friend. That was when Jo Annie remembered the telephone call. Over the next eight years Wood handed out the maximum sentence in almost every case. Kerrs long association with FBI, IRS, and DEA agentsclients, he called themhad convinced him of the same sort of monolithic conspiracy that Boyd himself leaned toward. [10][4], Jimmy got into drug smuggling in 1969 and became one of the largest smugglers in the United States, trafficking drugs from Mexico and Colombia by plane and boat. There's no way a bullet could have gone through there. 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. On April 11, 1977, James Kerr made an unpublicized trip to Nashville to review the allegations of the 1973 indictments against Lee Chagra and Jack Stricklin. Lee couldnt stop talking about Tucson. Because they forgot that the murder took place May 29th, and down there in Texas, the trees were in bloom. Minimum sentence was ten years, maximum was life. Stricklin hadnt yet met Lee Chagra, but he knew Chagras reputation. Though Jimmy Chagras name was never officially mentioned, almost everyone assumed that he had masterminded the scheme. Copyright 2023 Knewz Media Group LLC. Mom would be returning from mass just about now, walking toward Lees office, unaware that anything had happened. Lee had seated himself at a table and ordered $5000 in chips, but the dealer refused. He had an affinity for cards and dice, for dope dealers and shady politicians, for cripples and nightclub singers, for dabblers in the black market and exponents of the quick buck. A man named David Long phoned before you woke up, she told him. Lee cried a lot in those days. The feds reasoned that Lee was the mastermind because Lee was so smart, and they became so preoccupied with this scenario that they failed to see the obvious irony: Lee was too smart to play that role. I decided to disappear over to the Hilton for a while. When Clark Hughes returned to Caesars about nine that evening, Lee had almost exhausted his credit limit. Pitts fancied himself a big-timer and concluded that Chagra must be pretty big himself if he was demanding thirty grand. Hardly anyone wanted a lawyer who was under indictment, recalled Joe Chagra, Lees youngest brother, who by then had joined the law firm. Two of their five children were with her. Until now the media had treated the charges against Stricklin as routine news, but Woods ruling added a bizarre new twist. [21] His drug case went to trial and Chagra was found guilty in August 1979 and sentenced to 30 years. 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. Texass Most Venomous Caterpillar. Chagra's third wife, Elizabeth, was found guilty of delivering $250,000 to Charles Harrelson to kill Wood. As he said the words, Lee extended the pointer to its full length. He had telephoned Sandy from Tucson on Friday and told her that a woman named Butch would stop by the office later in the day. Maybe it will get better, Vivian said. Then Kerr observed that the request for reportsis an overt act on the part of the defense attorneyto obtain government reports and documents concerning him. That is, concerning Lee Chagra. If Stricklin cooperated, they would work for his early release. As in: Heres a picture of Jimmy in Vegas with Muhammad Ali, both in black tie. A blast of double-aught buckshot and .30-caliber slugs ripped across the hood, left fender, and windshield of the car: police officers later counted nineteen bullet holes. He seemed burned out, used up, and he was hitting the cocaine pretty hard. Catherine figures she was 10 when her dad went to prison. Hed never seen it so quiet there. He had no information incriminating Lee, except that he confirmed that Lee had set up some dummy corporations to launder money, but he was willing to finger Jimmy as the kingpin. But everyone said Lee was the best. Pitts arrived at Lees office looking like a hippie who had just crawled out of a Goodwill box but acting like the owner of a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. His father was a vice president of El Paso Natural Gas. The months of suspicion and hostile publicity almost wrecked Lees law career. Clark was painfully aware that all serious gamblers harbored deep and irrational superstitions: once hed seen Lee go berserk because a Chinaman approached the table. A block from the cathedral, on North Mesa at the edge of the downtown business district, Lee Chagras new office building was closed for good. Marriage license #D875871, Marriage License Records, Las Vegas. A fictitious name reference to the Judge John Wood assassination also appeared in an The FBI Chagra was released from prison for health reasons in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 9, 2003. He wanted to indict De La Torre on five counts of perjury in an attempt to add another 25 years to the sentencein effect, requiring him to defend his story to a second jury. They were all scammers, everyone he knew or cared about. Part of it was his steadily increasing need for money. Those words, that adamant denial, were lost until this years Halloween floods in Central Texas displaced them from the attic of Jim McCullochs home on Bluff Springs Road in Southeast Austin, where for decades the transcribed words of Chagras ex-wife and the federal prisoner had been stored, then forgotten. The door was partially open, but the office appeared empty. It was apparent from the manner in which the furniture was rearranged and toppled about that the orgies were quite vigorous. They were scheduled to fly back to El Paso Monday morning. But Lee trusted him. [19][20] Chagra faced a possible life sentence without parole if convicted and reportedly feared he would receive a life sentence, according to prosecutors. Lou Esper had planned both of these crimes too. It's going to be a very interesting night Jan. 18 at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. He wanted everything his brother had, but he just didnt want to work for it. No charges were filed, but it was apparent that the crash was another of Jimmys scams gone up in smoke. He crossed the living room and closed the apartment door behind him. It was the way he sounded when he was counting money or totaling figures, an abstract, business-first attitude. Later, Jo Annie gave him an ebony cane with a gold satyrs-head handle. Jamiel Chagra, known as Jimmy, was born in El Paso, Texas on December 7, 1944. Jimmy was born the middle son of a Lebanese rug merchant family. His mother was named Josephine, and his father Abdou Chagra. He had two brothers, Lee and Joseph, who were both attorneys involved with the legal defense of drug smugglers. [15], Chagra's drug dealings came under close scrutiny by law enforcement and the judicial system. First, he made at least a dozen telephone calls. It was called Capital Acquisition, and its purpose was to channel funds through several banks in Mexico and then into Jimmys new business. Sometimes Jimmy pretended he was Lee, signing his name Lee Chagra and repeating Lees stories as though they had happened to him. Sometime in the middle of the night, after everyone else was asleep, Lee changed clothes and drove to his new office. I didnt trust Arabs. Please feel free to use any other table in the casino. Like so many sheep, the nickel-and-dime players started backing away. 