The Aransas Pass Progress (Aransas Pass, Tex.), Vol. 108, No. 47, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 22, 2017 Page: 4 of 12
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Aransas Pass Progress and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Ed & Hazel Richmond Public Library.
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Aransas Pass Progress
Wednesday, November 22,2017
Page 4
ACTOR’S HIT-MAN FATHER MURDERED FEDERAL JUDGE
By Bartee Haile
Berg, brother of a promi-
nent Houston attorney. Pros-
ecutors tried to convince an
Angleton jury that a female
accomplice lured the unsus-
pecting Berg from a lounge
and delivered him gift-
wrapped to a waiting Har-
relson, who knocked him out
and stuffed him in the trunk
of a car. Driving to a remote
location, he shot the helpless
victim once in the head and
strangled him to death with
his bare hands for the $1,500
in blood money paid by a
business rival.
If any attorney other than
the celebrated Percy Foreman
had defended Harrelson, he
likely would have languished
in prison for the cold-blood-
ed crime. But Foreman, who
lost only one client to the
electric chair in his entire
career, won a jaw-dropping
acquittal.
The second Lone Star State
slaying happened in Novem-
ber 1968 just six months after
the Berg killing. Pete Thomas
Scamardo took out a $2,000
contract on the life of Hearne
grain dealer Sam Degelia Jr.,
his partner and a close friend
since grade school.
Harrelson was also in
business with Scamardo at
the time distributing the
heroin the supposedly legiti-
mate businessman smuggled
across the border from Mex-
ico. To make up for the loss
of a load of the white powder
in a Kansas City traffic stop,
he took care of Degelia in
much the same way he had
dispatched Berg.
But both parties were
careless and left a clear trail
of bread crumbs leading in-
vestigators straight to them.
Harrelson and his paymaster
were tried separately for the
murder of Degelia with dif-
ferent yet equally unexpected
outcomes due to the fact they
retained the same attorney,
Percy Foreman.
The verdict in Pete Sca-
mardo’s trial was practically
unprecedented. Jurors had no
trouble believing he was re-
sponsible for the Degelia kill-
ing but let him off scot-free
with seven years probation.
At Harrelson’s trial, Fore-
man sprang one of his trade-
mark surprises: a nightclub
singer, who swore the defen-
dant was with her the night of
murder. Her bombshell testi-
mony created enough doubt
in one juror’s mind to dead-
lock the jury.
The retrial promised to
be an instant replay, until the
singer heard a Texas Ranger
was waiting at the court-
house with a warrant for her
arrest for perjury. She fled
the country for a Caribbean
island with no extradition
treaty leaving Harrelson to
face the music.
The best Foreman could
do for him was a 15-year pris-
on term, not bad considering
the prosecutor demanded the
death penalty. With generous
time off for “good behavior,”
the convicted hit-man was
out in five.
Harrelson had been back
in circulation merely a year,
when he shot down U.S. dis-
trict Judge John H. Wood Jr.
in the parking lot outside his
San Antonio townhouse on
May 29, 1979. The price tag
for this historic hit, the first
murder of a sitting federal
judge in the twentieth centu-
ry, was a quarter of a million
dollars.
Harrelson and his em-
ployers, the drug-smuggling
Chagra brothers of El Paso,
were prosecuted for the sec-
ond highest profile murder
in Texas history. The most
severe punishment by far was
reserved for the triggerman,
who received two life sen-
tences.
Minutes after the fatal
shooting of President Ken-
nedy on Nov. 22, 1963, Dallas
police found a trio of unusu-
ally well-dressed tramps in
a boxcar behind the “grassy
knoll” and marched them
single-file through Dealey
Plaza.
A
n
Bartee Haile
relson became a hit-man for
the Mafia in order to pay off
his gambling debts. The body
count was said to have totaled
in the neighborhood of 50 ac-
cording to informed sources
and Harrelson’s own boasts,
but a Mafioso speaking from
the safety of the “witness pro-
tection program” has disput-
ed that number.
“He may have been in-
volved in that many killings,
maybe driving the car or
something, but he only car-
ried out maybe six killings
himself.”
