Jamiel Chagra: 15 years and $120,000 fine. It was then, the Government asserted, that ''the fear began. Suspected burglar inside New Brunswick home was a panicked deer. 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. It was a tragedy., She couldnt speak to Jimmy Chagras crimes or conduct, saying, we werent close.. On May 29, 1979, Judge John H. Wood was killed in San Antonio, Texas, by a shot from a high-powered rifle to the back of the head. Everybody got hurt in this. We're not a hand-out place; we're a hand-up place.". It was a big deal; there was a lot of interest in the case, said Millsap, who later served as Bexar County district attorney. 23 Feb. 2023 . According to newspaper stories citing trial testimony, a drug trafficker and flamboyant gambler originally from El Paso, Jamiel Jimmy Chagra, paid Harrelson $250,000 to kill Wood because Chagra feared a trial and sentencing by Maximum John. Wood earned the moniker for his reputation of giving tough sentences to drug traffickers. Chagra was once held by Colombian authorities after his drug-smuggling plane crashed there. Joe was a genuinely nice guy who was congenitally unable to say no. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. A portrait of Federal Judge John H. Wood, Jr. hangs at the Federal Courthouse. How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire. To provide a humanitarian services campus of nonprofit organizations that offer hope, opportunity, and empowerment. British bus driver stops to give loose sheep a lift. After 18 hours of deliberation, a Federal jury, several members in tears, found three defendants guilty today on six counts of planning, carrying out and trying to cover up the assassination of Federal District Judge John H. Wood Jr. After the collective verdicts were announced, each of the nine women and three men on the jury, which began deliberating Saturday, was polled individually on all six counts. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. Jo Ann, convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice and perjury, was later paroled. See the article in its original context from. Since arriving, our vision has become reality. Daniel's 5th outing as Bond gets bums back on seats in the cinema. Mr. Chagra returned to El Paso in 1988 from a Federal prison in Stafford, Ariz., where he had served six and a half years of a 10-year sentence for conspiracy. James had a deal to receive $250,000 from the government if Chagra was convicted. By Wayne King, Special To the New York Times. Mr. Harrelson also said that Mr. Kay had $135,000 to $150,000 delivered to him as part of the ''scam.'' She was previously convicted of using a false name to buy a rifle, believed to be the murder weapon, and sentenced to three years. Jimmy's trial was scheduled to begin on the day the judge died. Jamiel Chagra: guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice, drug charges, and tax evasion. People walk by the Judge John H. Wood Jr. Federal Courthouse in 2017. He was 63. In 1979, a federal grand jury in Midland, Texas, indicted Chagra on drug smuggling charges. Thursday, May 28: Oscars Case of the Century: The Life and Crimes of Jimmy Chagra Courtroom Conversations, Acquitted of hiring actor Woody Harrelsons dad to murder Judge Maximum John Wood, Got off on a once-in-a-lifetime miracle defense by attorney Oscar Goodman, Spearheaded one of the biggest drug-smuggling rings in the country, Bet millions and tipped big, a Las Vegas high roller, Had links to New Englands Patriarca crime family, Lived a life surrounded by mobsters, murder, career criminals and conspiracies, Journalist Jack Sheehan, who interviewed Chagra extensively, Moderator Geoff Schumacher, director of content at The Mob Museum. Joseph Chagra accepted a plea bargain. Jo Ann Harrelson, whose daughter has been imprisoned more than three months for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury, walked away from the federal courthouse in San Antonio without being held in contempt. Because he was a model prisoner Joe ended up spending only six and a half years behind bars. (February 23, 2023). "Texas SniperThe Charge: Murdering a Judge." You cant imagine the shock when Jimmy Chagra was acquitted.. The evil sought to be avoided by pr, A sentence whereby a convict is released from confinement but is still under court supervision; a testing or a trial period. He has also covered immigration, minority affairs and legal affairs as part of the projects team here and for other print, TV and radio outlets. On May 29, 1979, Wood was shot dead in the parking lot outside his San Antonio townhouse. You know Harrelson knocked off the judge, Jimmy told him. Overdue book returned to Massachusetts library after 56 years. Harrelson claimed that he was set