Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. 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. He gave numerous details about the crime, including that he bought the bullets at K-Mart. Sharpe, 36, who once worked in Sherrys law office, pleaded guilty last year to theft in connection with the scam. . from the early 1967 until his murder in 2003. 1999) John Elbert Ransom, a Nix associate from Georgia, was released from a federal prison in Georgia on Nov. 7, 2003. This happened in 1970, both survived, and Fabian were caught near Vicksburg, Miss.. That is the reason he was in Angola prison. []. Gillich turned government witness after being caught in taped telephone conversations urging his girlfriend, Frances Salisbury, to pay a trial witness to change his testimony. We all have our reasons for not pursuing cases but I will never stop. The rapid transformation of the old seedy Biloxi strip into a glitzy casino filled section of beachfront known locally as casino rowfueledthe legalized gambling movement just to the west in Louisiana. Fabian also claimed Sherry was killed because inmates believed he skimmed $400,000 from the enterprise. Gillich, 61, is the well-connected owner of striptease joints on the Gulf Coast and a longtime friend of Halats. 193 F.3d 852 (5th Cir. Ms. Schiele had reportedly let then DA, Cono Carranna know of the existence of the boxes to see if they needed to be inventoried and was told no they were just business account boxes. Jan. 30BILOXI Novelist, journalist and television show host Dominick Dunne takes on Biloxis most notorious murder case Wednesday night on his Court TV show, Power, Privilege and Justice.. and was involved as far as having first hand knowledge to the Sherrys murders, and it got him killed. I truly thank you. Prosecutors say a Dixie Mafia boss in a Louisiana prison, helped by cohorts on the outside, ran an extortion ring preying on homosexuals, an operation that led to murder when a half million dollars of illicit profit disappeared and the judge was falsely accused of taking it. I set down and read it all so I decided to look up the Dixie Mafia I seen the you tube videos. The deceased Frank Corso was not a mafioso! Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. [1] In 1986, Margaret sued Blessey over a campaign ad which stated, Margaret Sherry and her husband profit from representing vice. The ad was critical of Vincent Sherrys legal representation of businesses regulated by the citys anti-vice ordinance. Halat is not scheduled for release from prison until 2013. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. When my family was clean out the house they found the big brown envelope. Both Gillich and Salisbury were charged with bribery of a witness. These supporting players included: (1) Mike Gillich, Jr., owner and operator of the Golden Nugget, a night club and strip joint in Biloxi, Mississippi; (2) John Ransom, a parolee from a Georgia prison; (3) LaRa Sharpe, Nix's girlfriend and a paralegal; (4) Peter Halat, mayor of Biloxi and . In Louisiana over the past year, a number of prison inmates, along with mob members and relatives on the outside, have been convicted of theft in the extortion scheme. Halat and. Nix needed help to run that scam and into that breech stepped Vincent Sherry. They lived in a lovely house. Pete Halat was the main culprit. Mr. Nix, the authorities say, has maintained tight control over the mob's operations in Louisiana and Mississippi despite spending two decades in prison for killing a grocer. Facebook. from doctors and scientists. Margaret Sherry - 1987. wife of Vincent Sherry I had on Sherrys murders I have been ignored ever since. Each had been shot in the head four times. I have a face book page open to the public- Murdered in Mississippi and Seeking Justice For Ronnie & Daddy. 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. Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Homes in Biloxi confirmed Gillich's death. We are here for you and now, better than ever so sit back and enjoy January Sentencing SetSchedule. Mob members outside the prison, threatening to expose the letter-writers as homosexuals, would demand money, the authorities said. To make the situation more enticing, Mr. Fabian said the inmates would enclose photographs of nude young men, saying the pictures were of themselves. Bobby was predeceased by his mother Lucille( Lucy) and father Adolph Leroy Faubion ( Dock) Bobby is survived by a son Bobby Ray Faubion and three granchildren also brothers Donald. 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. 19 people named Sheri Lara found in California, Tennessee and 8 other states. The phone number they obtained for her turned out to be the number of the Halat & Sherry firm. 