Of those half dozen ho-
micides, three were commit-
ted in Texas, and Harrelson
stood trial for each. The first
was the May 1968 slaying of
carpet salesman Alan Harry
Photographers
several pictures of the pass-
ing parade. In the ensuing
years, the youngest and tall-
est of the three was identi-
fied by assorted laymen and
at least one forensic expert
as Charles Voyde Harrelson,
a notorious killer-for-hire
and father of popular actor
Woody Harrelson.
Born in the East Texas
community of Lovelady in
1938, Harrelson went to Cali-
fornia in his early 20s where
he sold encyclopedias door-
to-door in the daytime and
gambled all night. It was in
The Golden State in 1960 that
he was convicted of his first
felony - armed robbery.
Later that decade, Har-
snapped
Harrelson’s claim he took
part in the Kennedy assassi-
nation, which he made while
high on cocaine during an
armed standoff prior to his
capture, renewed public in-
terest in the “tramp photo.”
Before his death from natural
causes in the Colorado Su-
permax in 2007, he explained
the wild statement was noth-
ing more than “an effort to
elongate my life.”
Thoughtful
giving for Thanksgiving
dence and official ratification
of the US Constitution. To-
day, we continue to celebrate
the season of Thanksgiving
by coming together to share a
special meal with family and
friends.
During this holiday sea-
son, it is important to remem-
ber that there are many who
do not have this connection or
who are in need of assistance.
Thankfully, there are commu-
nity programs who ensure the
citizens of the Coastal Bend
can partake in the holiday cel-
ebrations. Many of these orga-
nizations rely on the support
of community volunteers and
donations.
The Coastal Bend Food
Bank (CBFB), formerly
known as the Food Bank of
Corpus Christi, is a nonprofit
organization that has fought
hunger in 11 counties of the
Coastal Bend since 1982. They
disperse food and personal
care products to over 400,000
people per year. The CBFB
mostly relies on food dona-
tions from wholesalers, pro-
ducers, growers, retailers, and
retailers. They are in need of
support from the community
as a whole, as well. Organiza-
tions or individuals can help
the CBFB accomplish their
mission by hosting or spon-
soring a food drive, making a
monetary donation, or volun-
teering. To learn more about
ways you can help, please visit
https://coastalbendfoodbank.
org/.
please visit https://1360kktx.
iheart.com/calendar/event/5a
0c92b7ff4cd75cd9e57c21/.
There are many ways you
can help feed the hungry,
not just this Holiday Season,
but year around. Other local
food pantries, like the Corpus
Christi Food Pantry and As-
sistance and local churches,
are always in need of ample
supply of nutritious, non-per-
ishable foods such as: meals in
a can (stew, chili, soup), tuna
/ canned meat, peanut butter,
canned foods with pop-top
lids, low sugar cereals, 100
percent fruit juices in single
serving boxes, canned fruit
packed in juice, and canned
vegetables (low salt).
During this year’s holiday
season, I hope you will join
me in finding ways to help
those less fortunate than us
have a safe and happy Thanks-
giving. No matter how you
choose to help, it is impor-
tant to remember that even
the smallest contribution can
make a large impact to some-
one in need.
By Todd Hunter
The first official United
States (U.S.) proclamation
for Thanksgiving was issued
by President George Wash-
ington in 1789. The procla-
mation urged Americans to
give thanks and celebrate the
successful conclusion of the
long-fought war for indepen-
If you have questions re-
garding any of the informa-
tion mentioned in this week’s
article, please do not hesitate
to call my Capitol or District
Office. Please always feel free
to contact my office if you
have any questions or issues
regarding a Texas state agen-
cy, or if you would like to con-
tact my office regarding con-
stituent services. As always,
my offices are available at any
time to assist with questions,
concerns or comments (Capi-
tol Office, 512-463-0672; Dis-
trict Office, 361-949-4603).
On Thanksgiving day,
the 74th Annual Joe Salem
Thanksgiving dinner will
take place at Sokol Corpus
Christi Gym (5502 Kostoryz
Dr.) from noon until p.m.
This is a free event open to
the community. Donations
and volunteers are needed.
On Wednesday (11/22), they
need volunteers to help with
meal prepping.
