SOLVED: Roger Wheeler

Roger Wheeler

Fifty-five-year-old Roger Wheeler was a multimillionaire and owner of World Jai Alai. On May 27, 1981, he was gunned down at an exclusive country club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. On May 11, 1982, two men were gunned down in the gritty waterfront district of Boston, Massachusetts. One of the victims was reputed crime figure Brian Halloran. On August 3, 1982, at Miami International Airport in Florida, police checked the trunk of a suspicious Cadillac. Inside, they found the body of a Boston businessman, John Callahan.

The three cases initially seemed unrelated. They occurred in three cities thousands of miles apart. Years later, they are still unsolved. However, some authorities are convinced that they are connected. According to the local police, the link may be the gambling sport of jai alai.

Jai alai is big business and big betting. In the four states where it has been legalized, nearly $700 million is wagered annually. It is a fast-paced game with high-profit potential that would attract a daring investor like Roger.

After graduating from Rice University with a bachelor's degree in engineering, Roger formed the Standard Magnesium and Chemical Corporation. He later sold the company for $9.8 million and moved to Tulsa to begin his business empire, which grew to include six companies.

Roger was known as an aggressive and fiercely competitive businessman. In Tulsa, he was called "the millionaire with the Midas touch." He had holdings in electronics, oil, ranching, mining, and magnesium. He was chairman and CEO of the high-tech Telex Corporation.

In December 1977, three years before his death, Roger purchased World Jai Alai, a Miami-based company that operated Jai Alai arenas in Florida and Connecticut. According to his son, David, Roger tried to get 110% out of every deal and was usually successful. He was a self-made millionaire and did not start with anything. According to David, he would always compare business and life to a Monopoly game. He said, "Money is not everything, but it's the best way to keep score."

On Wednesday, May 27, 1981, Roger went to the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa. According to David, Roger was a very consistent person, and his schedule was well known. Every Wednesday, he played a round of golf at the club with three business associates. At 3:30 p.m. that day, two men drove into the club and parked seventy feet from Roger's Cadillac. They then waited for him to finish his golf game.

At 4:30 p.m., Roger's game ended. After getting a shower, he headed to the parking lot. He planned to return to his office that afternoon. As he walked across the lot to his car, one of the men exited their vehicle and followed him. As Roger got into his car, the man stuck a gun through the driver's window. Roger tried to fight him off but was shot in the face at point-blank range. It is not known if any words were exchanged between them.

Seconds after the murder, the killers sped away from the club and disappeared in the late afternoon traffic. By 5:00 p.m., the crime scene was cordoned off. Witnesses said the gunman concealed his weapon in a towel and paper bag as he calmly walked across the parking lot. According to Detective Michael Huff of the Tulsa Police Department, there was no evidence of robbery at the scene. Roger's wallet, filled with credit cards and nearly $1,000 in cash, and his expensive wristwatch were untouched.

After detectives analyzed the crime scene and other evidence, they ruled out the "age-old" theories of murder for hate, revenge, or something of a personal nature. Their investigation is now focused on a contract hit. Detective Huff thinks they are on the right track. They suspect that Roger's murder is related to World Jai Alai.

During the crime scene investigation, the detectives were puzzled to find four unspent .38-caliber bullets from the gunman's weapon on the ground near Roger's body. They may have been left behind as a signature or a warning from his killers. Detectives believe the killers were acting for someone else and that there are other people involved "up the ladder."

David believes the killers are intelligent, cunning, and calculating. He does not think they can stand the publicity. They cannot stand the pressure of people knowing who and what they are or the thought that someone might talk.

A year later, on May 11, 1982, a second gangland-style murder took place in Boston, Massachusetts. The target was Brian Halloran, a reported organized crime figure. Tulsa detectives learned that a few months earlier, in January 1982, he told the FBI that he had been offered the contract on Roger but turned it down. The offer occurred in January 1981. The man he claimed ordered the hit was John Callahan.

Callahan had been president of World Jai Alai before it was purchased by Roger. He was forced to resign because of reported links to organized crime. According to Detective Huff, Callahan indicated that he would lose a lot of money if Roger was not eliminated. This implied that he still had some connection to World Jai Alai.

On May 11, 1982, Brian and a friend, Michael Donahue, left Anthony's Pier 4 Restaurant on the South Boston waterfront to go to a 6:00 p.m. meeting. Outside, three men waited in a dark-colored sedan. As Brian and Donahue got in Donahue's car, the sedan approached them. The men in the sedan fired repeatedly at Brian and Donahue. The sudden broadside killed Donahue instantly. His car rolled across the street, and Brian, still alive, tried to make it back to the restaurant. One of the men in the sedan got out and fired at Brian again, killing him.

