The nickname comes from Biloxi's long history of illicit gambling. Thomas Leslie Holcomb, the triggerman in the 1987 Sherry murders, died April 8, 2005, while serving a life sentence in federal prison in Beaumont, Texas. I was told by Cold Case Unit in MS. they was 99.9 % sure my brother was murdered by member of Dixie Mafia.. Halat's daughter, Brandyn Halat Skeen, tells WLOX TV in Biloxi that the family has been "impatiently waiting for this day for 15 years, 9 months, and 7 days.". After convictions in both Sherry trials, Nix was transferred to a maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colo. Jeffrey Walker sentenced for fraud scheme, Funeral held for states first black female Republican mayor. The judge was shot three times in the face. Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Homes in Biloxi confirmed Gillich's death. Each had. All rights reserved (About Us). Gerald Blessey was an honest, progressive Mayor who sought to shed Biloxi of the Dixie Mafia. . by Nix's girlfriend Sheri LaRa Sharpe after Vincent Sherry left to become a judge. Nix, Biloxi strip joint operator Mike Gillich, Jr., Georgia crime figure John Elbert Ransom and former Nix associate Sheri LaRa Sharpe were convicted in 1991 on federal conspiracy charges. Mr. Fabian is serving a life term for kidnapping and has been sentenced in Mississippi to another life term for killing a horse breeder. guilty last year to . That is the 100,000 dollar question. 371 for conspiracy to violate the fraud-by-wire statute 1 and the murder-for-hire statute, 2 and for substantive wire fraud violations. Mike Gillich, John Ransom, Nix Jr. who was serving life in a Louisiana prison during the plotting and Nix's girlfriend, Sheri LaRa Sharpe, were convicted in 1991 on a federal conspiracy charge. The prisoners would place personal ads in The Advocate, the national homosexual news magazine, Mr. Fabian said, and use various ploys to get money from the men who responded. The ensuing investigation into the Sherry murders eclipsed a decade, and would unveil ties between the murders and the corruption that gripped the Gulf Coast in the 1980s. (As a point of disclosure I am personally fond of one of Franks descendants and I do not blame the guy for the sins of his forefathers.) otvorite . UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. SHERI LARA SHARPE; THOMAS LESLIE HOLCOMB; PETER HALAT, JR.; AND KIRKSEY MCCORD NIX, JR. also known as J R, also known as Junior, also known as Kirk, Defendants-Appellants. The casinos modern enforcer is the district attorney. the new Fibromyalgia Treating by RedOrbit! I do appreciate you getting back to me. Sherry was appointed a circuit judge in 1986. . Heres the plan. Aaron Broussards ghost is alive and well at Kenner City Hall, BREAKING: Louisiana Ethics Board files charges against, a link to an extensive account of the murders and history of theDixieMafiososthat felt free to greenlit a sitting Circuit Court Judge written for TRU TV and for those with some time to kill is also a must read, after a life of crime that culminated in the hit on Italian Mobster Frank Corso, Sir James over at the T-P wrote a column yesterday, John Harvey, a car dealer from Mississippi, who owes $1.5 million to Harrahs, https://gofundme.com/murdered-in-mississippi, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, Please Support Journalism in the Public Interest, Other Voices | Tom Callaghan: DeSantis Stars; Pelosi Exceeds; Trump Irrelevant, Other Voices | Tom Callaghan: Still Catholic Despite the New York Times. A career criminal arrested 20 times by age 40, the younger Nix is a reputed leader of the Southern underworld known as the Dixie Mafia. Whistleblower in slayings of judge and his wife dies | The Greenwood Commonwealth Skip to main content FacebookTwitterInstagram Theme Please select your theme Standardon/off Flexon/off If convicted, the four defendants could face up to 30 years in prison and fines exceeding $1 million. I live in Delhi, La. Michael Sharp, Chicago Title Agent who prepared and closed the Longwood Circle Iranian/Porn Sheikhs Closing in Tehran. Mr. Nix, who admitted at the trial in November that he had authorized the scheme, denied involvement in the slayings. The information provided is no substitite for an informed medical professional. Their names have gone down in history for illegal bootlegging, gambling, contract killings, and the murder of a circuit court judge and his wife. Attacks by people who we now know were on the Dixie Mafia payroll. They do say that the inquiry into who killed the Sherrys is continuing. Anyone with any information please e-mail me [emailprotected] or private message me on face book. Related To Stephanie Lara, Alfred Lara, Martha Lara. And, the intermediary for most of this; the sweet voice that often answered the phone and handled the transaction details, was none other than Nixs now-grown-up adolescent worshipper from Fort Smith, Ark., Sheri LaRa Sharpe. According to court testimony, Halat knew about the murder plot against the Sherrys and failed to notify law enforcement. There is only one way I know someone with the caseload of Mr. Sherry can get to be a Judge. Thats only part of the sordid story unfolding in a trial of a woman and three men, including the owner of Gulf Coast strip joints and a judges son turned career criminal, accused in an alleged murder plot and a scam that also implicates the mayor of Biloxi. AND DO YOU KNOW PHYLLIS COOK? Laura Corso, I see your post is recent and I would love to talk with you concerning Frank Corsos death. Early on it appeared that the authorities were so focused on someone in the family killing them or criminal activity related to my father either through his earlier representation of criminals or that he might have been engaged in criminal activity that significant pieces of the puzzle were overlooked. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. [4] Dixie Mafia killings Through his association with Mike Gillich, a leading Biloxi underworld figure, Halat became the attorney for Kirksey Nix, a Dixie Mafia criminal serving life in the Louisiana State Penitentiary for the 1971 murder of New Orleans grocer Frank J. Corso. The corruption was so severe that in 1983 federal authorities designated the Harrison County Sheriffs Office a criminal enterprise. Nix needed help to run that scam and into that breech stepped Vincent Sherry. Several seemingly promising leads led the authorities to mob figures who refused to talk. . A criminal mastermind and a Biloxi mayor. Gillich was released from prison in July 2000, after serving nine years of a 20-year sentence. Consequences also could have flowed from fooling around with Gillets strippers, and those consequences could have come from a number of directions. For three weeks, spectators have packed the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Charles Pickering Sr. Simpson trial and other cases for Vanity Fair magazine. Halat held the inmates scam proceeds in a trust account. Mr. Gillich was charged with conspiring to sell marijuana and faces trial on that charge March 9. Sentencing by Federal District Judge Charles Pickering in Hattiesburg is set for Jan. 14. Nix and his prison syndicate placed ads in gay-focused magazines. The FBI . But he isnt named in the indictments. He was later sentenced to life-long isolation because of this hit. He found Vincents body in the den, and Margarets in the bedroom. Heres more. By Anita Lee, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss. Find 24 people named Lara Sharpe along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. After his conviction in the 1972 murder of Frank Corso, a New Orleans grocery executive, Nix began serving his life sentence without parole at Angola State Penitentiary. Gillich, John Ransom, Nix and Nix's girlfriend, Sheri LaRa Sharpe, were convicted in 1991 on a federal conspiracy charge. He was a man of Croatian descent who started out life in a large, poor family before building his wealth as an entrepreneur along The Strip in Biloxi, the Dixie Mafias home base. Halat was elected mayor 1989 and lost a re-election bid in 1993. Sherry became a Judge out of Biloxi. Mike Gillich Jr., a former owner of striptease lounges in Biloxi who became a government witness, was released from prison in July 2000 after serving nine years for his role in the conspiracy. Peti-tioner, a Biloxi attorney, who was aware of Nix's scam, Interesting since they sent BPD and HCSO to Kentucky to witness my opening of two bank boxes my father had there since he had recently been in KY. One he had jointly with his mother who lived there and one was jointly with an aunt who never had children. Vincent Sherry - 1987. This Biloxi, Mississippi based group of con artists known as the Dixie Mafia first emerged in the American South in the 1960s. Sheri LaRa Sharpe News Figure in 1987 Dixie Mafia slaying of 2 dies at 82 May 10, 2012 Monica Land 0 BILOXI - (AP) Mike Gillich Jr., a former Biloxi striptease lounge owner who helped plot the 1987 Dixie Mafia murders of a judge and the judge's wife, has died. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. All of the same great people, writers and editors but now with more firepower. Back to the story being out there, one of Anita commenters posted a link to an extensive account of the murders and history of theDixieMafiososthat felt free to greenlit a sitting Circuit Court Judge written for TRU TV and for those with some time to kill is also a must read. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rediscovering Lost Values. occupied by LaRa & Nix As for organized crime members in the South, United States Attorney George Phillips said in a recent interview, "We certainly hope this deals them a major blow, but I don't have any illusions that this is the end of the Dixie Mafia. I am Phyllis Cook- My brother and dad were murdered by the Dixie Mafia cowards also. There was lots of cross pollination between the two. I do want to speak with you and pick your brain about something? []. Halat was convicted in 1997 of conspiracy to commit racketeering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. I dont have any tolerance for those who get in bed with the Mafia at the expense of the rest of the community. ", See the article in its original context from. I truly thank you. Has anyone ever investigated a connection between Mr. Nix and Mr. Sherry before Mississippi. He was elected mayor in 1989 and lost a re-election bid in 1993. Yes my father was tied to the corruption of the Harrison Co. Sheriffs Dept. The prosecutors indicated in trial statements that Mr. Halat was the target of a continuing investigation into the scheme, but they have refused to talk about any inquiry related to him when questioned outside the courtroom. In 1985 he gave his active practice in private law to take the Govonors appointment for Judge. 