El Paso, Texas - Drug kingpin Jamiel Alexander "Jimmy" Chagra, accused of leading a 1979 conspiracy to assassinate the federal judge set to preside over his drug trial, has died. He was 63.

Chagra, who was living in Mesa, Ariz., and had been battling cancer since November, died Friday, said his sister, Patsy Chagra of El Paso.

U.S. District Judge John Wood Jr. was fatally shot on May 29, 1979, outside his San Antonio home. Wood was known as "Maximum John" because of his tough sentencing of drug dealers. Chagra faced indictments on several narcotics conspiracy charges at the time of the judge's assassination.

Hit man Charles Harrelson, the father of actor Woody Harrelson, was convicted of murder and died in federal prison last year while serving two life sentences. Chagra was acquitted of most charges in Wood's death, including conspiracy, but he was convicted of obstructing the investigation and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Chagra also pleaded guilty in a failed 1978 assassination attempt on Assistant U.S. Attorney James Kerr and was sentenced to life in prison.

Three months after Wood's slaying, Chagra was convicted of masterminding an international drug-smuggling venture. He was sentenced to 30 years on drug charges and was freed on parole in 2003.

Chagra's third wife, Elizabeth, was found guilty of delivering $250,000 to Charles Harrelson to kill Wood. She was sentenced to 30 years and died in prison in 1997 of ovarian cancer .

Chagra's brother, Joe Chagra, served 6 1/2 years after pleading guilty in 1982 to conspiracy charges stemming from Wood's murder. He was killed in a car crash in 1996.