High roller, drug kingpin Chagra dies

A notorious drug kingpin and Las Vegas high-roller who was acquitted of hiring actor Woody Harrelson's father to kill a federal judge died Friday in Mesa, Ariz.

Jimmy Chagra, 63, suffered from various ailments during the past two years. He underwent an operation for lung cancer in November and had a brain tumor removed in March.

Chagra was accused of hiring Charles Harrelson to murder Texas-based federal judge John Wood, who was preparing to preside over Chagra's drug smuggling case. Wood, a judge who built his reputation on levying harsh sentences to drug dealers, was shot in the back outside his San Antonio townhouse in 1979.

Although Harrelson maintained his innocence, claiming he took money from Chagra but did not kill the judge, he was sentenced to life in prison. Harrelson died last year.

Chagra was represented by defense attorney Oscar Goodman, now the mayor of Las Vegas, and was acquitted of conspiring to murder Wood.

Chagra was later convicted of money laundering and drug charges and sentenced to life in federal prison. He was released in 2003.

Jack Sheehan, a Las Vegas author working on a screenplay about Chagra's life, said the drug lord thought a clerical error was the reason he was freed from prison and placed in a witness protection program under the name James Madrid.

Others speculated that Chagra was rewarded for providing the government with information that led to other convictions.

Sheehan said Chagra dropped out of the witness protection program a year ago and legally changed his name back.

"He hated that name (Madrid) and wanted his real name back," said Sheehan, who worked closely with Chagra while writing the screenplay "Do a Nickel."

Sheehan said he named the screenplay after a phrase popular with Chagra. Sheehan said Chagra preferred smuggling marijuana because the penalties weren't as stiff as those involving other drugs. Chagra figured if he was busted, he would "do a nickel," meaning five years in prison, Sheehan said.

Chagra conducted one of his earliest smuggling operations when he was 20 years old. Eventually his drug smuggling business earned him millions.

Sheehan said he had big-time gambling habits, and was known to lose $300,00 to $400,000 in bets during a round of golf.

"He would shake it off and say let's play another round tomorrow," Sheehan said.

He was also known to leave cocktail waitresses $10,000 tips. He visited Caesars Palace with footlockers full of millions of dollars in cash.

"His appetite for women, gambling and drugs just grew and grew," Sheehan said.

Chagra's acquittal in Wood's murder was one of Goodman's highest-profile cases.

"It was the case of the century," Goodman said.

Goodman recalled taking a cab to the airport after a court proceeding in San Antonio. The cab driver carried on about the community's love for Wood because of his harsh treatment of drug dealers. He described how he would like to torture Chagra, then proceeded to ask Goodman what he did for a living.

"I said, 'I'm with the FBI,' " Goodman said. "Good way to get out of town."

During their first meeting, Chagra told Goodman he was searching for a home to buy for his maid. He described a house that he had been eyeing.

"He was looking at my house ... for his maid," Goodman said, laughing.

"Jimmy, I would have to characterize him as a slice of lore of Las Vegas in the 1970s," Goodman said. "He was a legendary gambler and probably the world's biggest tipper. The guy was bigger than life."

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.