Jamiel Chagra
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Jamiel "Jimmy" Alexander Chagra (December 7, 1944 – July 25, 2008) was an American drug trafficker, carpet salesman and professional gambler. He admitted to a role in the May 1979 assassination of United States District Judge John H. Wood Jr. in
San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
. Chagra was active as a trafficker of marijuana beginning in the 1960s, and by the 1970s was a well-known drug trafficker operating out of
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
and
El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
. He was described as having been "no less than the biggest marijuana smuggler in the country" during that time. According to George Knapp writing for ''
Las Vegas CityLife ''Las Vegas CityLife'' was an American Alternative newspaper, alternative weekly newspaper founded in August 1996. It was the oldest such newspaper in Southern Nevada and covered news about the Las Vegas Valley and surrounding areas. Coverage inc ...
'', he was "the undisputed marijuana kingpin of the Western world. He imported more high-grade ganja than anyone, tons at a time, planeload after planeload."


Early life

Jamiel Chagra, known as Jimmy, was born in
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
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. Jimmy Chagra also had a sister named Patsy. Their family name was historically ''"''Busha’ada", but Jimmy's grandfather changed it. His grandfather was imprisoned before Jimmy was born, and the family immigrated to El Paso from
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. 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. He had dealings with the
Patriarca crime family The Patriarca crime family (, ), also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia, the Boston–Providence Mafia,
and
Joseph Bonanno Joseph Charles Bonanno (born Giuseppe Carlo Bonanno; ; January 18, 1905 – May 11, 2002), sometimes referred to as Joe Bananas, was an Italian-American crime boss of the Bonanno crime family of New York City, which he ran from 1931 to 1968. ...
, the retired head of the
Bonanno crime family The Bonanno crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City. The family was known as the Maranzano crime family until its founder Sal ...
. Chagra was also a heavy gambler in
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, and attracted attention with his flamboyant ways.Jimmy Chagra; Smuggler Linked to Judge's Death ''Washington Post'' July 28, 200

/ref>No one ran harder, faster through Vegas ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' July 15, 201

/ref> Reportedly, he used gambling as a method of laundering money he received through trafficking drugs. Prior to his arrest, his accumulated wealth was estimated at approximately $100 million dollars ($500 million today, when adjusted for inflation), held in various bank accounts, and included his $1 million mansion in Las Vegas, Nevada. Chagra's drug dealings came under close scrutiny by law enforcement and the judicial system. On November 21, 1978, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Kerr was ambushed and shot at near his home by two men who fired 19 bullets at his car. Kerr escaped with only minor glass cuts. Kerr had been involved with pursuing Chagra for his drug dealings. On December 23, 1978, Lee Chagra was shot and killed in his law office in El Paso. Lee had been involved with Jimmy's drug smuggling, and the killers took $450,000 that was owed to Joe Bonanno for a drug deal. A few months later, Luis "Lou" Fred Esper, a small-time drug dealer and acquaintance of Lee Chagra, and two U.S. Army, U.S. Army soldiers from
Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Established in 1848, the fort was renamed in 1854 to honor William Wallace Smith Bliss, Bvt.Lieut.Colonel William W.S. Bliss (1815–1853 ...
were held on various charges related to the murder of Lee. The soldiers implicated Esper in planning the heist, but he received a considerably lighter sentence than they due to not being technically involved with the murder itself.


Murder of John H. Wood

Chagra's downfall began in February 1979 when he was arrested on trafficking charges. He was scheduled to appear before United States District Judge John Wood, who was nicknamed "Maximum John" because he had a reputation for giving out the maximum sentence allowed for
drug-related crime A drug-related crime is a crime to possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse (such as cocaine, heroin, morphine and amphetamines). Drugs are also related to crime as drug trafficking and drug product ...
s. Chagra faced a possible life sentence without parole if convicted and reportedly feared he would receive a life sentence, according to prosecutors. Chagra attempted to bribe Wood for "$5 million or 10 million". Facing a life sentence for smuggling, Jimmy Chagra decided to have the judge killed. Chagra was accused of (and was acquitted of, although he later confessed to conspiracy in a deal to help his wife) hiring hitman Charles Harrelson (actor
Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor. He first became known for his role as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1985–1993), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...
's father) to kill Wood for $250,000. On May 29, 1979, Wood was murdered outside his home by a shot in the back. He was the first federal judge to die by assassination in over a century. The authorities did not immediately suspect Chagra of involvement in the assassination, and it took thousands of man-hours to identify them as suspects in the case. His drug case went to trial and Chagra was found guilty in August 1979 and sentenced to 30 years. Chagra jumped bail, but was captured six months later in Las Vegas.Texas Drug, Gambling Figure Missing; High Bond Forfeited ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune'' August 24, 197