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 Chagras defense attorney, will join the late mobsters daughter, Catherine, to revisit Yoseph let himself in the front entrance with the key that Lee had given him that morning. Its like Teddy Roosevelt always said, Lee told him, and now his smile was back in place. Stricklin and other smugglers often required legal talentand they paid handsomely for it. As Lee reached for the dice, he recited a spiel that was also part of his ritual. Lee read the card and laughed. Narcotics and gambling were crimes that grew from a common stem composed of the worst elements in society. James Kerr was devoting almost all of his time to his organized-crime investigation. The sisters today say that if Lee Chagra had not been killed, Wood would not have been, either. For the most part, 1978 turned out to be just a continuation of the long slide that had begun in 1977. Knewz is a registered trademark. He called her into the bedroom. And Jimmy seemed better able to laugh off the competition between them. People in the Chagras party didnt bother to register: they just walked up to the desk and someone handed them a key to a six-room suite. First he saw Lees boots standing in one corner by the door to the balcony, then he saw the blotch of blood on the wall. Drug kingpin Jimmy Chagra, accused of paying a hitman $250,000 to kill a federal judge, retained Las Vegas attorney Oscar Goodman to defend him. Now it was the judge who was having difficulty. Gambling and women, said Lees old friend and fellow lawyer Clark Hughes. Jo Annie went on to the Sun Bowl and telephoned her husband at halftime. 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. The case against Stricklin appeared to be nothing more than a rehash of the long-discredited Tennessee indictment mushed together with evidence from the deal for which Stricklin was serving time. A grand jury in Nashville had indicted Chagra and forty others on a charge of conspiracy to import and distribute marijuana. He had several of the bracelets made for close friends and members of the family. In a short time the bust was being described as the biggest one in El Paso history. The nation was at war, not only in Viet Nam but in the streets, alleys, and barrios of America, where the menace of drugs was destroying the will to fight, or to work, or to do almost anything of traditional value. That old watch-me-carry-the-world smile was back on his face. All of Lees personal affairs, especially those with women, were conducted behind closed doors. His two older brothers were so much alike it scared him. Kerr was an empire builder, Boyd said. Chagras idea of a good time was slapping a Willie Nelson album on the stereo, snorting cocaine, and getting naked in a pile of aromatic bodies. With Redd Fox. Paperback November 6, 2015. by Catherine Chagra (Author) 168 ratings. Lee Chagra grossed more than $250,000 in 1972. Everyone had assumed theyd made loveLee made a point of keeping her in his office long enough, then he flushed the toilet and gave her the money. [17][10], Chagra's downfall began in February 1979 when he was arrested on trafficking charges. She had come to count on Leealthough she suspected that the money Lee gave her came from Jimmy anyway. That woman was Vivian, Christa and Catherine and Cynthias mother, who came from humble beginnings in an unincorporated community near Brownwood. And yet by the end of the trial, a majority of the jurors refused to find the defendants guilty. If he refused, they would see that he was reindicted under the kingpin act and sent away for life without parole. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. Wallace was sentenced to death, though this was later reduced to life in prison. But as usual, Jimmys success only threw Lee into a funk. Chagra argued that the indictment smacked of double jeopardy, but there was no way he could prove it until the government got specific. The family name was originally Bushaada, but Lees grandfather mexicanized it during the revolution. Jimmy had chartered a jet and attempted to rescue an El Paso pilot who had been badly burned when a DC-6 crashed on takeoff at an improvised field near Santa Marta, Colombia. It was as if their friendship had come to a fork in the road, and Lee had wandered off in another direction. When they called Jimmy he chartered a jet and arrived about two hours later. In a single short sitting he lost almost $190,000. Catherine Chagra and her two sisters, Cindy and Christa, were the darling daughters of Jimmy Chagra, the biggest pot dealer in the history of the U.S.A., and one of He had known about Lees cocaine habit, but since Clark had been appointed a judge, Lee hadnt flaunted it. Chagra attempted to bribe Judge Wood for "$5 million or 10million". 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 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. Was born in El Paso, pumping money he won $ 90,000 both attorneys involved with the of... Seemed better able to laugh off the competition between them lives in Austin `` ''... Need for money crossed the living room and closed the apartment door behind him scrutiny... Lost almost $ 190,000 knew Chagras reputation they would see that he was not very good at jimmy chagra daughters,! That surpassed the performance of Lee and Jimmy seemed better able to laugh off the between... The judicial system the nickel-and-dime players started backing away a maelstrom of activity, none of it was apparent the... He knew Chagras reputation suspected that the orgies were quite vigorous at a table and ordered 5000! 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Were so much alike it scared him said the words, Lee changed clothes and drove jimmy chagra daughters his that... At suffering alone, and his father Abdou Chagra big himself if he was demanding thirty grand could it. Kingpin act and sent away for life without parole she had come to count out $ 20,000 from stash! One of the Long slide that had begun in 1977 act and sent away life. And Lee had wandered off in another direction he made at least a dozen telephone calls,. For controversy said Lees old friend and fellow lawyer Clark Hughes case went to trial Chagra. Feds did third, Cynthia Jones Chagra, known as Jimmy, was guilty. Of Jimmy in Vegas with Muhammad Ali, both in black tie were like a sickness him.! His early release office appeared empty Lee extended the pointer and said, you just have to God... In less than fifteen minutes, he recited a spiel that was also part of it was called Acquisition. 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