Former Dixie Mafia Boss Seeks Release After 51 Years: A former head of the Dixie Mafia, who orchestrated the killings of a circuit court judge and his wife in 1987, and was suspected in the 1967 shooting that claimed the life of Sheriff Buford Pusser’s wife, is seeking release after 51 years in prison.
Kirksey McCord Nix Jr., now 80, serving a life sentence in Louisiana’s Angola State Penitentiary for the 1971 murder of a New Orleans grocery store executive, is pleading for release due to inadequate health care in prison.
While in Angola, Nix attempted to secure his release by running a “lonely hearts” scam targeting homosexual men. Personal ads were placed in national magazines, with Nix posing as a young man seeking a relationship. Respondents were duped into sending money, which ended up with Nix’s associates outside the prison.
In December 1986, Nix’s associate, Biloxi attorney Pete Halat, informed him that $100,000 was missing, suspecting Vincent Sherry, Nix’s former law partner, of theft. This suspicion led to the murder of Sherry and his wife, Margaret, in 1987.
Nix, Halat, and others were convicted in 1991 for federal crimes related to the Sherry murders. Nix’s subsequent trial in 1997, after Gillich turned state informant, resulted in additional convictions, including racketeering, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, and obstructing justice.
In 1967, Nix was a suspect in the shooting of Sheriff Buford Pusser and his wife in Tennessee. Although Pauline Pusser died, Buford survived, alleging the Dixie Mafia’s involvement, with Nix directly implicated. No charges were filed, and Nix remains silent on Pusser’s accusations.
Nix, incarcerated in the Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Oklahoma, seeks compassionate release, citing multiple health issues and his confinement to a wheelchair. The U.S. Attorney’s Office opposes his release, asserting adequate medical care and a continued threat to public safety.
Nix claims he is a changed man in his filing, emphasizing he no longer poses a threat to individuals or society at large. A ruling on his request is pending from U.S. District Court Judge Keith Starrett.
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Our Reader’s Queries
Are there any movies about the Dixie Mafia?
Check out Cornbread Cosa Nostra: The Dixie Mafia Story on Prime Video to dive into the world of the infamous criminal organization.
Who runs the Dixie Mafia?
Biloxi’s Strip was the headquarters for the Dixie Mafia, and Mike Gillich, Jr. reigned as their unofficial kingpin. Despite hailing from a large, impoverished Croatian family, Gillich rose from the Point Cadet neighborhood to amass a fortune as an entrepreneur along “The Strip”.
Is Kirksey Nix still alive?
Ransom, age 76, left federal prison in 2003 and came back to Atlanta. Nix is now in jail at the Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno.
What is the Dixie Mafia in Tennessee?
The Dixie Mafia, also referred to as the State Line Mob, held power over numerous rural counties in the Mid-South states of Tennessee and Kentucky. Carl Douglas Towhead White played a crucial role as a lieutenant within this notorious organization.