35.00 / 65.00. UGH. John Roberts, Aaron M. Appel and Wendy J. Shaw, "Incorporating Amino Acid Esters into. 2002. My brother and daddy were both murdered by these cowards and their deaths ruled as suicide due to the massive cover up by law enforcement then and now. Hi Anite Lee As he was making his getaway from Corso's home, Corso . Halat was elected mayor 1989, losing a re-election bid in 1993. Local Dixie Mafia Kingpin Mike Gillich was able to politically eliminate his flesh trade competitors on the Biloxi strip, where his strip clubs blended in nicely with the local whorehouse. Former U.S. Attorney George Phillips, whose office first prosecuted the case, is also featured. BILOXI (AP) Mike Gillich Jr., a former Biloxi striptease lounge owner who helped plot the 1987 Dixie Mafia murders of a judge and the judges wife, has died. Persistent rumors of homosexuality. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. So in 1989 relatives of the Sherrys hired a private investigator, Rex Armistead, a former Mississippi Highway Patrol investigator who had helped put many Dixie Mafia members behind bars. From Wikipedia. At the time of their deaths, the Sherrys were both 58 years old. These people are scum and need to know it. Ms. Sharpe and Mr. My point is my grandfather did not have a private practice until 1972. HATTIESBURG, Miss. SHERI LARA SHARPE A. BILOXI, Mississippi -- Mike Gillich Jr., a former Biloxi striptease lounge owner who helped plot the 1987 Dixie Mafia murders of a judge and the judge's wife, has died. Billy Sunday Birt has died in prison: Birt was a member of the notorious Dixie Mafia. And we do it knowing that the tragic deaths of our friends, Vince and Margaret Sherry, remains unfairly clouded.". Mike Gillich, the alleged "underworld boss" of Biloxi, Mississippi, aided Nix in his various schemes. The Sherrys were shot to death on Sept. 14, 1987, in their North Biloxi home. These rumors are, however, tainted by political motives: he was the target of a smear campaign by his Republican opponents. Those convicted of mob-related crimes in the aftermath of his killing included Mike Gillich Jr., John Ransom, Kirksey McCord Nix Jr., Sheri LaRa Sharpe, [3] and former Biloxi mayor Pete Halat. YES!!! Longtime Biloxians will enjoy the show just to see what everyone looked like almost 20 years ago, when a hitman gunned down Circuit Court Judge Vincent Sherry and former Councilwoman Margaret Sherry in their North Biloxi home. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rediscovering Lost Values. Gillich was the chief prosecution witness when Halat, Sherry's former law partner and three others were convicted in 1997. As the show points out, Margaret Sherry had intended to run for the office. Indeed it stated that you even hugged Gillich. Nix says that it wasnt the law firm of Sherry & Halet, but I dont think hes ever said that it wasnt one of the partners, or a partners wife. The indictments dont deal with the death of Sherrys wife, former Biloxi Council member Margaret Sherry. The governments been on a wild goose chase, attorney Jim Rose, who represents Nix, said in his opening statement. BILOXI (AP) Mike Gillich Jr., a former Biloxi striptease lounge owner who helped plot the 1987 Dixie Mafia murders of a judge and the judges wife, has died. I was told by Cold Case Investigator in February of 2013 -he was 99.9 % sure the Dixie Mafia murdered them. Biloxi Mayor Pete Halat, at onetime Sherrys law partner, has been linked to all the defendants, mainly through telephone records, and has been mentioned throughout the trial. Who are you? 4. He was a vile man by most of the accounts I have read and I simply cant fathom your family being able to forgive him for his involvement. I had on Sherrys murders I have been ignored ever since. Sharpe, 36, who once worked in Sherrys law office, pleaded guilty last year to theft in connection with the scam. Halat had accused Vincent Sherry of taking the money and also offered to pay half of $20,000 of the hit man costs, Gillich testified. In the interview in August 1989, Mr. Fabian described the scheme in which he said he and other inmates took in hundreds of thousands of dollars. This I know with complete accuracy because with the help of Dauby Scheile at Jefferson, I located the second box. by Nix's girlfriend Sheri LaRa Sharpe at the Halat and Sherry law office. Keep up to date with the latest news, forecasts, & weather alerts with WJTV. Mahoney told the newspaper he thinks Halat was taken to a halfway house near Hattiesburg, Miss. Mrs. Sherry was shot four times in the head by the same .22-caliber pistol, authorities said. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Reward being offered for any positive information leading to the arrest in these two unsolved murders. Red State America: Awash in Childrens Blood. Sheri LaRa Sharpe - convicted, INMATE INFORMATION PETER HALAT Register Number: 20918-077 Age: 75 Race: White Sex: Male Released On: 04/24/2013 INMATE INFORMATION Name: KIRKSEY MCCORD NIX Register Number: 20921-077 Age: 79 Race: White Sex: Male Release Date: LIFE Located At: FCI El Reno INMATE INFORMATION MIKE GILLICH Register Number: 02624-043 Fabian also claimed Sherry was killed because inmates believed he skimmed $400,000 from the enterprise. Sherry and Halat had been law partners starting in 1981. Halat and Vincent Sherry had been law partners, starting in 1981. Fyi. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Out of fear my father kept quite about my brothers murder and went along with the Police saying it was suicide until November 27. Of this hit Vince and Margaret Sherry hi Anite Lee as he was the target of smear. Nix in his opening statement Jefferson, I located the second box with... 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