By mid-November the feds had just about made their case against Jimmy Chagra, and rumors of his imminent indictment were rampant. Most high rollers would think a 9-year-old would cramp their style, but he took me everywhere.. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms of service, privacy policy and cookies policy. He walked upstairs to his own office. The verdict in the Tucson trial had been sublime: in a highly publicized, multicount bank fraud indictment, Lee had walked his man on every count. Jimmy knelt beside the bag that now contained the remains of his brother and started bawling. Goodman managed to get Chagra acquitted. His staff had completed the move while he was in Tucson, and in the morning he would officially take possession: it would be his first day there and, as fate decreed, his last. He was bubbling over with tales of the previous days Tucson victory. 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. Emily McCullar is a senior editor covering pop culture, news, and Texas history. The next year he paid taxes on $450,000, including $125,000 declared as gambling winnings. Much later, Lee Chagra learned that the single piece of evidence against him was a statement made by Tom Pitts, claiming that he and another drug dealer had once used Lees office to cut a deal. Jimmy was born four years later, and they soon nicknamed him Little Mischief. His sister, Patsy, recalled, It scared me to hear Lee talk like that. Part of it was the publicity: Lee loved to see his name in headlines. As it turned out, he was right.. Checking himself again in the mirror, he would fuss with the black cowboy hat that had Lee Chagra and Freedom embossed in gold on the inside until he achieved the proper tilt and slope. Youve got it wrong, Lee replied. Except for a few faithful clients like Jack Stricklin, Lees practice was at rock bottom. In secret interviews Wallace as singing like a drunken angel. By the time the jury began its deliberation, it was obvious that the best the prosecution could expect was a tie. All have, understandably, complicated feelings about their father. It became his trademark. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. 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. What no one knew at this point was that the feds had already busted Wallace. Lee had always lived his life on the edge of respectability, goading the El Paso establishment by defending hardened criminals, consorting with known drug smugglers, and cultivating his image as the Black Striker. Things really fell apart when Jimmy was arrested on trafficking charges. Hardly anyone wanted a lawyer who was under indictment, recalled Joe Chagra, Lees youngest brother, who by then had joined the law firm. Patsy ran out the back entrance and toward the cathedral. [21] Facing life for smuggling, Jimmy Chagra allegedly decided to have the judge killed. Theres a client buzzing at the door. Jo Annie tried to picture the man who had called that morning waiting outside. The first thing he noticed was his filing cabinet. Catherine figures she was 10 when her dad went to prison. It must have been nearly three-thirty by then. A black banner was stretched across the entire front of the building. I knew he was dying, Catherine Chagra said. Before, they ate beans and a little meat. Lee laughed with pride. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services. Lee was the first college graduate in his family, and the first professional. 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. Lee joked as he gave the Indian the $75,000, and the Indian mumbled and studied his boots. Chagra could win or lose more in a single session at a Vegas crap table than Kerr made in a year. In a few years Abraham and Chagra had the leading anti-establishment law firm in the city. Whatever Jo Annie was thinking, she wouldnt say anything. He seemed pleased with the gesture but told her there was some work he needed to do at the office. He had two brothers, Lee and Joseph, who were both attorneys involved with the legal defense of drug smugglers. A short time later there was a knock, and Lee admitted two hookers to the room. Lee kissed her and slipped her the money. This year, 1978, had been a year of galloping paranoia. Whether or not he knew the details, Lee surely sensed the magnitude of the disaster that was bearing down on him. When Joe and Lee had drawn up their partnership, the arrangement was that they would share all revenues and losses, but Joe hadnt counted on sharing Lees gambling losses. Lee had never discussed with any of the staff the purpose of the apartment at the rear of the complex, but they knew he was having a regular evening affair with a stripper from the Lamplighter Club. Goodman had represented Chagra in a previous drug case, which was undone by his client testifying. Sib Abraham and some other old friends and members of the family were there. For some unexplained reason, the three assailants (apparently there was a third behind the wheel) raced from the scene without bothering to walk five or six feet and make sure that Kerr was dead. As the defense had expected, several officers testified that they had arrived at the airstrip in time to witness the off-loading of the DC-4. 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. 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. Wood, known as Maximum John, was 61 at the time he was shot in the back in front of his San Antonio home. As the family walked away from the cemetery, Jimmy caught up with Vivian and took her arm. Lee couldnt stop talking about Tucson. He didnt appear to recognize the name. "[8], Jamiel Chagra, known as Jimmy, was born in El Paso, Texas on December 7, 1944. Lee despised Kerr, and Kerr had every reason to despise Lee. One client who occupied a good deal of Lees time during the autumn of 1976 was Jerry Edwin Johnson, a local con man and admitted drug smuggler accused of masterminding a scheme to defraud the IRS of a quarter of a million dollars. A second man stood behind him, out of camera range. 