SOLD OUT: Against All Odds: Oscar Goodman and the 40th Anniversary of the Jimmy Chagra Murder Trial

Date: January 18, 2023

Time: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Cost: Free for Members or with Museum Admission

Watch

Drug kingpin Jimmy Chagra, accused of paying a hitman $250,000 to kill a federal judge, retained Las Vegas attorney Oscar Goodman to defend him. Goodman punched holes in the government’s case, and the jury acquitted Chagra. It was a shocking verdict after the FBI conducted its most extensive investigation since the Kennedy assassination. On the trial’s 40th anniversary, Goodman and Chagra’s eldest daughter, Catherine, will look back at the case and what it meant for Goodman and the Chagra family.

A book signing of Catherine Chagra’s Chagra: The King of Dope – Drugs, Deceit and Dirty Darlings will follow this program.

Member and Donor Exclusive: Enjoy a meet-and-greet with Oscar Goodman and Catherine Chagra at 6 p.m. prior to the program.

This program is now sold out.

Featured Speakers

Oscar Goodman  

Oscar Goodman

Former mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman is credited with the revitalization of downtown Las Vegas including The Smith Center for the Performing Arts and our very own The Mob Museum. Goodman is one of the nation’s best criminal defense attorneys and was named one of the “15 Best Trial Lawyers in America” by the National Law Journal. He spent more than 35 years defending some of the most notorious alleged Mob figures, including Meyer Lansky, Frank Rosenthal, Anthony Spilotro and Jimmy Chagra.  In 1995, he appeared as himself in the movie, “Casino.”

Catherine Chagra  

Catherine Chagra

Catherine Chagra and her two sisters, Cindy and Christa, were the darling daughters of Jimmy Chagra, the biggest pot dealer in the history of the U.S.A., and one of the kingpins of Las Vegas casinos in the 1970's. But after their father was arrested and his hundred-million dollars had disappeared, they were left penniless, at the mercy of a Texas society that vilified them. With the help of their principled mother before her tragic death, and haunted by the shadow of their father, Dirty Darlings is a portrait of courage as three women attempt to re-assemble the shattered pieces of their lives.