/ref> Harrelson was eventually caught and convicted of being the gunman after Chagra discussed the assassination with his brother Joe during Joe's visit to Jimmy in United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, after
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
agents bugged the rooms in which they were speaking. This was among over a thousand recorded conversations that the government had collected as evidence. The position of federal authorities was that even though Joe Chagra was a lawyer, he was also suspected in conspiracy to conceal the crime; therefore, their conversations were not covered by attorney-client privilege. Both Harrelson and Chagra's brother Joe were implicated in the assassination. Joe Chagra testified against the other defendants in exchange for pleading guilty to murder-conspiracy with a maximum sentence of ten years in a plea-bargain deal, and with an agreement that he would not testify against his brother Jimmy in a separate trial. Joe Chagra's defense reportedly attempted to plead guilty to a lesser offense of conspiring to obstruct justice instead. Charles Harrelson got two consecutive life terms plus 5 years, Harrelson's wife Jo Ann got 25 years and Jimmy Chagra's wife Elizabeth was also sent to prison for 30 years for delivering the payout money. Jimmy Chagra was acquitted of the murder of Wood in front of Judge
William S. Sessions William Steele Sessions (May 27, 1930June 12, 2020) was an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and the four ...
, future director of the FBI, although he was found guilty of obstructing justice and conspiring to smuggle drugs. Chagra's lawyer in the case was Oscar Goodman, future Mayor of Las Vegas. In a deal with the federal government, Jimmy Chagra admitted to his role in the murder of Wood and the attempted murder of Assistant
United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
James Kerr. He reportedly did this in order to have his wife, Elizabeth, released early. His wife was never released and she died in custody of
ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...
at age 41. Joe Chagra served six and a half years in prison (of his ten-year sentence) and was released. He died from injuries resulting from an automobile accident that occurred on December 6, 1996.Lawrence van Gelder
"Joseph Chagra, 50, Lawyer Linked to Assassination, Dies"
''New York Times'', December 15, 1996
At the time, the case of Wood's murder was described as "the most extensive nvestigation by the FBIsince President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
's murder in 1963." It was otherwise described as "one of the most intense investigations in the annals of the FBI". Jurors heard hours worth of tape recordings and more than 500 pages of documents were presented. The FBI conducted more than 30,000 interviews related to the case and in total collected more than 500,000 pieces of information. The investigation cost more than $11 million.


Later life and death

Chagra was released from prison for health reasons in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, on December 9, 2003. He was widely believed to have been placed in the Federal Witness Protection Program. However, his sister Patsy stated that he was not in the witness protection program at the time of his death. The story surrounding the assassination of Wood was profiled in an episode of ''
City Confidential ''City Confidential'' is an American documentary television show, originally airing on the A&E Network, that singles out a community during each episode and investigates a crime that has occurred there. Rather than being a straightforward proced ...
''. A fictitious name reference to the Judge John Wood assassination also appeared in an '' The FBI Files'' episode "Dangerous Company" as the show regularly changed names of real-life people to protect privacy. He was also used in '' FBI: The Untold Stories''. Chagra married his fourth wife, Lynda Ray, while living under the name James Madrid on November 22, 2005. They were married in Las Vegas.Marriage license #D875871, Marriage License Records, Las Vegas. He had seven children, including a daughter named Catherine, who wrote a memoir about the family. Jimmy Chagra died of cancer on July 25, 2008. He was living in a trailer camp in
Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and standing distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks, such as shales, capped by a ...
,
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
.James C. McKinley Jr.
"Jamiel A. Chagra, 63, Drug Kingpin, Dies"
''New York Times'', July 29, 2008


References


Further reading

*Gary Cartwright, ''Dirty Dealing: Drug Smuggling on the Mexican Border and the Assassination of a Federal Judge'', 1998 *Sally Denton and Roger Morris, ''The Money and the Power: The Making of Las Vegas and Its Hold on America'', 2002 *John L. Smith, ''Of Rats and Men: Oscar Goodman's Life from Mob Mouthpiece to Mayor of Las Vegas'', 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chagra, Jamiel 1944 births 2008 deaths Criminals from Texas People from El Paso, Texas American drug traffickers Deaths from cancer in Arizona American people of Lebanese descent American gangsters