up. The Chagras said they were convinced that Judge Wood, who was scheduled to preside over Jimmy's case, had a bias against them. There was a lot of internal pressure.. The visiting room was bugged to gather information from mobster Nick Civella, also a Goodman client. On March 4, 1933, Frances Perkins was sworn in as U.S. labor secretary, becoming the first female member of the Cabinet. Support is Chagra was a prolific marijuana smuggler and spent his ill-gotten fortune on casinos in Las Vegas, where he moved in 1978. As a result, people used him. In a plea agreement, Joe Chagra got a 10-year sentence. Throughout, Charles Voyde Harrelson, the man convicted of killing the judge May 29, 1979, with a single shot in the back from a highpowered rifle, appeared at ease, leaning back in his chair and offering the jury faint smiles. He believed in the law. Judge Wood, known as ''Maximum John'' because of the sentences he had given drug dealers, set May 29, 1979, as the day the trial was to begin. Reports suggest Prince Charles will live "in a flat above the shop" when he becomes king. I know, of course, that on the witness stand Joe testified that he counseled his brother Jimmy to order the hit, and I know he did time in federal prison. Thats not the problem I have, Ray Jahn quoted Jimmy Chagra as telling Harrelson. Adding further to their indignation, the trial was presided over by then-federal Judge William Sessions, who was a pallbearer at Woods funeral and delivered a eulogy, Campion said. "Charles Harrelson Trial: 1982-83 Donald asks the courts to let him tweet. Charles got double life sentences. Texas Lege Watch: A House Republican Fights for Chicken Freedom, Texas Monthly Recognized by ASME in the 2023 National Magazine Awards. Later, Chagra admitted to the judges murder and to the attempted murder of Kerr in an effort to free his wife from prison. The defendants were charged under Federal statutes governing the killing of a Federal employee. Joe Chagra ended At least two grand juries have investigated the slaying for more than two years, and U.S. Attorney General William Webster last March said indictments were near, but no charges have been levied in the case. He called himself ''a card mechanic'' so talented with a deck that he could deal any hands requested around a table. Kentucky man stops for breakfast, wins $50,000 lottery prize. Less than a year before Judge Wood was slain, Lee Chagra, Joseph's older brother, who had defended numerous narcotics suspects in Judge Wood's court, was killed in his office by armed robbers. Midland was in the jurisdiction of U.S. District Judge John Wood, known as Maximum John for his tough prison sentences in drug cases. March 2 (UPI) -- A Florida woman earned a Guinness World Record when she completed 23 ultra-marathon runs -- 31.1 miles -- in a 23-day period. Elizabeth Chagra: conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to obstruct justice; separate indictment on income tax evasion. Jimmy Chagra, who was facing numerous narcotics charges, would become a suspect in the killing. The government efforts in the Wood case are not over. Harrelson was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus five years, while Jo Ann Harrelson got a combined 25 years for obstruction of justice. The government indicted Harrelson, the Chagra brothers, Jo Ann Harrelson and Jimmy Chagras wife, Elizabeth, who delivered the $250,000 payoff for Charles Harrelson. Jo Ann got a 25-year sentence. The government also taped other conversations, including some between Charles Harrelson and his attorney, and others between Joseph and Jamiel Chagra. Goodman is one of the nations best criminal defense attorneys and was named one of the 15 Best Trial Lawyers in America by the National Law Journal. In real life, it highlighted the criminal acts of those accused in Woods killing a drug lord, an actors father and some of their relatives. March 3 (UPI) -- A former U.S. soldier was sentenced to 45 years in prison Friday for planning a deadly ambush on members of his military unit. He set up his family on a farm in Kansas. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. But in the interviews, Chagra described himself as a megalomaniac.. By the time the trial came around in 1983, Jimmy Chagras case had been severed from his co-defendants and Joe Chagra had taken a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to the conspiracy to murder Wood. At a subsequent trial, held in Florida because of the publicity in Texas, Jimmy Chagra was acquitted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder but convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice and conspiracy to possess more than half a ton of marijuana with intent to sell. Copyright FameChain 2023, All rights reserved. Here, we have shared resources, funding, and space with the Center just bringing it all together. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. ", - Jim Everette, Harrelson Center Ex-Officio Board Member, We are all different parts, but part of the same body. Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians. Years later, the trial of Charles V. Harrelson revealed that Bill Bannister was a pseudonym Harrelson used to help track the judge, who was shot in the back outside his Alamo Heights townhome less than 2 miles from the motel as he was leaving for work. It was such an iconoclastic case, because it was believed a federal judge could not be touched.. On Christmas Eve 1978, two thugs robbed Lees law office and killed him. Ive published three articles in this magazine about Wood and the Chagras, but Ive never written all I knowuntil now. 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'True Romance' actor Tom Sizemore dead at 61, Syndicated show 'Rachael Ray' wrapping 17-season run, Migrant woman dies after U.S. Coast Guard stops vessel carrying 54. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Harrelson thought that was the day he had to kill the judge.. Jo Ann Harrelson was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice and later convicted of five counts of perjury. To those of us who knew the situation, Jimmys assertion that Joe made him do it was ludicrous, but it fit neatly into the governments scenario. Someone could have done a movie not only on the case, but on the people who got the reward.. Leave them blank to get signed up. But the judge could not be corrupted. A place where needs are met, dreams are fostered and hope abounds. She was previously convicted of using a The investigation cost more than $11 million, at the time the most extensive investigation in the bureaus history. Jamiel Chagra was tried separately, in Jacksonville, Florida and received a sentence of 15 years and was fined $120,000 on the charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice and conspiracy to possess marijuana. They also argued, unsuccessfully, that incriminating recorded conversations should not have been allowed because they were covered by attorney-client privilege or by spousal privilege. The reward was eventually paid out to a handful of people who included a horrible creton bankrobber who shared a jail cell with Charles Harrelson, a woman who delivered the $250,000 payout for the hit to Harrelson, and a kid who found a piece of the murder rifle in a creek bed, said Sam Millsap, who chaired the reward committee. Charles and Jo Ann Harrelson and Liz Chagra were convicted at trial. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Chagra asked Harrelson if Wood could be bribed. WebJo Ann Harrelson's in laws: All relationship and family history information shown on FameChain has been compiled from data in the public domain. Harrelson argued that Kay's wife had purchased a Weatherby hunting rifle of the type used to kill the judge some 12 days before the killing. Defendants: Charles Manson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, Leslie Van Houten "Three Are Found Guilty of Assassination of Federal Judge." She also said that when she had demurred about delivering the money, thinking it was a gambling payoff, he had hissed, ''This is for the judge.'' Joseph Chagra, a Texas lawyer who admitted his complicity in the first assassination of a Federal judge in more than a century, died last Sunday in Thomason Hospital in El Paso. ", Woman wins $100,000 lottery prize 11 hours after $11,000 casino jackpot. He said that Mr. Kay had bilked Jamiel Chagra by telling him that it was he, Charles Harrelson, who had shot the judge and should collect the $250,000 payoff. Mr. Harrelson's wife, Jo Ann, was found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice, the only charge against her in this case. March 4 (UPI) -- At least 15 people were killed and searchers combed a section ofthe Indonesian capital of Jakartafor survivors Saturday after a massive fire engulfed a fuel storage depot. I told him he should.. On Feb. 26, 1979, he was indicted on five counts of trafficking in marijuana and cocaine. Chagras operation had links to the Patriarca crime family in New England. Dozens killed, injured as Jakarta fuel depot fire engulfs neighborhood. After Monday's conviction, Sessions said he would be forced to postpone the March 18 sentencing in San Antonio of Mrs. Harrelson, her husband Charles and Mrs. Chagra for the earlier convictions. Mr. Chagra was one of three sons of a Lebanese rug merchant who had emigrated from Mexico to El Paso. Elizabeth Chagra died in prison of ovarian cancer in September 1997 at age 43. One of his many screenplays details the life of notorious