disinfozone/The_Info_Web
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull requests Projects Releases Packages Wiki Activity Actions

vault backup: 2026-09-22 17:42:28

Browse source
This commit is contained in:
disinfo.zone 2026-09-22 17:42:28 -04:00
parent 38d5eec140
commit 5b12b43bb6
No known key found for this signature in database
130 changed files with 821 additions and 367 deletions
Download patch file Download diff file Expand all files Collapse all files

39
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Jimmy Hughes.md
View file

@ -3,32 +3,39 @@ category: "Organized Crime"
tags:
- Person
- OrganizedCrime
- Mafia
summary: "Hughes admitted to a bloody past, stating he became a professional hit man for the Mafia after a six-year military career."
- Cabazon
- Wackenhut
- Honduras
summary: "Former security director of the Cabazon tribe's casino and bingo operations, later a missionary in Honduras, charged in 2009 with the 1981 murders of Fred Alvarez, Ralph Boger and Patricia Castro; the case was dismissed in 2010."
location:
- "Indio, California"
- "Honduras"
created: 2025-08-05
updated: 2026-09-22
---
[[Jimmy Hughes]] was a self-described "Mafia hit-man" and a former [[U.S. Army|Army]] Ranger. He was a key figure in the investigation of the 1981 triple homicide of [[Fred Alvarez]], [[Ralph Boger]], and [[Patricia Castro]] in Rancho Mirage, [[California]]. Hughes was arrested on September 26, 2009, at Miami-Dade International Airport on a fugitive warrant from the [[California Attorney General's Office|California DOJ]] for three counts of murder and conspiracy to commit a crime.[^1]
### Criminal Activities and Government Connections
James "Jimmy" Hughes was the security director of the casino and bingo operations of the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation|Cabazon Band of Mission Indians]] for four years, until 1984.[^1] In a statement to investigators reported by the *Los Angeles Times* in 1985, he said that in the summer of 1981 he had been instructed, in the presence of the tribe's financial adviser [[Dr. John Philip Nichols]], to take 25,000 dollars to Idyllwild and give it to a man as partial payment for the killing of [[Fred Alvarez]].[^1] He later described himself as a former Army Ranger who had become a "Mafia hit-man," said he had worked for the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] abroad and been protected by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] in exchange for information, and alleged that Nichols issued murder contracts and that the tribe's gambling enterprises were fronts for government-sanctioned covert military activity and arms shipments to Central and [[South America]].[^2]
Hughes admitted to a bloody past, stating he became a professional hit man for the Mafia after a six-year military career. He claimed to have killed numerous people, including half a dozen at a party when he was paid to kill only one man. He also stated that he worked for the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] in covert missions outside the [[United States]] and that the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] protected him in exchange for information, placing him in a [[Witness Protection Program]].[^1]
### The Alvarez Murders
Hughes was the security director of the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation]] and Bingo operations for four years until early 1984. He reported that he was instructed in [[Dr. John Philip Nichols]]' presence to take $5,000 as partial payment for the [[Fred Alvarez|Alvarez]] killings. He later alleged that [[Dr. John Philip Nichols]] was involved in criminal activities, including issuing contracts to commit murder, and that the gambling enterprises were fronts for U.S. government-sanctioned covert military activities and arms shipments to Central and [[South America]].[^1]
Fred Alfred Alvarez, 32, a Cabazon tribal leader, [[Ralph Boger|Ralph Arthur Boger]], 42, and [[Patricia Castro|Patricia Roberta Castro]], 44, were shot dead at 35040 Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage, [[California]], in 1981.[^3] Alvarez's sister Linda said her brother "was afraid for his life because his mailbox had been shot out and his motorcycle had many unexplained breakdowns and missing parts." Alvarez told Paul Zalis of the *Indio Daily News*, "I'm living in a hovel while all these guys are getting rich off the casino," and told its editor, Jim Lycett, twice, "I just know too much, and they're going to kill me." He was killed before a meeting at which he was to hand evidence to the attorney Stephen Rios.[^1][^4]
Hughes outlined his military training, including Rangers and Delta Force, which transformed him into an "elite soldier." He claimed to have specialized in plastic explosives and as a sniper. He also stated that he was trained to defend his country and fight enemies of democracy and freedom, but later sold his "talent for gifts or money" to the Mafia, murdering individuals for sums ranging from $5,000 to $50,000.[^1]
The tribe had entered a joint venture with the [[Wackenhut Corporation]]. [[Peter Zokosky]], former president of a nearby munitions plant, said Wackenhut asked him to write a proposal "to build an arsenal and manufacture tank ammunition on tribal land"; a former Wackenhut spokesman, Patrick Cannan, said the venture was formed "to win government security contracts," "fizzled when it failed to get bids," and to his knowledge "did not involve weapons." [[Michael Riconosciuto]] and [[Robert Booth Nichols]] (no relation to John Philip Nichols) alleged in separate filings that it was meant to develop night-vision goggles, machine guns and chemical and biological weapons for the [[Contras]]; Booth Nichols said he withdrew "because Wackenhut didn't provide State Department approval." A 1995 tribal history portrayed Alvarez as "a renegade involved in criminal activity" and denied tribal involvement in his death.[^4]
