A most curious person in this whole saga is Jerry James, the government's star witness against Jimmy Chagra in his trial for hiring Charles Harrelson to kill Federal Judge John Wood. The government had plenty of evidence against Harrelson.

Jerry James was a bad outlaw who ran here in West Texas robbing anyone he wanted to. When I was a professional poker player, warnings would go out when he was in the area. Every dice game and poker game would close or go on alert. Once here in Lubbock, James robbed this pimp and held him at gunpoint while he raped his working girl. James had 30 felony arrests. I heard he once robbed one of Carlos Marcello's clubs in New Orleans. James made it on to the ten most wanted. He was a leader in the New Mexcio prison when they had the riot that killed 39 people. However, some say he caused killings, but the government now says he helped end the riot.

They put Jerry James in a cell with Jimmy Chagra where he could seek evidence. Chagra bragged in prison that he had a hand in the killing of the Judge and James said he bragged that he had shot and killed Mark Finney. James was the star witness that Chagra had bragged of these TWO killings. James was paid over $200,000 and given his freeedom for his tesitmony.

The defense, Mayor Oscar Goodman, only lasted 12 minutes. He called Mark Finney, who was alive, to the stand and asked if Jimmy Chagra had ever shot him. The summation of Goodman's lasted six hours in which he attacked James' record, obvious reasons to lie: freedom and $200,000. James said Chagra bragged of killing two men. One was alive. Chagra was found innocent of the conspiracy to murder, but still had drug and other charges to keep him in prison a long time. He was fined $200,000. James got $200,000 and Harrelson's fee was $200,000 or $250,000. Accounts vary. It was paid, through his wife. She signed one document, Fay King.

There was so much phone and other contact between Chagra and Harrelson that it seemed the government had a strong case, but teaming up with Jerry James sank them. This was the second largest investigation in U.S. history, second only to the Kennedy assassination. Some seventy agents worked on it. Chagra's brilliant lawyer, Oscar Goodman, had a Perry Mason moment, producing Mark Finney, thought to be dead. Then he spoke six hours without notes attacking the government's case. Goodman and Chagra won, but it was a big surprise.

Chagra's defense was that he was just bragging in prison, trying to appear tough because he faced a long jolt. Another of his defenses, which I think is very, very possible, is that Charles Harrelson killed the Judge without Chagra knowing it would happen or agreeing to pay for it. . Then he came to Chagra for the money, threatening to implicate him, or off him. One reason I think this is possible, is that there was no front money. However, there were a great many phone calls and testimoney that Chagra was checking Harrelson out. Everyone is dead but Jerry James.

awesome

The whole trial was a farce tbh - IIRC the arresting officer was called Sgt. Throb Hardwell.

Fav story so far Johnny....thanks.

this belongs on display on a museum so I can pay to see it every week

Talk about multitasking. Certainly is more impressive than the guys here playing 16 tables and rubbing one out to Bangbros...

anyone wanting to know more about this stuff should read 'Dirty Dealing: Drug Smuggling on the Mexican Border and the Assassination of a Federal Judge - An American Parable', a pretty good read about the life of the Chagra brothers

Great book. It is by Gary Cartwright, a long-term Texas Monthly writer. He has also written about Benny Binion. When he was very young, two narcs came to his door saying they were looking for somebody. It was hippie times in Austin. He rolled them a number, and they busted him.

Now that you mention it, Johnny (Huge) Hughes would be a good name for a porn star

This story is about three guys:
Charles Harrelson, Jerry James, and Jimmy Chagra.
Two guys that robbed poker players. One guy that poker players robbed.

And also, a brilliant, larger-than-life lawyer, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman!

I am from South Louisiana and A ton of truth to Marcello being involved. The mafia killed JFK because he cost them billion with the Cuba crap. They had Casino's and stuff down in Cuba it was the place that the rich people/movie stars vacationed too. I have been told by someone that is 'connected' that when he was a kid he witnessed a meeting at a camp on lake ponchatrain (sp) and Oswald was there with some of the higher ups of the mafia. I am 100% certain oswald was not the only shooter....

Didn't you post this like 5 or 6 years ago?

No.

The actual conspiracy is that "The Commission" contracted Marcello with the assassination. If this is what you believe, then Oswald was the one contracted, and there was no other shooter. You are mixing conspiracyies.

There was also the theory that Harrelson killed Maximum John at the request of Bandidos pres Don Chambers who was going on trial for a '72 double murder in El Paso.

And Jerry James was a very sick mofo. On par with Stanley Cook.

The Chicago mob tho http://www.jfkmurdersolved.com/frept97.htm

Mr. Hughes

I have tried reading your stories a few times but it always comes back around to some childish attack against McManus, at which point I quit reading.

Give it a rest, you sound like a 9 year old beating that dead horse over and over. If there is some continuing back story between you two, why not be the bigger man and move on, at least publicly?

Some day you will be gone but your stories will remain, and their underlying theme will be your pity jealousy or whatever which will decrease much of the interest in them.

basically, oswald was supposed to be off'd afterwards... not really mixing anything. Marcello was at the meeting at the camp with oswald...

Why would the people sent to kill Oswald after he shot JFK also attempt to murder JFK? Wouldn't that defeat their purpose? What does Marcello being at a meeting with Oswald have anything to do with how many shooters there were?

Ask Guy Banister.

The whole Kennedy assassination drama also included many weird mathematical inconsistencies. It seems like a conspriracy because of all the weirdness. Several key people were killed or died with some mystery including Ruby and Oswald, as well as witnesses and journalists. A guy who had written a book on the assassination, a Doctor there at Parkland who said the wounds meant more than one shooter, had a co-author who came to speak at Texas Tech once. A fellow that came was Gary Shaw, a leading Kennedy assassination researcher. He was surprised I knew George McGann, a poker player, gambler, and killer. I am going to post a thread on George sometime. Shaw sent me some pictures of George McGann and his debt list, a long one. My name, Slim, Doyle, and Sailor were on it. George had showed me an earlier list and really wanted to pay all the poker players what he owed.

It seemed to me the Kennedy assassination theorists were all over the map, with many conflicting theories. Focusing on all that kept them from seeing 1. Oswald was the lone shooter 2. It was a small conspriracy not involving many people, but it was the mob, as evidenced by Ruby and everyone having Marcello/New Orleans connections.

Is this an addendum to the story? Or are we supposed to read it before the rest? It kind of reads like an introduction.

The Hughesian stream of consciousness is meant to be read in whatever order you wish.
Add the odour of stale urine and onions for the authentic experience.

What are your thoughts on this theory?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F....ime_conspiracy

I never eat oninons, and I never smell, but that reminds me of the onion on the belt satire, my favorite. I was thinking of opening a thread for a contest of parodies of my writing style. We'd let the posters or the mods be the judge. I'd pay $50 to the winner. I'd have to have some mods permission. One guy wrote a funny one but was locked.