[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. When Lee was murdered sixteen years later, Charles Alan Wright, one of the countrys leading authorities on constitutional law, called him one of the few students who stand out in my memory., There was never any doubt that when Lee passed the state bar exam he would join Jo Annies brother, Sib Abraham, who had finished law school the previous year and had already set up his practice in El Paso. I have not seen anything that would actually disqualify me from trying this case. Eventually Wood agreed to give Lee a copy of the Johnson interview but refusing to remove himself from the Stricklin case as Chagra requested. Over the next eight years Wood handed out the maximum sentence in almost every case. "[35] It was otherwise described as "one of the most intense investigations in the annals of the FBI". What was happening here? [19][20] Chagra faced a possible life sentence without parole if convicted and reportedly feared he would receive a life sentence, according to prosecutors. A front-page headline in The El Paso Times virtually screamed the news that the flamboyant kingpin had been nabbed. This is a fascinating story written by Jimmy Chagra's daughter. Catherine writes her story and tells what she and her family went through as the daughter of one of the biggest drug smugglers in the 1970s. It's a great read and helps you understand what a child of a person incarcerated goes through. The door was partially open, but the office appeared empty. The money was in the canvas tennis bag under the sink. He unlocked the door to his private bath. Part of it was paranoia, his gut instinct that some malevolent authority was watching and waiting, and part of it was the sort of perverse obstinacy that makes some men walk through a wall rather than open a door. Two of Chagras daughters, Christa and Catherine, now live in Smithville. How come when Im winning you let me do anything I goddam please, but when I lose you wont let me out of the trap? he shouted in a voice that could be heard in the coffee shop on the opposite side of the casino. Chagra's son, Joseph, 19, and daughter, Samantha, 17, kept a bedside vigil urging him, despite his coma, not to give up. In Judge John Woods courtroom Kerr found the perfect forum for his crusade. Maybe it will get better, Vivian said. They were like a sickness with him., Lee also loved El Paso and had never thought of living anywhere else. Security guards kept the riffraff away. She didnt know the details, but she had heard that Jimmy and his new wife, Liz, were living it up in Vegas. About four oclock Bobby Yoseph returned to the office from a shopping trip in Jurez. He was up and down all his lifestruggling. 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. Jack Stricklin met him at the airport and drove him to the office. [11][24][9], Jimmy Chagra died of cancer on July 25, 2008. With the pointer fully retracted, Lee approached the jury box, smiling. The boys had been caught red-handed with 17,000 pounds if marijuana. Lets go downstairs and give them one they can write home about. Clark said he would dress and meet Lee in the casino. By early autumn 1976 Lee was back in El Paso, pumping money. For years there had been a rivalry between the two brothers, a fierce and unyielding competition that only the two of them completely understood. Almost every day Jimmy telephoned Lee from his new home in Las Vegas. Lees vial of cocaine was open on the corner of his desk. I knew he was dying, Catherine Chagra said. And co-conspirators in others. The pit boss shooed the sheep away from table that Lee selected for his private performance. Joe was quieter and more introspective than his brothers. Technically and legally, the unsworn interview shouldnt even have been a part of the grand jury report. His eyes were open, but he was obviously dying. Clark Hughes had found a cartoon of a mouse shooting a finger at an eagleit was called The Last Great Act of Defianceand Lees secretary, Sandy Messer, was having it made into a wall plaque. Donna made fresh coffee and explained the new telephone system to Lee. It was three days before Christmas, 1978. In the 24 hours since their arrival, he had signed markers totaling $240,000. Well, I didnt know about it, Lee said, dumbstruck. Lee didnt seem at all depressed, said Donna Johnson, the law firms bookkeeper. Stricklin hadnt yet met Lee Chagra, but he knew Chagras reputation. If you scratched Stricklin deep enough, Kerr reasoned, you would find Chagra. [15], Chagra's drug dealings came under close scrutiny by law enforcement and the judicial system. He had several of the bracelets made for close friends and members of the family. Lou Esper had planned both of these crimes too. 