### Arrest and Legal Proceedings
### Arrest and Dismissal
[[John Powers]], a Detective at the Riverside Sheriff's Department, was officially present at Hughes' arrest to confirm his identity. Powers obtained a Governor's Warrant to bring Hughes back to [[California]]. The [[California State Attorney General]] is prosecuting the case because the current Riverside County district attorney, [[Rod Pacheco]], is a second cousin of Hughes.[^1]
In 2008 Boger's daughter, [[Rachel Begley]], recorded Hughes with a hidden camera at a religious conference saying that Alvarez died in a "mafia hit" that was "a lot bigger than the murder of this guy or that guy."[^4] In August 2009 the [[Riverside County Sheriff's Department]], after a joint investigation with the state attorney general's office, obtained a warrant, whose supporting affidavit was sealed. A felony complaint alleged that the murders were a hit orchestrated by the casino director and the tribe's financial adviser to cover up illegal activity on the reservation, and that Hughes conspired with the adviser and others and did the shooting himself. Hughes, by then a minister, was arrested on September 26, 2009, at Miami-Dade International Airport. He waived extradition on December 3, 2009.[^2] The attorney general took the prosecution because the Riverside County district attorney, [[Rod Pacheco]], was a distant cousin of Hughes.[^1][^3] The lead detective, [[John Powers]] of the sheriff's department, said: "What Fred was doing was trying to get rid of the Nichols family out of Cabazon. That is what got him killed because there was literally millions of dollars at stake," and "If it was the story Jimmy gave back in 1985, we wouldn't be charging him with murder."[^4]
Hughes waived extradition in court on December 3, 2009, and was brought back to [[California]]. However, the case was later dismissed on July 1, 2010, by Deputy Attorney General [[Mike Murphy]], who stated that new information had been developed that was not known to law enforcement when the charges were filed. Hughes was set free, despite [[John Powers]]' belief in his guilt and [[Rachel Begley]]'s strong opposition.[^1]
Hughes was held without bail for nearly nine months. On July 1, 2010, Deputy Attorney General [[Mike Murphy|Michael Murphy]] told Riverside Superior Court Judge Dale Wells, "We have lost confidence in our ability to proceed with the prosecution of this case," and the charges were dismissed without prejudice. Begley told Hughes in court that she would "not give up seeking the truth and justice for my dad"; Powers said he would "resubmit the case every day, to anyone who'll be willing to hear it." Hughes's son said the family would return to [[Honduras]] "in good time."[^3][^5]
### Religious and Political Connections
### Honduras
Hughes joined FGBMFI ([[Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International]]) in 1987 and subsequently founded Jimmy Hughes Ministries – Free the Oppressed in [[Honduras]]. He openly admitted his past as a Mafia hit-man on the FGBMFI website. He was a high-standing member of FGBMFI and a keynote speaker at a dinner event in Fresno, [[California]], in February 2008, alongside General [[Daniel Lopez Carballo]] of [[Honduras]].[^1]
Hughes joined the [[Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International]] in 1987 and founded Jimmy Hughes Ministries, Free the Oppressed, in Honduras, where he ministered to and trained military personnel at Zambrano. In February 2008 he spoke at a fellowship dinner in Fresno, California, with General [[Daniel Lopez Carballo]] of Honduras. He was alleged to have been involved in planning the June 2009 [[Honduras coup|coup]] that removed President [[Manuel Zelaya]]; its leaders, Generals [[Romeo Vasquez Velasquez]] and Lopez Carballo, who installed [[Roberto Micheletti]], were members of the fellowship and friends of Hughes.[^2]
Hughes' ministries operate in Zambrano, [[Honduras]], where he ministers to the military and trains military personnel. He was allegedly involved in the planning of the [[Honduras coup]] in June 2009, which ousted President [[Manuel Zelaya]]. The interim de-facto president of [[Honduras]], [[Roberto Micheletti]], was placed in office by coup leaders General [[Romeo Vasquez Velasquez]] and General [[Daniel Lopez Carballo]], both friends of Hughes and members of FGBMFI.[^1]
---
### Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^1]: "California authorities believe an unsolved 1981 triple murder was a hit job," Associated Press, September 2009 (Fox News mirror), citing the *Los Angeles Times* of 1985 (not examined) and state attorney general's spokesman Evan Westrup. https://www.foxnews.com/story/unsolved-1981-triple-murder-in-california-was-hit-job-authorities-say.amp ; "Authorities say triple tribe murder was hit job," Associated Press, September 2009. https://www.foxnews.com/story/authorities-triple-tribe-murder-was-hit-job.amp
[^2]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010.
[^3]: "Jimmy Hughes Speaks To KESQ After Charges Dropped," KESQ News Channel 3, Palm Springs, July 2, 2010. https://kesq.com/news/2010/07/02/jimmy-hughes-speaks-to-kesq-after-charges-dropped/
[^4]: Taxin, Amy, with Jennifer Kay. "Arrest in 1981 tribal murders revives old mystery." Associated Press, in *The Press Democrat,* November 22, 2009. https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2009/11/22/arrest-in-1981-tribal-murders-revives-old-mystery/
[^5]: "Murder case against preacher abruptly dropped in mysterious 1981 California tribal slaying," Associated Press, July 2010 (Fox News). https://www.foxnews.com/us/murder-case-against-preacher-abruptly-dropped-in-mysterious-1981-california-tribal-slaying