Dirty Dealing: Drug Smuggling on the Mexican Border and the Assassination of a Federal Judge

by Gary Cartwright

"Cartwright tells the story of the Chagra brothers, Lee and Joe, as they get mixed up with the drug-running community along the border and in short order find themselves hopelessly entangled in a net cast by the DEA. Even readers unfamiliar with the well-publicized events of the book or of the dark, lawless aspect that often rules El Paso will find themselves pulled along by the plot: brigands and intrigue leap from almost every page, and the story just gets wilder the further into it you venture."—from an Amazon.com review

Four pages into this rollicking good story, the central figure, Lee Chagra, comes alive: "[Lee] washed his morning cocaine down with strong coffee and remembered the time he had met Sinatra, how genuine he appeared." Everything you'll need to know and remember about Chagra—the son of Syrian immigrants to Mexico and an attorney who spun the world of dope-running, border-crossing, high-living outlaws along the El Paso–Juarez border around his finger like the gaudy rings he favored—can be neatly summarized in that one sentence. Chagra dies two pages later, yet he haunts the rest of this cautionary tale like a high-rolling specter.

Gary Cartwright is a long-respected, award-winning journalist and contributing editor to Texas Monthly magazine. The author of numerous books, he has contributed stories to such national publications as Harper's, Life, and Esquire. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Gary Cartwright was an American journalist and writer. He specialized in true crime stories. In the 1970s Cartwright was among the first writers hired at Texas Monthly. He remained there until his retirement as senior editor in 2010. Cartwright also co-wrote and co-produced movies and television shows. In 1980 his book Blood Will Tell was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America in the category of Best Fact Crime.

Reviews

[Bull · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me this is a personal book, so I might be a little prejudice in my 4-star ("I really liked it"). Spending my formative years in El Paso but leaving it behind in 1974, I missed most all the made-for-TV action of the War on Drugs in my home town.

My move was very fortuitous since some of my closest friends dabbled in the business. It was El Paso in the 70s, after all. As time rolled on a few were swept up in petty crime and general malfeasance. Cartwright's Dirty Dealing: Drug Smuggling on the Mexican Border and the Assassination of a Federal Judge--An American Parable took my understanding of that time of my life to a 'higher level,' shall we say. The games I saw played out between low level police and low level criminals were crude compared to the serious dance going on up the chain. In both cases, however, the motivations of the justice system and of the criminals were the same. On the other hand in my little corner of the world no prosecutors made a name for themselves, the punks they cornered mostly had the shit scared out of them, and no one took a hit out on anyone.

To the extent that my experiences are relevant, Cartwright's book written in 1984 and updated in 1988, is a great retelling of a story that exposes the nature of natural-born criminals along with the unbelievable 'dirty dealing' that law enforcement will engage in to fulfill their conceptions of justice. Yes, Jimmy did put out a hit on a federal judge. But there is much, much more to the story than the headlines. Cartwright's assembles it in a way that slowly draws you to his final understanding of what actually went down.

Especially stunning is Raymond Caballero's in-your-face "A Note to the Second Edition" at the end of the book. It is a great coda to Cartwright's work: "[The Chagra story] brings out just about every flaw in the federal system [of justice]." Not what you expected, was it??

[Cindy Frechette · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5?

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the late 70's as I moved to El Paso and began college, the Chagra brothers, Charles Harrelson and Federal Judge John Wood all dominated the local media for years. Entangled alongside the main cast you have a lengthy list of supporting characters that could make any reader's head spin. Gary Cartwright does a great job of putting the pieces together to create a comprehensive and coherent story. Through it he exposes an underside of El Paso, of Texas and the American Southwest; whose tendrils reach faraway in all directions. This is the the kinda stuff you normally read about in fiction. It's a tale of drug dealing, murder for hire, jail breaks, sensational trials, high rolling gambling, governmental corruption, and just about any kind of outlawed activity you can think about. You can't help but to connect the dots of the current state of affairs regarding the drug trade and wars, of having somehow evolved from the widespread corruption outlined in Dirty Dealing. Thus making this a viable read to gain some grasp of the illogical approach we continue to call the "War on Drugs".

A great summary reflecting this cast of characters occurs when Assassin Charles Harrelson is being questioned by the Prosecutor who depicts him as an acknowledged killer and card cheat. To which Harrelson replies, "You can call it cheating if you wish, sir. But the people I play with are like me. We cheat each other. I just cheat better."

[Audrey Hare · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy to read account of the rise and fall of the Chagra family in the El Paso legal and drug smuggling communities and the murder of a federal judge. The journalistic style manages to balance an interesting narrative, many scattered characters, and a realistic feeling. Possibly only 3 stars if you're not a lawyer in El Paso/interested in drug smuggling in the late 1970s.

[Barbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having known this family well, I appreciate that Gary Cartwright stuck to the truth. Watching this terrible event unfold has been a lifelong painful memory. What happened to this family was shocking.
I just read Jamail Chagra's daughter's book about her family. Not very well written, but directly from her sore heart.

[Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a little dated, but it was on my husband's bookshelf and I had intended to read it for a number of years. Extremely well written, Gary Cartwright was an excellent writer, right up there with Molly Ivins on the list of great Texas journalists.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting to me because of my job. It might be interesting to others because of the main criminal, Woody Harrelson's father, who killed a federal judge.

[Angelica Carreon-beltran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting!

[Mack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing as it seems to me, I know the people in this book.
http://bozotexino.org

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this book fascinating since it all took place in my hometown.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible crime story of drugs, murder and the legal system. Reads like a novel.

[Cindi Rosby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling account of the murder of a federal judge in El Paso in the 1970s. Three brothers involved in these of drugs, the law and the drug smuggling money led to the slow destruction of their lives. Charles Harrelson (father of Woody Harrelson) was an active participant in the smuggling activities and ultimate demise of Judge Wood. History right next door!

[Elaine Webster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this "True Crime" drama because the time period intrigued me and because I recently moved to Southern New Mexico. It is expertly written and researched. If your interested in this particular event and all the scandalous occurrences, you'll love the detail. For my taste it was slightly tedious in its detail and I skimmed many of the chapters. Otherwise it's a fascinating read.

[Thomas F. Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to believe this took place about 50 miles from where I live. It's so foreign to me that it almost seems unreal but it was true and probably is still going on. At times I wasn't sure whether to root for the government or the Chagras,both were unscrupulous. Interesting book.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished reading this book after having it for years. We lived in El Paso while this stuff was going on so recognized some of the names.

Cartwright does a good job of telling of the out of hand drug smuggling and law enforcement during this time. Very tumultuous times.

[Michael William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read because I grew up with the children of the "Columbus Air Force".

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of like blow... but dirtier and more lebanese.