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. 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. Is there any secret about that?. The first thing he noticed was his filing cabinet. But, speaking to his ex-wife, Vivian, in a federal prison more than 30 years ago, he said he was not a killer. She still has paintings he made while locked up, a hobby he never resumed after getting a medical parole in December 2003. There was a steel floor safe sunk into five feet of concrete, but like the other safes, it hadnt yet been completely installed. 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. And hes this huge drug kingpin. They showed him a Xerox copy of the section of the law dealing with continuing criminal enterprise. Lees limit was $3000, and he would have played for $10,000 had Caesars Palace allowed it. He wanted everything his brother had, but he just didnt want to work for it. Sandy and the others began to realize that this was something truly personal; it was as though Lee were mourning his own impending death. 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. It was a shocking verdict after the FBI conducted its most extensive investigation since the Kennedy assassination. Gambling and women, said Lees old friend and fellow lawyer Clark Hughes. The documents revealed that hardly a week passed without some agents making inquiries into Lee Chagras private life. I imagine everyone in this area knows that youve been the subject of a grand jury investigation ever since the Tennessee indictment, Wood announced. 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. In the summer of 1977, sensing the heat but also attracted by the opportunities being suggested by his new partner, a wily, borderwise ex-con named Henry Wallace, Jimmy told Lee he was moving his base of operations to Florida. Lee counted out $75,000, slipped it into his coat pocket, and headed for his clandestine appointment. Whats more, Kerr and Wood and the entire apparatus of the federal government were breathing down his neck. Chagra's son, Joseph, 19, and daughter, Samantha, 17, kept a bedside vigil urging him, despite his coma, not to give up. In short order, Wood surpassed Guinns unenviable reputation as the most reversed judge in the district. At the end of his life, Jimmy Chagra knew he was dying, and unlike his ex-wife, whod fought the cancer for herself and her daughters, he gave up quickly. Kerr had been involved with pursuing Chagra for his drug dealings. 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 she realized how pressed he had been for money in recent months, she didnt show it. After two days the jury reported itself hopelessly deadlocked, eight to four for acquittal. The bonds that he set in marijuana cases averaged $200,000. If youre not careful, your friends become crooks, too. Lee first had the dangers of his association with criminals brought home to him in 1973. It was not the kind of clutter Lee Chagra would leave. A big blob of fat came pouring out, she remembered. In a single short sitting he lost almost $190,000. 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. Patsy ran out the back entrance and toward the cathedral. He began taping most of his telephone conversations and collecting every scrap of evidence that even hinted of government malfeasance. Emily McCullar is a senior editor covering pop culture, news, and Texas history. His harsh, unbending policy of sentencing and his blatant pro-prosecution posture astonished lawyers and embarrassed other judges, including those that sat on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He didnt appear to recognize the name. Lets go downstairs and give them one they can write home about. Clark said he would dress and meet Lee in the casino. Although Wood had devoted his career to civil law, there was no more ardent law-and-order advocate anywhere. No Mafia figures were ever indicted. And the caper made the money flow. That was the year Lee and Jo Annie started building their new home on Frontera Road in the Upper Valley. Of course, not all the authorities are so blas. Before Yoseph could think of an answer, Lee asked another question: What would you do if you came in and found Id been murdered?, This preoccupation wasnt totally without foundation. In a short time the bust was being described as the biggest one in El Paso history. In the winter. After Jimmy and Vivian divorced, in late 1973 or 1974, before the first big score, Vivian would beg her ex-lover and former brother-in-law for money that Jimmy couldnt or wouldnt fork over. More likely it was because Lee, as chief justice of the student court, had spoken out against segregated dorms and football teams. He had known that the DEA was watching him, but a grand jury? That was why I jumped bond. Here he is with Joe Namath. I think I was about 20 and Lee was 27 or something. Sandy was to count out $20,000 from the stash under the bathroom sink and have it ready when the woman arrived. Lee was Clarks friend, maybe the best friend hed ever had, but in some strange, almost unthinkable way he felt the friendship slipping away. Lee kept detailed records of gambling transactions, but no one else had any concept of home much he bet or with how many different bookies. His dislike for narcotic cops, particularly agents provocateurs, had been stoked to a white-hot hatred that nearly consumed both his private and his professional life. He would never go back to Vegas. Lee got the best of the feds in Ardmore but that was about the last time. In fact, many aspects of the case were never investigated. [36][37] However, his sister Patsy stated that he was not in the witness protection program at the time of his death. 