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. Lee meant $10,000 for all three defendants, but Pitts didnt understand that. They were making a career, or at least a crusade, of trying to prove that Lee Chagra, master criminal lawyer, was in fact master criminal. He died from injuries resulting from an automobile accident that occurred on December 6, 1996. The office was a maelstrom of activity, none of it having anything to do with the practice of law. Visions of the 1973 fiasco in Nashville that had almost ruined his law career danced through his mind. He helped develop Operation Intercept, a massive media event in which millions of U.S. citizens were stopped and searched at the border. To combat what he perceived as the inroads of organized crime, Boyd needed someone tough and relentless to take over the El Paso docket as federal prosecutor. Vivian did her best to smile. [27] Joe Chagra's defense reportedly attempted to plead guilty to a lesser offense of conspiring to obstruct justice instead. Finally, he would pose with the ebony cane with the gold satyrs-head handle, squinting and turning until he was satisfied. Jurors heard hours worth of tape recordings and more than 500 pages of documents were presented. Dirty Darlings Paperback November 6, 2015. He touched the tip of the pointer and said, This small tip represents innocence: the defendants didnt do a thing. Lee didnt appear to like Lou Esper, but he was one of the few people in town who tolerated him. It is estimated that one out of every five households in these two communities of one million is supported by some type of illegal activity. Chagra's son, Joseph, 19, and daughter, Samantha, 17, kept a bedside vigil urging him, despite his coma, not to give up. When Lee pinned them down on the exact location from which they had watched the scene, several jurors snickered: not only was the position almost a mile from the field but a massive hill blocked the view. Each time he caught a narc in a lie, Lee made eye contact with various jurors, the corners of his mouth twitching with mirth as though he expected tiny okra plants to sprout from the witnesss nose at any moment. Im sick and tired of being the fall guy, Lee said, and Vivian knew that he was talking about Jimmy. There wasnt any Mr. Big, Johnson acknowledged, but if the narcs preferred to look at it that way, Lee Chagra was a good a name as any. The case remains unsolved. If there was a single piece of new evidence, it wasnt mentioned, or even hinted at, in the indictment. Dan Solomon writes about politics, music, food, sports, criminal justice, health care, film, and business. The Florida operation had the potential to make millions, but it could also spell disaster for Lee. For all the smoke generated by James Kerrs highly publicized grand jury probe of organized crime, there was hardly any fire. When he read copies of Kerrs motion and Woods reply, Chagra was flabbergasted and then outraged. Patsy tearfully asked for respect from the press during the crisis. Lees finances were in shambles, but he still had plenty of credit in Las Vegas. Chagra used one of his trademarks, a solid-gold retractable pointer, to demonstrate his case. All of Lees personal affairs, especially those with women, were conducted behind closed doors. Jimmy had given her a couple of kids and a lasting pain in the ass. [4], Chagra was active as a trafficker of marijuana beginning in the 1960s,[5] and by the 1970s was a well-known drug trafficker operating out of Las Vegas and El Paso. [17][10], Chagra's downfall began in February 1979 when he was arrested on trafficking charges. Lees law practice never recovered. In Judge John Woods courtroom Kerr found the perfect forum for his crusade. After two days the jury reported itself hopelessly deadlocked, eight to four for acquittal. She dismissed the greeting as a typical Sailor Roberts lie: she didnt believe for a second that hed gone out of his way to wish her anything. Its riddled with ethnic stereotyping of Lebanese men as reckless womanizers and Lebanese women as subservient slaves to their men. Jo Annie left the game early, and when she stopped by the office Roberts was just leaving. He was already doing time on the fraud charge at La Tuna federal correctional institution, which was on the New Mexico state line not far from El Paso. It looked as though Lee had struck gold, but quicksand might have been closer to the truth. [40][3], He had seven children, including a daughter named Catherine, who wrote a memoir about the family. A division of Empire Media Group Holdings LLC. Before the case could be brought to trial, however, Jimmy eclipsed his brother in the headlines with a new and even more spectacular exploit. 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. On the trials 40th anniversary, Goodman and Chagras eldest daughter, Catherine, will look back at the case and what it meant for Goodman and the Chagra family. Security guards kept the riffraff away. Lee had seated himself at a table and ordered $5000 in chips, but the dealer refused. Wood was apparently confusing the fifty-page transcript of the secret interview with actual grand jury testimony. He still had $150,000 credit, but that night he went through another $70,000. That was a fact. Boyd felt that singling De La Torre out would be construed as the worse sort of sour grapes, and he insisted that Kerr submit the evidence to the Justice Department, which approved the new indictments. But Kerr wasnt satisfied. On five minutes notice, Caesars would dispatch a Learjet to fetch one or both of the Chagras. While Lee ate, Jo Annie puttered