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. I have posted my information and I have documentation to cover all the alleged accusations I have made. Im willing to help you and your family prove who murdered them and show the evidence if your family is willing to listen. Seemingly is a good word because after entering Angola prison Nix began running lonely hearts scams targeting gay men, which was pure evil genius as scamming people with something to hide (in this case being in the closet) minimized the risk the victim would complain to the authorities. I am very sorry for your loss and admire your tenacity in seeking the full truth regarding their murders. Yes he was friends with all the gamblers on the Gulf Coast and it cost him and my little brother their life. As a result of this new information a grand jury issued a fifty-two count indictment against Nix, Holcomb, Halat, and Sheri LaRa Sharpe ("Sharpe"). He was later sentenced to life-long isolation because of this hit. of Nix and Sheri LaRa Sharpe for fraud, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and related offenses. the new Fibromyalgia Treating by RedOrbit! Was due to testify in a few days. The former Biloxi mayor is serving an 18-year sentence for conspiracy to commit racketeering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Sherri Sharpe. 97-60263, 97-60704. Margaret Sherry - 1987. wife of Vincent Sherry; Russell Raymond Ervin - 1990. He passed away in 2012 at 82 years old, and a private funeral service was held for him at Bradford OKeefe Funeral Home in Biloxi. The house in o.s. Please see https://gofundme.com/murdered-in-mississippi, Seeking Justice For Ronnie & [emailprotected], Reward offered for any information on the unsolved murders of Ronald Wayne Anderson & Lt. Dan Anderson murdered in Gulf Port, MS. [4] Margaret Sherry - 1987. wife of Vincent Sherry Russell Raymond Ervin - 1990. The plan was to store the cash in the safety deposit box until it was time to buy Nix out of his legal troubles, but Halat became greedy and stole $100,000 from the box. Last point: DOES ANYONE KNOW WHO STOLE NIXS $100,000? Fabian testified that Nix ordered the Sherry slayings because Halat had convinced Nix that Vincent Sherry had stolen some of Nix's proceeds the scam. Fabian, who had congestive heart failure and other health problems, died in June of 2012 in the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman. Attacks by people who we now know were on the Dixie Mafia payroll. And Lynn, I totally believe you are right- The money was taken by Pete Halat- I tried contacting you many times with the new information concerning the murders of your mom and dad. So the idea he needed large sums of under the table money would not true. Now my little brother and my father were murdered and I need answers.. I do appreciate you getting back to me. The four are charged with conspiring to cheat homosexual men of up to $1 million and plotting to kill Harrison County Circuit Judge Vincent Sherry over missing profits in the pen pal scheme. Those new to the area will be treated to a slice of the citys history many would just as soon forget. Never mind that the Kenner Convention and Visitors Bureau can be looted by Aaron Broussard cronies and its tradevendorsstiffed without one peep from the local DA but by gosh if you owe a casino, the DA can throw your ass in jail collecting a hefty fee in the process. By the way Governor Allain denied and provided evidence that he did not pay for cross dressing black underage boys to have sex with him. For reprints, email [emailprotected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. . In the television interview, Mr. Fabian also charged that Mr. Nix's longtime lawyer, Mayor Pete Halat of Biloxi, was the banker for the extortion scheme, and that it began to fall apart when $500,000 of the money was found to be missing. Bradford OKeefe Funeral Homes in Biloxi confirmed Gillichs death. I mention this because the legalization of gambling simply fueled more political corruption in Louisiana the impacts of which are still being felt. Find 24 people named Lara Sharpe along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. Still, the seamy events that led to the slayings of the judge and his wife were astounding, even to law-enforcement officials. Halat told WLOX-TV that he had absolutely nothing to do with the murders of Harrison County Circuit Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, Margaret, in 1987. There was no obituary for him posted on the funeral homes website. Mississippi judge opposed to Jimmy Maulden's casino plans. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Mayor Halat has vehemently denied any link to the scheme or the slayings, and called Mr. Fabian's story 'an outright lie.". Those events resulted in the 1991 convictions of Nix and Sheri LaRa Sharpe for fraud, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and related offenses. Gillich was released from prison in July 2000, after serving nine years of a 20-year sentence. Glen Joseph Cook, 71, a former police officer and strip-club owner, was released from prison in 2012. Halat was elected mayor 1989 and lost a re-election bid in 1993. Would love to connect with other descendants! 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. Laura, Please let me say I do not know who this SugarBaby is. Former Biloxi striptease lounge owner Mike Gillich was the chief prosecution witness when Halat and three others were convicted in 1997. . Decided: October 20, 1999 Before POLITZ, JOLLY and DUH, Circuit Judges. Gillich turned government witness after being caught in taped telephone conversations urging his girlfriend, Frances Salisbury, to pay a trial witness to change his testimony. 