Detective Huff says Brian had substantial, truthful information that matched the details of Roger's murder. He felt it was too big of a coincidence for Brian to end up dead a year after Roger. He is certain that the two cases are connected.

Three months later, on July 31, 1982, there was a second fatal coincidence. On that day, Callahan flew to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Though he lived in Boston, he kept a condominium and a leased Cadillac in the Fort Lauderdale area. Detectives had tried to locate him in Boston to question him about Roger's murder. They were unable to find him. They later learned that Callahan made regular secret trips to Florida but have never learned why.

Eight hours after he arrived, Callahan's car was parked in a parking garage at Miami International Airport. Three days later, on August 3, a foul odor coming from the trunk caused a parking attendant to call the police. Inside the trunk was Callahan's decomposing body.

According to Lieutenant Michael Hammerschmidt of the Metro-Dade Police Department, the murder was not an amateur job; it was very professional. He says it is easy for these killers to commit murder and get away with it. Every step of the way, they know what to do and how to do it. At some point, it becomes second nature to them. They do it, and they walk away with no problems.

Callahan died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head. His car had been washed, vacuumed, and wiped clean, so the only evidence on the scene was the body itself and several unspent bullets reportedly found in the trunk. According to Lieutenant Hammerschmidt, it appeared that Callahan knew the people he was dealing with on the night of his death. Lieutenant Hammerschmidt and others involved in the Florida investigation believe all three cases are connected. He says there is information and evidence that links the cases together.

Callahan resigned as president of World Jai Alai in 1976 because of his supposed association with known organized crime figures. Two men tried separately to buy the company but were unsuccessful because they also had ties to organized crime. When Roger purchased the company in 1977, he received a letter warning him, "If you knew what was going on behind the scenes, you would not be involved. If I were you, I would get out quick."

Roger ignored the warning and purchased World Jai Alai for $50 million. He soon became concerned that his company was not making enough money to meet its bank payments. He speculated that organized crime members were working for the company and stealing money from it. He started to think about changing the company's leadership.

The Connecticut Gaming Policy Board investigated World Jai Alai after they became concerned that organized crime figures were involved in the company's operation. In 1980, Roger decided to sell the Jai Alai arena in Connecticut, hoping to cut off any potential organized crime links within the company. He later told his daughter that he wanted to sell the company.

Roger never expressed concern to David that his life was in danger. However, at one point, he reportedly became apprehensive about making trips to Connecticut and Florida. He began carrying a gun for protection. He had pilots check his corporate plane for bombs or signs of sabotage. He once had his pilot fly the plane around the airport to make sure it was safe. David wonders what Roger might have known, if anything.

Two months before his murder, Roger fired several key World Jai Alai employees, including the controller, treasurer, assistant treasurer, and corporate director of advertising. He also planned to replace the general manager.

One month before his murder, Roger told David something was "not right" at World Jai Alai. He sent David to Miami to check on the company's computer system and books and asked him to "keep his ears open." David and some investigators believe Roger was killed because he discovered employees skimming from the company. An analysis of the Connecticut arena's income from parking, drink, and food concessions showed strong evidence of skimming while Roger was the owner.

While they refused to be interviewed, officials of World Jai Alai have repeatedly denied any link to Roger's murder. Recently, in the settlement of a lawsuit filed by World Jai Alai, authorities admitted they had no hard evidence to support any claim of wrongdoing by the company or its employees.

Tulsa detectives feel that 46-year-old Johnny Martorano may have information helpful to the investigation. However, they have been unable to locate him. He is wanted for the crime of sports tampering on a warrant issued by the Boston office of the FBI. The warrant has been outstanding since 1979.

Lieutenant Hammerschmidt says that unless people open up and are willing to talk to the police, these cases will never be solved. He says that potential informants are not willing to tell the police a whole lot. They are afraid that, should they say the least little thing, they will be the next person found dead.

After Roger's death, one of his friends told David that "this type of murder" never gets solved. David refuses to accept that. He cannot let Roger rest until his killers are brought to justice. He says all it would take is one person to come forward with information that can help break the case.

CLUES

Both killers are white males. The gunman is 40 to 45 years old (in 1987), six feet tall, heavyset, with a large build, graying hair, and a black or salt-and-pepper beard. The driver also had a graying beard and was in his 40s (in 1987). He was darkly tanned and had salt-and-pepper hair. They were both wearing sunglasses. Their car was described as a mid-to-late 1970s vintage, four-door, copper, beige, or cream-colored Ford LTD, midsized or full-sized, with partial Oklahoma license number ST51.

Authorities believe John Callahan was involved in Roger's murder. Callahan was the owner of World Jai Alai until he was forced to resign due to his association with organized crime figures. A reported organized crime figure, Brian Halloran, told the FBI that Callahan had asked him to kill Roger, but he turned him down. Both Brian and Callahan were later murdered. It is believed that Roger's discovery of an alleged skimming operation at World Jai Alai may have been the motive for his murder.