with the Christmas decorations. [28] Charles Harrelson got two consecutive life terms plus 5 years,[29] Harrelson's wife Jo Ann got 25 years[21] and Jimmy Chagra's wife Elizabeth was also sent to prison for 30 years for delivering the payout money. A few months later two soldiers from Fort Bliss admitted robbing and killing Lee Chagra. Now they eat three meals a day and imported cheese. He decided on James Kerr, one of the assistant U.S. attorneys he had inherited from the Republican regime. Sandy and the others began to realize that this was something truly personal; it was as though Lee were mourning his own impending death. Her mom and sisters left witness protection and moved to Buda to be near Bastrop, where her father was being held. Marble floors. Hitman Charles Harrelson actor Woody Harrelsons father assassinated Wood outside the judges home in May 1979. A front-page headline in The El Paso Times virtually screamed the news that the flamboyant kingpin had been nabbed. Jimmy would tip the hotel staff like a salesman with an end-of-the-month goal handing out business cards. Hardly a day passed that the flamboyant attorney didnt make the news. By early afternoon the party was over, and staff and hangers-on had gone. By the time Clark arrived, Lee had already lost another $80,000 and was yelling at the floor manager because he was threatening to cut off his credit. In prison, Jimmy would say he got hooked on gambling faster than heroin.. He talked about death a lot. Lee had been involved with Jimmy in his drug smuggling and the killers took $450,000 that was owed to Joe Bonanno for a drug deal. Joe and his wife, Patty, who had been married for about eighteen months, sold some of their furniture and gave Jimmy some money and their Blazer. Boyd believed that one way or another Jimmy would take him to Lee. A fictitious name reference to the Judge John Wood assassination also appeared in an The FBI Fortunately the glass was shatter-proof. It was three days before Christmas, 1978. He began taping most of his telephone conversations and collecting every scrap of evidence that even hinted of government malfeasance. [16], On December 23, 1978, Lee Chagra was shot and killed in his law office in El Paso. Patsy Chagras husband, Rick De La Torre, faced four charges in the same conspiracy. The madness seemed to peak in November, when two men in a van sprayed Kerrs car with buckshot and .30-caliber bullets. [7] According to George Knapp writing for Las Vegas CityLife, he was "the undisputed marijuana kingpin of the Western world. A few months later, Luis "Lou" Fred Esper, a small-time drug dealer and acquaintance of Lee Chagra, and two U.S. Army soldiers from Fort Bliss were held on various charges related to the murder of Lee. 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. As he said the words, Lee extended the pointer to its full length. Jimmy wanted to be Lee. With the help of their principled mother before her tragic death, and haunted by the shadow of their father, Dirty Darlings is a portrait of courage as three women attempt to re-assemble the shattered pieces of their lives. Lee told her he still had a pile of work on his desk. And yet by the end of the trial, a majority of the jurors refused to find the defendants guilty. I knew as soon as that happened, I didnt have a prayer. Jo Annies own family, the Abrahams, had considerable wealth, and she continued to collect antiques and preserve an extravagant lifestyle. It was only the second time in US history that a federal judge had been killed. Lee wanted to be head of the family, and Jimmy was constantly jealous of Lee because he stole the glory that Jimmy wanted. He was later tried and acquitted in the assassination but received an additional sentence for obstruction of justice. Two overstuffed easy chairs were pushed together against the front of Lees desk, blocking the path across the room. WebThey mentioned four namesLee Chagra, Jimmy Chagra, Sib Abraham and Vic Apodaca (a well-known bail bondsman). Lee grabbed an old musket, the only gun in the house, and several of the poker players chased two black men across a field before losing them along the river. Lees limit was $3000, and he would have played for $10,000 had Caesars Palace allowed it. He liked to mainline speed and supported his habit by organizing a small-time burglary-robbery ring using young black soldiers from Fort Bliss. Jimmys Florida operation, far from being an immediate disaster, disbanded after successfully offloading fifty tons of grass from a Colombian freighter in March. By now all the Chagras knew that Jimmy was a major drug trafficker, and they must have suspected that Lees arrangement with his brother and his relationship with Jack Stricklin were more than traditional lawyer-client dealings. Paradoxically, though, Lee was secretly jealous of Jimmy. 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. Jimmy was just talking. I imagine everyone in this area knows that youve been the subject of a grand jury investigation ever since the Tennessee indictment, Wood announced. [39], Chagra married his third wife, Lynda Ray, while living under the name James Madrid on November 22, 2005. 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. In broken white letters, like shards of milk glass on velvet, it said FREEDOM. 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. Lee was a baffling tangle of contradictions. He let himself in with a specially made key and walked upstairs. Lee didnt say anything. A further indignation: The witness protection program first exiled them to Omaha, Neb. His habit by organizing a small-time burglary-robbery ring using young black soldiers from Bliss... Kerr, one of the 1973 fiasco in Nashville that had almost ruined his law office in El,! 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