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 imported more high-grade ganja than anyone, tons at a time, planeload after planeload. [6] In fact, he is described as having been "no less than the biggest marijuana smuggler in the country" during that time. In fact, the only evidence that Lee expected things to improve was his new office complex. He decided on James Kerr, one of the assistant U.S. attorneys he had inherited from the Republican regime. He didnt advertise the fact, but Jimmy was helping to pay for the huge cost overrun on Lees new office. The tragedy was that it was all unnecessary: before the Fifth Circuit had a chance to rule on the question of jeopardy, Jamie Boyd decided to drop the continuing criminal enterprise charges against Jack Stricklin. But Jimmy took most of the credit. He hung up without speaking. The next morning, a Saturday, was one of those perfect December days in El Paso when the desert air is so crisp you can hear it and the mountains loom out of the blue shadows and change colors before your eyes. There was plenty of cocaine to guarantee a holiday spirit; at least five ounces had been delivered a few days earlier. In a secret interview with a group of DEA agents and prosecutors, Johnson had implicated at least sixty El Paso citizens as major drug traffickers. Lee was the first college graduate in his family, and the first professional. The case remains unsolved. That was it, the last of the half-million the Black Striker had blown in Vegas the year before. Jimmy knelt beside the bag that now contained the remains of his brother and started bawling. Looking on, Joe marveled. He loved it. Some in the legal community thought he was too special, too outspoken. SOLD OUT: Against All Odds: Oscar Goodman and the 40th Anniversary of the Jimmy Chagra Murder Trial. If Jo Annie was conscious of this, she moved among them without rancor, beautifully composed and self-possessed. A ton of marijuana is no better or worse than a ton of quicksilver. But the real bite of the law, the element that made it harsher than any other federal law on the booksharsher even than penalties for rape, murder, or kidnappingwas its inordinate range of sentences. In the early summer of 1973 Lee experienced for the first time in his life how it felt to be on the other side. Im sick and tired of being the fall guy, Lee said, and Vivian knew that he was talking about Jimmy. 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. Their dad just didnt feel safe going to court without his consigliere. The sisters today say that if Lee Chagra had not been killed, Wood would not have been, either. No Mafia figures were ever indicted. It was an incredible sight. 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. You help us and well help you, the agents told Stricklin. What a strange, twisted love. They had to take care of him because he spoiled everything he touched. Im gonna take the joint apart., Caesars Palace dispatched a Learjet, and in less than two hours a limousine deposited them at the casino door. Dirty Darlings. The Tennessee dope dealer rolled down his sock and slapped the cash on Lees desk. I didnt trust Arabs. The district attorney, several district judges, and a former mayor stood elbow to elbow with Sailor Roberts, gambler Amarillo Slim, and at least a dozen convicted dope dealers. On the cartoon, Clark had written Wood below the eagle and Chagra below the mouse. He ruined his marriage to Vivian, left her and the children. A division of Empire Media Group Holdings LLC. The bell boy warned me of (Lees) reputation as a gambler, and that he was known to like women, Vivian Chagra would tell her friend and former anthropology professor Kay McCulloch, in an interview for a book project on which the two were collaborating. But Lee trusted him. And hed better. Though neither knew it, this was the last time the two old friends would ever go to Vegas together. 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 When Lee hit a losing streak, he could fly into a snit, blaming anyone handy, especially Jo Annie, who more than once hurried off the casino floor in tears. In the first minutes of Lees run, a little old lady burst through the crowd just as Lee released the dice. The consensus had always been that Jimmy Chagra would never amount to much. When they called Jimmy he chartered a jet and arrived about two hours later. He just picked up the money and tossed it in a drawer. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. shaggy shag,' and he would gamble up to a million dollars," said Lee had $15,000 riding on the game. He did quit for the night, though. 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. 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. Crimes against persons are treated with extreme gravity, but crimes against the economy are treated with a wink and a smile. By law, the interview was to remain a secret, known only to a handful of agents and prosecutors who read the transcript as part of their official duties. Some speculated that they omitted Lee Chagra because he was from El Paso and had a Spanish surname. Lee was Clarks friend, maybe the best friend hed ever had, but in some strange, almost unthinkable way he felt the friendship slipping away. Jimmy was indicted on a number of drug charges by a grand jury in Midland, a legal maneuver that many lawyers believe was blatant forum shopping: by indicting in Midland rather than El Paso, the prosecution could be sure that the case would be assigned to Judge Woods court. It looked as though he was set for the night. A shake-up of the entire federal drug enforcement apparatus was under way, ramrodded by Nixons ranking authority on drugs, G. Gordon Liddy. He spent more than 35 years defending some of the most notorious alleged Mob figures, including Meyer Lansky, Frank Rosenthal, Anthony Spilotro and Jimmy Chagra. One of the soldiers, David Leon Wallace, signed a confession that not only admitted the robbery and murder of Lee Chagra but also substantiated Lees seemingly paranoid belief that he was being stalked. The agents thought so little of the information gleaned in the interview with Johnson that they didnt even bother to place him under oath. Just barely making it. October 2022 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? 