They also need volunteers
on Thanksgiving (11/23) be-
ginning at 10:30 a.m. For
more details of the event,
■ iThe Aransas Pass
Progress
Publisher
John Bowers
publisher@aransaspassprogress.com
Editor
Norma L. Martinez
editor@aransaspassprogress.com
Bookkeeper
Maricela Benavidez
bookkeeping@aransaspassprogress.com
Production/Social Media Manager
Mikayla Oelschlegel-Gonzalez
production@aransaspassprogress.com
Home Country
As Snort trotted out into
the meadows and the hills
surrounding our valley, he
looked with perked ears for
cattle. That’s what Snort does
for a living.
anyway. And he’ll once more
be that young cowboy who
terrorized stray cattle so many
years ago.
He began kicking cows out
and heading them back to the
home pasture, and both he
and Snort watched and waited
for that one rogue that would
make the morning complete.
It was a black baldy cow
who made the dash for the
high-ups and Steve and Snort
were flying through trees
and over rock piles and fi-
nally headed her and turned
her back with the others. A
19-year-old cowboy couldn’t
have done it any better.
Steve smiled and reached
down to pat of Snort on the
neck. Thanksgiving can be
more than turkey and cran-
berry sauce.
By Slim Randles
Steve slowly saddled Old
Snort, and climbed aboard.
Kinda stiff this morning. He
pulled his hat down a little
lower and pulled the wild
rag up to cover his nose and
mouth from the morning
chill.
Delivery
Loren Vega
Steve knows when the
fall sun gets a little higher,
he’ll stretch and get younger.
His gray mustache will turn
brown again ... in his mind,
Legislators Forum Writers:
District 43 State Rep.J.M Lozano
Capitol Office 512-463-0463
District Phone - 361 -595-1550
How many mornings had
he done this over the years?
Texas Migration discussed
District 21 State Senator Judith Zaffirini
Capitol Office 512-463-0121
District Phone - 956-722-2293
an international border.
So, who exactly is moving
to Texas? As early as 2015,
Californians and Floridians
were first and second, respec-
tively, for their numbers mov-
ing here. In fact, during a time
in which Texas was gaining
net population, California lost
nearly 400,000 people. Texas
leads the country in growth
from other states.
Within Texas, counties
under 65,000 are gaining
population from other parts
of Texas, while larger counties
are gaining population from
other states. Overall, these
By T.M.Lozano
Those of us in the Coastal
Bend know the opportuni-
ties and quality of life living
in Texas affords. A new re-
port from the Comptroller of
Public Accounts Glenn Hegar
notes the rest of the nation is
catching on. Texas is in the
midst of a population boom
fueled by migration from oth-
er states and nations.
The Comptroller’s report
attributes our state’s popula-
tion growth to a number of
factors, many of which deal
with quality of life and busi-
ness opportunities. “Despite
the fluctuations in state and
national economies, busi-
nesses and their employees
continue coming to the Lone
Star State, attracted by its high
quality of life and business-
friendly tax and regulatory
structure.” Other positive fac-
tors include a low cost of liv-
ing, natural resources, central
location in the country and
locations close to the sea and
reports are good news, but
these population gains must
be matched with increased
resources for schools, roads
and other infrastructure. And
since not all counties are gain-
ing population, we must find
ways for all parts of the state
to share in the prosperity.
U.S. Rep. District 27 Blake Farenthold
(202) 225-7742
http://farenthold.house.gov/contact/email.htm
The Aransas Pass Progress
(USPS 028-900) is published by DeWitt County Publish-
ing LR, 346 S Houston St., Aransas Pass,TX 78336. Sec-
ond Class postage paid at Aransas Pass,TX. Postmaster:
Send address changes to The Aransas Pass Progress, P.O.
Box 2100 Aransas Pass,TX 78335.
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Subscription rates: Aransas and San Patricio
County, Cities of Port Aransas and Rockport-$39 per
year. Outside listed area-$49 per year.
Memberships:
National Newspaper Association, Texas Press
Association; South Texas Press Association; Texas Gulf
Coast Press Association; Aransas Pass Chamber of Com-
merce, Rockport Chamber of Commerce,
Ingleside Chamber of Commerce.
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Aransas Pass Progress
346 S. Houston, PO Box 2100
Aransas Pass,TX 78336
Phone: 361-758-5391
Fax: 361-758-5393
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Martinez, Norma L. The Aransas Pass Progress (Aransas Pass, Tex.), Vol. 108, No. 47, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 22, 2017, newspaper, November 22, 2017; Aransas Pass, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1143467/m1/4/?q=music: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ed & Hazel Richmond Public Library.