I caught the last half of it today and didn't realize CC had profiled this case. John Mooney was interviewed extensively and actually maintains his innocence! I'm not sure what all he owned up to as I didn't see the first half but he was upset that he received a life sentence and said he thought he should get some time but didn't deserve that much so he basically said in protest he escaped from the minimum security prison where he was only to be recaptured years later after the case was profiled on UM. He even mentioned that he watched the UM segment and his wife was in the other room changing their baby and he made sure she wouldn't walk in and see him on tv. Has anyone else seen this episode and have any thoughts?

Yes Crystaldawn, I saw it today. Well Mooney, was definitly a soft spoken character. He actually looked better in that segment in my opinion than he looks now. He looks more frail now.

Well Mooney, kind of tried to have it both ways. He I think does say he didnt intend for Hardy to die and stuff. That he was surprised it happened. Apperantly the same day Hardy gave Mooney the eviction notice Mooney's dad passed away. That could have been what drove Mooney over the edge. He said he had his attorney draft up a new lease for the station that would have allowed Somebody's Pizza to stay there. Mooney said Hardy was mad because Mooney was cutting in on his profits by selling nickel budweiser beer while Hardy sold full price Pabst Blue Ribbon. Some might ask how Mooney made money on the beer. Well he didnt really lose money because he had a good friend that was a Budweiser Distributor that gave him special price on the b eer.

Mooney said that Elmo Florence was the handyman at the station complex and that Florence would fix his pizza ovens when they would break down. He said he was going out of town when he ran into Florence and Florence offered to give T.K., Mooney's new lease to sign. Mooney said he gave him the lease papers and went to Ohio for his dad's funeral. While he was gone, Hardy turned him dead. Mooney said he was shocked and scared. He said Florence had gone too far with it because Florence was trying to build up his reputation as a hitman. It was kind of interesting because there was lots of info on that case that was not on the UM segment. It actually made T.K. look more negative in the City Confidential segment than in the UM segment. I mean T.K. didnt deserve what happened but in some ways I think he was asking for it with his cut throat style of business.

Lee Eptling who was interviewed in the UM segment was also interviewed in the city confidential segment. I didnt know Eptling was actually considered a suspect originally and that he had words with T.K. The UM segment tried to make it seem like Eptling and Hardy got along very well but that wasnt the case. Hardy actually went behind Eptling's back trying to get the station complex months ahead of schedule. Hardy wasnt supposed to take over until the end of 1977 in his agreement with Eptling yet went behind his back so he could take it over in August.

It was obvious that Hardy was the one that started things with Mooney, not the other way around. But Mooney fought back. I just think that Hardy evicting him coupled with his dad's death the same day was just too much for Mooney and he snapped and went over the edge. But I do find it interesting how Mooney actually said "I deserved some time but not life in prison." I also didnt know that Mooney was nearly paroled in 2002. It was only after the DA's office and the parole board got flooded with calls that Mooney's parole was stopped. However I do think Mooney will get paroled eventually. It is interesting though there is still a relatively large chunk of people in Athens that think Mooney is innocent and was rail roaded.

It is also interesting to note that Elmo Florence now claims Mooney is innocent and had nothing to do with T.K. Hardy's murder in any way. This could be true, or it could be Elmo knows he isnt going anywhere and so he just says whatever will benefit Mooney. That must have been something for Mooney to actually be watching the segment on TV. Mooney seemed like a very soft spoken, nice guy. It was kind of weird, but I actually ended up liking Mooney more and Hardy less following the segment.

Finally, I found Eptling's comment about Mooney kind of funny. Eptling said Mooney was a nice guy and that he still liked him personally despite what happened. He said he talked to Mooney in the courtroom back in the late 70's and told him if they gave him the death penalty he would have a beer with him on the way to the execution chamber. Did you also see the DA that was interviewed in the UM segment was also interviewed for city confidential? He is no longer the DA there but boy has he certainly aged.

It was kind of interesting because there was lots of info on that case that was not on the UM segment. It actually made T.K. look more negative in the City Confidential segment than in the UM segment. I mean T.K. didnt deserve what happened but in some ways I think he was asking for it with his cut throat style of business.

Well, I think that was very typical for UM. Apparently, the show tended to be more concerned with resolving a murder case than the overall character of the murder victim, which was very wise of them. Portraying a murder victim too negatively would have been counterproductive in more ways than one. Rightly or wrongly, the UM viewers would likely have seen it as a credibility conflict. I mean, one cannot support efforts to catch criminals, and then degrade crime victims. You can't have it both ways.


I also didnt know that Mooney was nearly paroled in 2002. It was only after the DA's office and the parole board got flooded with calls that Mooney's parole was stopped. However I do think Mooney will get paroled eventually. It is interesting though there is still a relatively large chunk of people in Athens that think Mooney is innocent and was rail roaded.

Hmm. I wonder if anyone in Hollywood feels the same way. :lol:

Well I can't say I think much of either Harty or Mooney although somewhat supporting kadrmas15 assumptions about TK - through my own research awhile back, I think some people who were patrons of TK Harty's Saloon were inferring that the Saloon basically was very loose with checking IDs so maybe that was a way that Harty was trying to complete with John Mooney's nickle beer, I just don't know.

It could all be a bunch of bunk, but I'll tell ya in the town where I grew up right up until the early 90s, the bars were very loose about carding young folks - these days the bars (especially those affliated with a major resturant chain) seem to be a hell of a lot stricter about carding anyone that looks under twenty-one.

But back then maybe that wasn't the case. For those interested TK Harty's Saloon no longer exists in Athens, it burnt down I believe in the mid 90s along with the rest of the train station complex.

That explains why RS mentioned Mooney could be in the Dayton, OH area at the end of the original broadcast. This was the first case on UM that scared me due to that possibility as I grew up in the Dayton area and was only 10 or 11 when the segment first aired.

nm

nm

I just wanted to bring this thread to the top as I had actually seen this on tv yesterday...the one city confidential I had always wanted to see, and it happened to be the one I caught! Anyways, I had realized after watching this that I had never actually seen a picture of the real T.K. Harty. Very strange. he looked a lot different than I thought, as I had always imagined him being the actor, as UM never showed an image. Any ideas why?