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. As he said the words, Lee extended the pointer to its full length. As the year progressed, so did his paranoia, his insistence that someone was out to get him. Or for Lee Chagra. Lee turned the channel selector to the camera over the alley entrance. Where do you get off? He had two brothers, Lee and Joseph, who were both attorneys involved with the legal defense of drug smugglers. And it was killing Lee. On five minutes notice, Caesars would dispatch a Learjet to fetch one or both of the Chagras. His two older brothers were so much alike it scared him. 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. If you scratched Stricklin deep enough, Kerr reasoned, you would find Chagra. Several times Lee talked to Vivian and others about dying. Standing in front of the mirror, he would snap the pearl buttons of his red cowboy shirt, then climb into the black Western-cut leisure suit. That was a fact. November 2022 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? Right there before your eyes Lee Chagra became the Black Striker. The money was in the canvas tennis bag under the sink. He loved it. 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. The government questions the good faith of this request, Kerr concluded. The Most Reverend Sidney Metzger, bishop emeritus of El Paso, came out of retirement to say mass. Traditionally, gambling and smuggling are on a par with fixing parking tickets and hiring illegal aliens. The story surrounding the assassination of Judge Wood was profiled in an episode of City Confidential. Written by Catherine Chagra, He walked upstairs to his own office. He was going to play baccarat instead of craps. The scam brought in more money than Lee had ever thought of making in his law practice. It was a partial victory for Leethe jury found De La Torre guilty of only one charge and he got the maximum, 5 years. 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. It was only in 1970, after Senator John Tower and other ranking members of the Republican Party in Texas made personal pleas, that the staunch Republican lawyer agreed to accept a federal judgeship for the Western District of Texas. His cowboy hat was pushed forward until the brim almost touched his nose, and shaggy locks of graying hair spilled over his collar. Here she is with Paul Anka. If there was a single piece of new evidence, it wasnt mentioned, or even hinted at, in the indictment. In January 1971 Wood was sworn in as a U.S. district judge, with jurisdiction over about a quarter of the El Paso docket. Which for Jimmy was almost the same as being broke, Patty said. They were scheduled to fly back to El Paso Monday morning. Kerrs just working the tailings, he said. [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. But lately Lee was taking new directions. It was obvious that the prosecution and the DEA had problems coordinating their investigation. He marched straight to a crap table on one side of the casino and told the pit boss to clear the table. Now they eat three meals a day and imported cheese. Hed never cried about it before. 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. I colored the Kleenex sheets with green marker and I put it in the tree branches. 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. It wasnt just in hard-drug cases; Wood appeared to make no distinctions. Lee and several others heard the crash of metal against the patio door. The sisters made mistakes, too, some by failing, in their youth, to realize that a substantial portion of their larger-than-life family history was a cautionary tale, an admonition that for some, life is best lived smaller and more quietly, away from big money and bright lights and celebrities with teeth so white and so impossibly perfect. Lee Chagra was special, and he went out of his way to prove it: student court, law review, Order of the Coif. He was later tried and acquitted in the assassination but received an additional sentence for obstruction of justice. [40][3], He had seven children, including a daughter named Catherine, who wrote a memoir about the family. 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! And Im going to charge you ten thousand dollars.. Palace allowed it Black Striker and headed for his jimmy chagra daughters dealings as the most judge! 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