At least eight taped telephone conversations were stolen from Roger's home on the day of his murder. Authorities believe the tapes could point to the person(s) Roger suspected were skimming from World Jai Alai's arenas.

Tulsa detectives believe that Johnny Martorano may have information helpful to the investigation. They have noted that he matched the sketch of the gunman in this case. He is wanted for the crime of sports tampering on a warrant issued by the Boston office of the FBI. The warrant has been outstanding since 1979.

UPDATES

When this case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries in August 1987, 39-year-old Luis Villageliu, a convicted murderer and alleged enforcer for a drug ring, was watching the broadcast with a friend. He allegedly told his friend that the police would never be able to pin the murder on him. Ironically, his friend turned out to be a police informant. Shortly after his alleged confession, Villageliu skipped bail on drug smuggling charges and vanished.

In January 1988, police identified Villageliu as a suspect in Roger's murder and several others, including John Callahan's. It was alleged that Villageliu was involved in an international scheme to fix games at World Jai Alai and that Roger was killed because he refused to go along with it. However, this theory has since been ruled out. It is not known if Villageliu had any actual connection to the case; he is believed to have died in Florida in 1995.

In January 1995, Johnny Martorano, then 55, was arrested in Massachusetts and charged with racketeering. In September 1999, he agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors and confessed to more than 20 murders, including Roger's and Callahan's. Martorano told investigators what they had long suspected: that Roger had been killed to prevent him from going to the police about a skimming operation at World Jai Alai.

Martorano was a member of the Winter Hill Gang, a group of Irish mobsters headquartered in South Boston. Whitey Bulger and Stephen Flemmi were the leaders of the gang. Callahan was an associate and financial adviser to the gang. He was close friends with Martorano, Bulger, and Flemmi. Brian Halloran, who was also a member of the gang, had told the FBI that Callahan had been friends with them for years. Detectives had previously discovered that Callahan had links to the gang.

In 1975, Callahan hired retired Boston FBI agent Paul Rico as vice president and security chief of World Jai Alai. Rico set up the skimming operation at the company, while Callahan, Bulger, and Flemmi helped run it. The operation skimmed $1 million a year from the company's parking lot and other revenues. Unbeknownst to Martorano, Bulger and Flemmi were FBI informants. Rico and another FBI agent, John Connolly, were their handlers.

When Roger became suspicious that someone was skimming from World Jai Alai, he began an internal investigation and questioned employees. Rico, Connolly, and Callahan became "nervous" and feared they would end up in jail. At one point, Callahan offered to buy the company from Roger, but Roger refused to sell. Callahan, Rico, and Connolly soon brought their concerns to Bulger and Flemmi. Flemmi believed that gang members who worked at World Jai Alai would "fold under the pressure" if Roger contacted the police. Callahan requested a hit on Roger, and Bulger agreed it was necessary.

Callahan, Bulger, Flemmi, and Rico then began to plan Roger's murder. In January 1981, Callahan, Bulger, and Flemmi met with Brian and tried to hire him to kill Roger. Callahan told Brian that Rico was the "inside man" who would help them set up the murder. Brian, however, declined the job.

Meanwhile, Roger continued investigating. He sent his son, David, to Florida to examine World Jai Alai's books and computer system. He fired several of Callahan's associates at the company. He questioned Rico's integrity and expressed concerns about Rico's associations with "underworld" characters.

Shortly after David's visit, Callahan, Bulger, and Flemmi hired Martorano and Joe McDonald, a fellow Boston mobster and hitman. McDonald agreed to help because Rico had helped hide him after he committed a murder. Martorano and McDonald were offered $50,000 for the hit.

Rico gave Martorano a physical description of Roger, a description and license plate number for his car, his home and business addresses, and his daily schedule. A few days before the murder, Martorano and McDonald flew from South Florida to Oklahoma City. They rented a car and drove to Tulsa. They stayed at the Trade Winds Hotel and studied Roger's routine. Flemmi shipped a handgun and machine gun to them from Boston via Greyhound bus.

While in Tulsa, Martorano and McDonald stole a car to use as their getaway vehicle. They originally planned to kill Roger at the Telex Corporation. However, they changed the location to the country club when they found a camera in the Telex Corporation's parking lot.

On the day of the murder, Martorano and McDonald put on beards and wigs, drove to the club, and parked near Roger's car. As Roger got into his car, Martorano approached and shot him once. The cylinder fell out of the gun, spilling live rounds next to the car.