196 But the feds real ace in the hole was Jimmy and his partner, Henry Wallace. The Mafia! He swore he did not put out a hit on Maximum John H. Wood Jr., the federal judge in San Antonio presiding over a case that could have sent Jamiel Jimmy Chagra to prison for life. However, his sister Patsy stated that he was not in the witness protection program at the time of his death. They could barely deal fast enough for Leeall the spots covered with white chips, $21,000 riding on every deal. State senator Tati Santiesteban, who had known Lee Chagra most of his life, led the procession of pallbearers. He certainly knew about it before the feds did. They had a surprise for Leea new Lincoln limousine with a portable bar, a TV, a stereo, and even a secret compartment to conceal his guns and playing cards. Jamie Boyd was the consummate politician. 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. 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 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. All rights reserved. Chagra was also a heavy gambler in Las Vegas, Nevada, and attracted attention with his flamboyant ways. Hardly a day passed that the flamboyant attorney didnt make the news. He died from injuries resulting from an automobile accident that occurred on December 6, 1996. The family was worried about Lee. The real show was on the casino floor in special sections roped off for the Chagras. He seemed burned out, used up, and he was hitting the cocaine pretty hard. As one of the daughters answered the phone, Yoseph saw Lees body. He had known that the DEA was watching him, but a grand jury? This is gonna be one theyll write a book about, he told Hughes. A rigorous and lengthy investigation into the murder brought Jimmy Chagra front and center. It looked as though Lee had struck gold, but quicksand might have been closer to the truth. Soon every drug dealer on the border carried one of Lee Chagras cards. 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. If it was a crime to love the fast lane, Lee Chagra was guilty. Lees position in this venture was that of highly paid legal adviser for the gang of smugglers. None of the missing $450,000 was ever recovered. Most high rollers would think a 9-year-old would cramp their style, but he took me everywhere.. Several times Lee talked to Vivian and others about dying. He liked to mainline speed and supported his habit by organizing a small-time burglary-robbery ring using young black soldiers from Fort Bliss. They implicated Lou Esper as the man who had planned the heist and supplied the weapons. Jimmy Chagras first big score came in the summer of 75, when he orchestrated a shipment of more than 50,000 pounds of pot on a tramp steamer from Colombia to the Massachusetts coast, according to Dirty Dealing, a book about the Chagras published in 1984 by Austin author and journalist Gary Cartwright. Liddy came up with one farfetched idea after another. One day while Vivian was there, they delivered a dozen red roses to the room. The attempt on Kerrs life unleashed the most sweeping drug investigation in the history of the Southwest. The fact that Lee Chagra was the lead attorney automatically made the case big-time. 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 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. "[8], Jamiel Chagra, known as Jimmy, was born in El Paso, Texas on December 7, 1944. She had put the same question to herself. 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. Texass Most Venomous Caterpillar. He was also used in FBI: The Untold Stories. That was the year Lee and Jo Annie started building their new home on Frontera Road in the Upper Valley. He walked to the top of the stairs and looked down at two black men with guns. Oh, yes. The government questions the good faith of this request, Kerr concluded. He went to the big guys at Caesars and told them that, by God, the next time his brother walked in that joint he wanted him treated like a goddam celebrity! But, speaking to his ex-wife, Vivian, in a federal prison more than 30 years ago, he said he was not a killer. From time to time agents provocateurs posing as clients came to his office to discuss a phony case, then ended up trying to score some drugs from him. They went down there, they took pictures of everything And I was able to take that model and demolish their case. He cried when he thought of Jimmy. He told Jimmy Salome that he was taking out a new insurance policy. Someone was supposed to open the door from the inside. Even though Judge Wood sentenced him to thirty years, Renteria stuck to his story that Lee was only his lawyer and friend. He seemed pleased with the gesture but told her there was some work he needed to do at the office. 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. It was becoming an obsession. Florida Police Officer Treated After Being Exposed To Fentanyl During Stop, Youth Pot Abuse Jumps By 245% In Two Decades: Researchers, 'Cocaine' Cassie debuts new tattoo sleeve in racy photo as glamorous drug smuggler sets return to Australia. This friendship, the fact that the prosecutor and the judge were seen socializing so often, caused some lawyers to question Woods impartiality. In 1979, a federal grand jury in Midland, Texas, indicted Chagra on drug smuggling charges. Jimmy had given her a couple of kids and a lasting pain in the ass. His idea of a good time was going home to his wife and newborn son, Joseph, maybe tinkering with his stereo or waxing his speedboat, swimming or lifting weights. 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