- Kirksey Nix
Kirksey McCord Nix, Jr. was reputedly the leader of the
Dixie Mafia . [The Sun Herald, "The Dixie Mafia:Sheriff Leroy Hobbs, Drugs and Murder", Gene Swearingen and Anita Lee,September 15, 1990] [ [http://www.insideprison.com/prison_gang_profile_DXM.asp Dixie Mafia: Prison Gang Profile] ]He was a suspect in the assassination attempt on Sheriff
Buford Pusser and in the death of Buford's wife onAugust 12 ,1967 . [The Sun Herald, "The Dixie Mafia:Sheriff Leroy Hobbs, Drugs and Murder", Gene Swearingen and Anita Lee,September 15, 1990]In 1972, Nix was convicted of murdering Frank Corso a
New Orleans grocery executive in a break-in at the man's home, and began serving a life sentence without parole. [Ibid.] [ [http://www.insideprison.com/prison_gang_profile_DXM.asp Dixie Mafia: Prison Gang Profile] ]Nix was later involved in the 1987 murder-for-hire killing of
Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife Margaret, inBiloxi, Mississippi . His conspirator, Biloxi MayorPete Halat , had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from Nix and blamed it on his law partner, Vincent Sherry. Nix ordered a hit from prison and was later sentenced to isolation for the rest of his life. Nix has repeatedly refused to comment about Pusser's claims that he was one of his wife's killers.According to an
October 20 ,1999 appeal from the United States District Court For the Southern District of Mississippi, "while serving a life sentence for murder atAngola State Penitentiary , Nix built a criminal empire from which he hoped to earn enough money to buy his way out of prison. Although he dabbled in insurance fraud and drug dealing, Nix’s primary money-making scheme was a “lonely hearts” scam designed to defraudgay men. Nix and his prison syndicate would place personal advertisements in national gay-themed magazines. When men would respond to these ads, Nix or one of his associates would indicate that he was having financial difficulties and needed the respondent to wire money to a Nix associate outside prison. Nix acquired hundreds of thousands of dollars from this scam." [ [http://www.edwardhumes.com/articles/mudappeal.shtml Cases No. 97-60263 and 97-60704, "Appeals from the United States District Court For the Southern District of Mississippi," UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS For the Fifth Circuit, October 20, 1999.] ]Nix is currently incarcerated at a federal facility in Colorado.
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