Oscar Goodman fancies himself a cult figure, in the sense he has engendered a cult following.
“There are people who keep showing up to hear my stories,” said the former mayor of Las Vegas and the city’s longtime “mob lawyer.” “And I’ll never run out of stories.”
Safe to say, he won’t run out of stories about Jimmy Chagra.
Up next for Goodman on his mini-tour of Vegas speaking engagements is a discussion about Chagra’s fanciful life as a high-stakes gambler and his highly theatrical legal battles. “Oscar’s Case of the Century: The Life and Crimes of Jimmy Chagra,” which also might be the case of this century, is set for May 28 at the Mob Museum.
The presentation is the latest in the Mob Museum’s Courtroom Conversations series. The moderator is Mob Museum Director of Content Geoff Schumacher. Co-hosting with Goodman is Las Vegas author and screenwriter Jack Sheehan. The Las Vegas writer is the only person ever to film an interview with the man whose name was changed to James Madrid while assigned to the Federal Witness Protection Program. That happened in 2006 in Mesa, Ariz., two years before Chagra’s death.
Goodman, of course, also is an expert on Chagra, as he represented the reputed drug kingpin when Chagra was accused of running one of the largest pot-smuggling operations in the United States. In a story that stars the man Sheehan once said “could play the lead role in ‘The Sopranos,’ ” Chagra hired Charles Harrelson to kill Judge John Wood, known as “Maximum John.” Harrelson was the father of actor Woody Harrelson.
(Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorists long have claimed Charles Harrelson actually fired on the president at Dealey Plaza on Nov. 22, 1963, a tidbit that might make it into the talk at the Mob Museum.)
If Chagra was the lead character in this fit-for-film saga, Goodman certainly has a prominent supporting role. His “miracle” defense of Chagra led to an acquittal.
“It’s almost an unbelievable case,” Goodman said. “It’s the type of story you can keep revisiting, and people who have never heard it are just fascinated by it.
“We will have 90 minutes,” Goodman continued, “and when you have 90 minutes with three people telling stories about Jimmy Chagra, time really flies.”
One of the stories recounted by Sheehan seems pulled from a script. Chagra once ordered Frank Sinatra to move from his suite at Caesars Palace — which happened to be called the Sinatra Suite — because Chagra and his entourage needed room to party. The casino made the move because even as Sinatra was selling out the Circus Maximus showroom, the hotel was making more money from Chagra’s betting losses.
Goodman is scheduled for another Chagra talk June 11, during his dinner series presentation at the Plaza. Goodman has built a loyal following of friends and fans and even some former clients at these dinner talks.
“This is a good night with good food, right off the menu,” he said. “This is not a rubber-chicken dinner.” (The dinner costs $150 per person; call 702-386-7227 for reservations.)
Goodman clearly has relished his 30-minute talks, which invariably stray from the announced topic. For instance, his memories of Caesars Palace and Circus Circus founder Jay Sarno veered into a discussion of Nevada’s Black Book, a list of people prohibited from entering a casino.
“I don’t know if we’ll go with Chagra again, so close to what we’re doing at the Mob Museum,” Goodman said, as if restructuring plans for the night while he spoke. “People might be getting too much Chagra.”
Either way, Goodman will be holding the mic, as usual, and in this scene, you can never get too much of that.
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