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The Truth About Woody Harrelson's Hitman Father

As a hitman, Charles Harrelson hung out with a pretty rough crowd, and one of his unsavory associates was Pete Scamardo. This not-so-upstanding citizen had acquired some heroin and wanted Harrelson to sell it for him. But when the cops pulled Harrelson over one day, the hitman was forced to ditch the drugs. Now, he owed Scamardo a favor.

So Scamardo asked his buddy to kill a guy named Sam Degelia Jr. Scamardo and Degelia were business partners who ran a grain business, and if Degelia happened to die prematurely, the company would collect a $100,000 life insurance policy, and about half of that might just mysteriously "disappear." In exchange, Scamardo would pay Harrelson $2,000 for his troubles.

Armed with a .25-caliber pistol (the same kind of gun used to kill Alan Berg), Harrelson dragged Degelia into an irrigation pump-house, forced the man to his knees, and then shot him point-blank. When the hitman was brought to court, Percy Foreman was on his side once again, and the lawyer brought in a nightclub singer who claimed she was with Harrelson on the night of the murder. Her testimony led to a hung jury, but when it came time for round two, the witness decided to disappears after she was threatened with arrest for perjury.

This time around, Harrelson was found guilty, but Foreman still managed to pull off a miracle by getting his client off with just 15 years. And after a bit of good behavior, Harrelson was walking the streets just five years later.

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Mittie Cheatwood

Update: 2024-06-17