The Killing Days Are Over
Las Vegas is a very indulgent town. It carries few judgments and no grudges. Regardless of your past transgressions or crimes, the citizens of the Neon Oasis are endlessly forgiving as long as there is money your pocket, your debts are paid (financial, societal, or otherwise), and you’re willing to play nice. Take the case of Jamiel Chagra. His friends call him Jimmy.
If you smoked pot in the United States during the 1970s, chances are pretty good that it came from Jimmy. Indeed, he’ll gladly tell you, “That was my shit”. Jimmy was one of North America’s biggest marijuana importers, and that made him a gazillionaire.
In the days before cash-transaction reports and the other government regulations invented to stop money laundering, Jimmy would roll into Las Vegas with footlockers filled with dough. He’d show up to poker games clutching two shopping bags stuffed to the max with Ben Franklins. Jimmy was the kind of guy who would tip a server $10,000 for bringing him a bottle of water. He would bet $500,000 on golf per round. The craps dealers at Caesars Palace once got together and bought him a 4-foot-tall trophy with the inscription, “To Jimmy Chagra, the King of Las Vegas, and the most generous tipper ever to walk through the doors of Caesars Palace.”
Even though Jimmy’s money came from illegal sources, and even though many people knew or suspected that he was a drug dealer, Las Vegas in the 1970s was decades ahead of the government in defining and refining the meaning of “don’t ask, don’t tell”. The dude was rich, that’s all anyone cared about, especially the pros who played with Jimmy and took his money. The games were legal, so the source of Jimmy’s bankroll didn’t matter. His gambling pals included legends Doyle Brunson, Puggy Pearson, Amarillo Slim, Jack Strauss, and many more. All the famous guys played with him. As Slim said in one of his books, “Jimmy Chagra was not the kind of man I wanted to associate with, but it was hard not to gamble with him.”
Indeed, it was easy to gamble with Jimmy, and to associate with him, if you were a high-limit player. He was a very likeable guy, magnanimous and personable. Besides, he was smuggling pot. That seemed pretty tame compared to some other crimes. It’s not like he killed anyone.
A Sensational Murder
Unfortunately for Jimmy, he got caught up in the escalating War on Drugs. By 1979 his operation was exposed, and Jimmy was indicted for drug smuggling. John H. Wood Jr. was the judge assigned to the case. Nicknamed “Maximum John” for the maximum penalties he handed down, Wood was a stiff adjudicator. Some say he was biased. In Jimmy’s pretrial hearings, Wood summarily denied 20 defense motions. The 34-year-old smuggler had good reason to fear that Maximum John would put him away for life.
On May 29, 1979, just a few weeks before Jimmy’s trial was scheduled to start, Wood was assassinated, shot in the back with a high-powered rifle in the driveway of his home in San Antonio.
And of course, Jimmy was a suspect.
The U.S. government conducted a massive investigation, and a man who Jimmy knew, Charles V. Harrelson (the father of actor Woody Harrelson), eventually was convicted for the crime and put in prison for two life terms. Prosecutors believed that Jimmy paid Harrelson $250,000 for the hit.
Jimmy’s attorney was Oscar Goodman, a man who successfully represented a host of well-known clients who had alleged connections to organized crime. These included Meyer Lanksy, Tony “the Ant” Spilotro, and Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal. Oscar was good, so good in fact that Jimmy was acquitted in the murder trial. This is in spite of the fact that Jimmy’s wife and his brother were convicted in the plot. They served time, but Jimmy never did, at least not on a murder rap. The Feds got him on drug smuggling, and he served more than two decades behind bars. The court also confiscated all of Jimmy’s drug profits.
If You Last Long Enough
Fast forward. Harrelson landed at the U.S. Supermax prison in Colorado after he attempted a jail break in 1995. His fellow inmates included “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski, terrorist Omar Abdel-Rahman, and Soviet spy Robert Hansen. Harrelson died in 2007, still stuck at Supermax. He proclaimed his innocence to the end. Elizabeth Chagra also died in prison. Jimmy’s brother Joe served six years and was paroled. He died in an automobile accident in 1996.
Oscar Goodman went on to become a beloved mayor of Las Vegas.
And Jimmy Chagra was paroled in 2003. By that point he was an old man with white hair and bad hearing, but his debt to society was paid. Last year he was back in Las Vegas playing in the World Series of Poker. Jimmy’s former gambling pals greeted him cordially, and he was warmly received by the younger crowd who had heard stories of his once-gargantuan action. Even though Jimmy’s tips are in the range of $10 now instead of $10,000, he still gets plenty of attention.
During the WSOP, Jimmy was interviewed on the radio show Talkin’ Trash with Brian Wilson. When another guest on the show, Gary Wise, jokingly asked Jimmy if he is still ever tempted to kill anyone, the ex-con laughed and said, “No, I don’t think about killing nobody, not even for a second. My killing days are over.” Then quickly correcting himself, he went on, “No, I didn’t have no killing days. I had a lot of fun. And I made a lot of money smuggling pot, and I spent it. And the government got all of it. I’m just thankful I’m free and able to come to the World Series and enjoy myself.”
Did Jimmy get away with murder? Government prosecutors certainly thought so. But Jimmy was acquitted, and in the eyes of the law, that is innocence. Case closed. He served time for other crimes, and now he’s free and living a respectable life.
In the 1974 movie Chinatown, the character Noah Cross says, “Of course I’m respectable. I’m old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.”
To that list, you can add former marijuana smugglers.
Basil Nestor is author of The Smarter Bet Guide to Poker, The Unofficial Guide to Casino Gambling, and other comprehensive gambling guides. Got a question? Visit SmarterBet.com and drop him a line. © copyright 2008 Basil Nestor
1 comment
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Posted by Kellie – 19 May 2008, 10:55 PM
Wow, I had no idea! I didn't know that Woody Harrelson's dad was imprisoned for murder. Jimmy Charga sounds like quite a character, and if it's true about his smuggling, my parent's owe him their gratitude. :p