drug smuggler Jimmy Chagra. The Jo Ann Carter Harrelson Center Inc. is a North Carolina nonprofit corporation 501c3 (EIN 20-3598248) that supports and partners with other nonprofit organizations in the Wilmington community. Jimmy Chagra, the high-stakes gambler who faced sentencing by Wood in a drug case shortly before the judge was killed, was cleared of conspiracy. The prosecution charged that Harrelson, who had earlier served five years before being paroled of a 15-year sentence for killing a man for a $2,000 fee, Judge Wood hated my brother Lee so much that he wanted a Chagra any way he could get him, Chagra said, according to a clip of the interviews posted on the internet. Without his brother's testimony, Jamiel was acquitted of conspiracy to murder charges. Woody Harrelson, the actor who played the part of the affable bartender in the television series Cheers, and also the lead in The People vs. Larmy Flynt, mounted an appeal in 1998, hiring famed criminal attorney Alan Dershowitz. U.S. District Judge William Sessions did not schedule sentencing for Mrs. Harrelson, who was to be returned today to the Federal Correctional Institute in Fort Worth, Texas. The map led the feds to learn that the murder weapon had been purchased by Harrelsons wife, Jo Ann. March 3 (UPI) -- At a White House meeting on Friday, President Joe Biden thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for Germany's "profound" help in countering Russian aggression in Ukraine. If I'm not the expert in one area, I know already that somebody is within the Harrelson Center. She had then given the rifle to George Kay. CHAGRA: LIFE IN LAS VEGAS ANDMARIJUANA KINGPIN. Jo Ann Harrelson was summoned before a federal grand jury in the Western District of Texas investigating her husband's complicity in the murder. Joe was stunned. He has published 21 books and screenplays, including many on Las Vegas history and historical figures. Elizabeth Chagra: 30 years for conspiracy to murder, two concurrent five year sentences for obstruction of justice and tax evasion. ", Emilie Hart, Regional Director for the Cape Fear Chapter of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Raleigh, "As other partners joined the Center, CIS was able to connect our families to more resources. The Center provides its nonprofit partners social and educational opportunities, marketing and promotions, volunteer recruitment and a place of collaboration for them to help those in need in our community. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. A short time later, Joe was arrested and held without bail, as were Jo Ann Jamiel Chagra: separate trial on murder, conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to obstruct justice; drug conspiracy and trafficking charges; separate indictment on income tax evasionChief Defense Lawyers: Charles Harrelson: Thomas G. Sharpe, Jr.; Jo Ann Harrelson: Charles Champion; Elizabeth Chagra: Warren Burnett; Jamiel Chagra: Oscar B. GoodmanChief Prosecutor: Ray JahnJudge: William SessionsPlaces: Charles Harrelson: San Antonio, Texas. Joe accepted a ten-year plea bargain in the Wood conspiracy, with the understanding that prosecutors would help him recover his law license. The trial for the Harrelsons and Elizabeth Chagra took place in the newly named John H. Wood Jr. courthouse over objections from defense lawyers. Governor of Philippine province, 5 others killed in gun attack. It was a big deal to a lot of people, concurred lawyer Charles Campion, who defended Harrelsons wife, Jo Ann Harrelson, the woman who bought the murder weapon. Chagra also was a prime suspect in the attempted murder of Assistant U.S. Attorney James Kerr of San Antonio. He was sentenced to two life sentences. An appeal was expected. To form an opinion after evaluating the facts and applyi, A second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal or conviction or multiple punishments for same offense. Defendants: Charles Voyde Harrelson, Jo Ann Starr Harrelson, Elizabeth Chagra, Jamiel ChagraCrimes Charged: Charles Harrelson: conspiracy to murder; murder of a federal judge; conspiracy to obstruct justice. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Woody Harrelson is a beloved actor, but he has a troublesome legacy. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Kathryn Wood, the widow of the slain judge, provided a five-page handwritten letter from Elizabeth Chagra, apologizing for her involvement in the murder. . Jack Sheehan calls him the Pablo Escobar of weed. By that time the FBI investigation into the judges assassination was more than two years old. And, indeed, Joe found out who shot Judge Woodand who hired himduring an attorney-client interview he conducted with Harrelson after his arrest at the Harris County jail. Harrelson reported back that Wood could not be corrupted but had to be killed. But theres a postscript: I feel certain that the youngest of three brothers in El Pasos infamous Chagra crime family knew nothing about Woods murder until months after the fact. All relationship and family history information shown on FameChain has been compiled from data in the public domain. The pair wed in 2001 and share four children, but their political differences during the Trump administration took a toll on their relationship. Joseph agreed that he should. Lee, his eldest brother, brought Joe into his law partnership largely to enhance his own self-esteem as patrn of the Chagra family. Joseph Chagra, 50, Lawyer Linked to Assassination, Dies, https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/15/us/joseph-chagra-50-lawyer-linked-to-assassination-dies.html. She, in turn, claimed she thought the payoff was for a gambling debt, and did not believe her husband when he claimed, "This is for the judge.". As a matter of fact, when I got arrested, I thought I could buy Judge Wood off, and I tried through a family member by offering $5 million or $10 million. Elizabeth Chagra, the wife of Jamiel (Jimmy) Chagra, the drug dealer who is to be tried in a separate proceeding on charges of paying Mr. Harrelson $250,000 to murder the judge, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Judge Sessions gave Chagra only 10 additional years on his sentence, making him eligible for parole in 2007. She recovered quickly and later said she was fine. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. Now, perhaps due to our improved stature, our incoming donations are 80% new! But Joe absolutely refused to testify against his brother as a matter of family honor. The first giraffe in San Antonio was part of a traveling circus that stopped here in 1901. On the morning of May 29, 1979, Judge Wood, 63, was slain in the driveway of his town house in San Antonio, struck in the back by a bullet from a high-powered rifle. If he didnt concoct a lie about how he was really part of the conspiracy, thus allowing him to testify against Harrelson, he believed he would face a total of thirty-five to forty years on drug charges. "The Judge Wood Murder Case." He was a cheat, he was a con man and he was a murderer. Agents searched the El Paso homes of the Chagra family. March 4 (UPI) -- Roel Degamo, the governor of the Philippines province of Negros Oriental, was assassinated and five others also died Saturday in an attack by gunmen, officials said. Because Joe was simultaneously representing Jimmy, who was serving thirty years without parole on a drug charge at the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, Harrelson had to assume that sooner or later Joe would learn the truth. At least 5 dead following year's first severe spring weather outbreak. The prosecution produced no murder weapon or any eyewitnesses. Charles Manson Trial: 1970-71 Jack Sheehan has been living and writing in Las Vegas for 40 years. The jury found Chagra guilty. In her 2022 memoir The only other person in the world who knew that Harrelson did the hit on Judge Wood was Jimmy, who ordered it. WebThe Harrelson Center is a nonprofit campus that supports and partners with other nonprofit organizations in the Wilmington community to provide centralized services. 'I have ordered the hearing continued and you can logically assume what that means,' Sessions said. "It's a safe wonderful environment for all those charities to be located in. The hearing was the first in which federal prosecutors have failed to obtain a contempt citation against people refusing to testify before the grand jury investigating the fatal shooting of U.S. District Judge John H. Wood Jr. Two of those people recently were released. Federal authorities claimed that attorney-client privileges did not protect conversations between Joseph and Jamiel Chagra, because Joseph (the attorney) was himself a suspect in the conspiracy to conceal the crime. February 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? He gave us details that only he knew, Ray Jahn said. Newsweek (June 22, 1981). Jamiel Chagra's trial moved to Jacksonville, Florida. In the investigation, which cost at least $5 million, the Government recorded more than 1,000 conversations, most of them by telephone, that Jamiel Chagra was involved in at various prisons, particularly the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan. ", -Stacy Pullen, Executive Director, Foster Pantry, Since moving to the Harrelson Center, "Instead of a family going all over town to receive different services, we can walk them to another agency down the hall to help them with anything they may need.
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