Martorano and McDonald then drove off, abandoned their getaway car, and returned to their hotel. They dismantled the gun and dumped it in the Arkansas River. They also repackaged the machine gun and sent it back to Boston. After that, they flew back to Florida.

Martorano claimed that Bulger told him he killed Brian as a "favor" because Brian was cooperating with an FBI investigation into Martorano and the gang. Bulger's accomplice in that case was Kevin Weeks; he confirmed Martorano's story.

Martorano also confessed to Callahan's murder. He claimed that Connolly found out that Callahan was going to tell authorities about links between World Jai Alai and the Winter Hill Gang. Connolly told Bulger and Flemmi, and they asked Martorano to kill Callahan. Martorano said that on the day of the murder, he drove a van to Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport and picked up Callahan. After leaving the airport, he shot Callahan to death. He and McDonald then placed Callahan's body in the trunk of his own car and left it at Miami International Airport.

Unfortunately, McDonald died in 1997 before he could be charged. Martorano told investigators that he confessed after learning that Bulger and Flemmi, two of his closest Winter Hill Gang associates, were FBI informants. Another former gang member confirmed Martorano's story. The information Brian gave during his interview with the FBI also matched Martorano's confession. Investigators had suspected the gang since shortly after Roger's murder when they received a tip from a Massachusetts State Police detective that implicated them. Investigators had also suspected, even before the murder, that there was a link between the gang and World Jai Alai.

Investigators also found evidence that several Boston-based FBI agents, including Rico and Connolly, helped cover up Bulger and Flemmi's involvement in Roger's murder. This was done because Bulger and Flemmi were giving agents information about rival organized crime members, such as the Patriarca family. Several agents also took bribes from the gang.

Initially, Boston FBI agents told Tulsa detectives that they had ruled out a connection between the Winter Hill Gang and Roger's murder. They refused to let Tulsa detectives interview Bulger and Flemmi. Connolly reportedly rifled through case files and leaked information about the case and witnesses to gang members. Three of these witnesses (including Brian) were later killed. He refused to let the gang's members be photographed for photo lineups. He also gave Tulsa detectives false information to throw them off the trail.

Massachusetts state detectives suspected that Boston FBI agents made Bulger and Flemmi aware of hidden microphones and bugs placed on their phones. Tulsa detectives believed that the agents followed them when they came to Boston to investigate the gang's connections to World Jai Alai.

When Brian made his statements to the FBI, they claimed he was not credible because he could not corroborate his story. They also did not share his claims with Tulsa detectives. He asked the FBI if he could join the witness protection program because he feared that other gang members would kill him for cooperating with the authorities. His request was denied because they did not believe he was credible. They briefly placed him in a protected house, but he was later kicked out. Shortly afterward, he was murdered.

At one point, FBI agents invited detectives from Boston, Tulsa, Connecticut, and Florida to a meeting so that they could "help" them with their cases. However, according to Detective Huff, they only wanted to know about the detectives' sources so that they could help Rico in an upcoming case. Detective Huff believes the agents were trying to keep them from investigating further.

In September 2000, Bulger and Flemmi were charged with federal racketeering. They were accused of being involved in more than 20 murders, including Roger's. Connolly was charged with racketeering and obstruction of justice. Flemmi and Connolly were arrested, but the police were unable to locate Bulger.

On March 14, 2001, Bulger, Flemmi, and Martorano were charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in Roger's and Callahan's cases. Prosecutors stated that Callahan would have been charged with Roger's murder if he were still alive.

In March 2001, Martorano pleaded guilty to Callahan's murder. On May 3, he also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Roger's case. As part of his plea deal, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and agreed to testify against Bulger and Flemmi, among others. In September 2002, Connolly was convicted of racketeering and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. On October 14, 2003, Flemmi pleaded guilty to several murders, including Roger's and Callahan's, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In October 2003, Rico was arrested and charged with Roger's murder. He pleaded not guilty and died on January 16, 2004, while awaiting trial. In 2007, Martorano was paroled after serving 12 years in prison. He was then placed in the federal witness protection program. In 2008, Connolly was convicted of Callahan's murder. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Bulger fled in 1995 after being told by Connolly that he was about to be charged with racketeering. He eluded capture for years and ended up on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Finally, on June 12, 2011, he and his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, were arrested in Santa Monica, California, after a neighbor recognized them and contacted the FBI.

In June 2013, Bulger went on trial for racketeering in relation to 19 murders, including those of Roger, Brian, Michael Donahue, and Callahan. On August 12, he was convicted on 31 of the 32 counts and 11 of the 19 murders. He was sentenced to life in prison. On October 30, 2018, hours after he was transferred to a West Virginia prison, he was found beaten to death in his cell. He was 89.

A federal jury later awarded Roger's family $6 million in damages. Roger's son, Mark, and wife, Patricia, have since passed away.