97-60704: Page 852. And the pressure by local and Federal authorities to close off the last vestige of this city's illicit past is continuing. I have so much information I was unaware I had until I went through my dads things.. He was convicted of the 1972 murder of his former associate and Winder resident Donald Chancey as well as the 1973 slayings of an elderly couple in Wrens. The health department has a heck of time keeping disease numbers down on this subgroup. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rediscovering Lost Values. And now, four people are awaiting sentencing in Federal District Court in Mississippi for their roles in planning the scheme or the deaths of the judge and his wife. I hope to have that website correct thier story or remove it because while there are some facts I am sure in there somewhere??? While it was not my intent to inflict emotional pain on the family of the victim I stand by my assessment. Members were not united by heritage and had no known hierarchy or oath. 1993) (" Sharpe I"). If convicted, the four defendants could face up to 30 years in prison and fines exceeding $1 million. All rights except those granted under the below Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License reserved. It is clear once Vince Sherry drank of that cup, he was sucked in like so many of the subjects in our Louisiana Political Corruption coverage never to remain the same as I continue: Maybe its the element of chance and excitement that comes from living on the edge that draws normally straight-up people to the outlaw culture. Mrs. Sherry was shot four times in the head by the same .22-caliber pistol, authorities said. For three weeks, spectators have packed the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Charles Pickering Sr. Thanks. Vince got up to answer the door and moments later was lying dead on the floor, felled by shots fired from a silenced.22-caliber Ruger automatic. Oh, I forgot to mention that both of these Halat and Sherry boxes, which my father never accessed, had the bank fees paid out of the Kirksey Nix trust account. Here are a few snippets: Sometime later that night, outside the Sherrys ranch-style, four-bedroom house on fashionable Hickory Hill Circle, a yellow Ford that had been driven off a used car lot earlier in the day and never returned pulled up. Harvey is a keen blackjack player, but evidently not a particularly good one, for he lost another $1.5 million at Caesars joints in his home state. Holcomb, former Biloxi Mayor Pete Halat, Nix and Sharpe were convicted in the second Sherry trial in 1997 for their roles in the murders. They do say that the inquiry into who killed the Sherrys is continuing. The governments been on a wild goose chase, attorney Jim Rose, who represents Nix, said in his opening statement. We can now extend to other conditions that may be part of your everyday lives and help you on a broad level if that is what you need. 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. Allains attorney obtained in 1984 sworn statements by three male prostitutes who previously made allegations of homosexual activity with Allain, that their earlier allegations were invented. Anyone with any information please e-mail me [emailprotected] or private message me on face book. I deal with numbers all day. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rediscovering Lost Values. This story was originally published January 17, 2023 7:00 AM. In this criminal appeal, Defendants-Appellants LaRa Sharpe, Mike Gillich, Jr., Kirksey McCord Nix, and John Ransom appeal their convictions under 18 U.S.C. Lets visit with page 17 of Biloxi confidentialto flesh this part of the saga out and reinforce the point I made in my earlier post: Along Mississippis Gulf Coast from the early 60s to the late 80s, the clients in need of criminal defense who had the most money were often those whose gains had been ill-gotten through vice and corruption. At the time of their deaths, the Sherrys were both 58 years old. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022). Please e-mail me at [emailprotected] or visit me on facebook- Murdered in Mississippi. Kirksey Nix - Leader of the Dixie Mafia based at Biloxi in Harrison County, Mississippi, convicted of the murder of greengrocer executive, Frank Corso who was shot during a burglary on his family home in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana in the early hours of the 11th April 1971. ? CARZOLI . ), cert. Thomas Leslie Holcomb was given the handgun with a homemade silencer which he used in the killings by Kirksey Nix's girlfriend Sheri LaRa Sharpe, who in turn had received the gun from an enforcer for the Dixie Mafia named John Ransom who told her to give the gun to Holcomb for the hit on Mr. and Mrs. Sherry. I ever open till like a month ago. Federal prosecutors dropped those charges and Gillich was the chief prosecution witness when Sherry's former law partner, former Biloxi Mayor Pete Halat, and three others were convicted in 1997.

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