The Undoing of Melvin Shipley by Marty Tirrel

Melvin Shipley was living the American Dream. He was running a small, successful software company called Computer Liquidators. It was the mid-90s when Gateway Computers and their cow-inspired boxes were seemingly in every household in America. Stores like CompUSA were popular as were small stores selling used and new computers. He got to work with his son Chris , which is another part of the American dream.

Another local business was also gaining tremendous popularity, and that was a sports station in Des Moines called the Jock. Featured up-and-coming media staples like John Miller, the sports version of Steve Deuce, and a show called Marty and Miller. Marty was appointed radio where you wouldn't know what he would say next. The Mouth of the Midwes,t who had connections to Boston, including having Bob Ryan from the Boston Globe on frequently. Bob Ryan would become well known as a tremendous sportswriter but also on shows like Around the Horn on ESPN. Marty was a loudmouth, playing up the Mancow Muller vibes. Shock jock radio.

Chris ,like a lot of young men, was into sports. The Jock was great for sports fans in the Des Moines market. Sports talk radio was really in its infancy at the time, and the Jock had the right people in the right places for what should have been long-term success. This is a common theme with Marty. It should have been successful, but somehow not, due to Marty. Still, Chris heard that the Jock was looking for sponsors, and he brought it up to his dad. His dad, as a businessman, figured this could be a great way to expand his business. Enter Marty Tirrell to the picture. (For an in depth story and timeline on Marty, check out Mark Emmert's great work with the Des Moines Register)

At first, it seemed to start great. Marty, despite his flaws, was incredibly charismatic. Melvin was your typical go-getter. They started advertising on the Marty and Miller Show would eventually come out and do the show live from Computer Liquidators. Chris was kinda star struck when Marty came out. He could command a room. Unfortunately, the live remote and advertising didn't really seem to be paying off. This was the first sign that things might not be what they had hoped. Still, whenever Marty would stop by to pick up the check, he'd sit and chew the fat with Melvin for hours. During these meetings, he would drop hints about sponsoring coverage of the Jockaroony at the gigantic Tyson Hollyfield fight. The fight was in June.

In February, after several meetings and the gentle pushing of Marty, Melvin decided to go for it. Marty had floated them the idea that they would fly out for three days of live remotes in Vegas, go to the press conference, see the fight, and stay in a great hotel, and of course, a flight to and from the fight itself. It was a $4,000 investment in great advertising for the company, but also a once-in-a-lifetime chance with his son and friends. With every investment comes certain risk, but who could say no to that?

Marty would also plant another seed, this one involving the Super Bowl. Buying tickets at discounted prices and selling them for profit. (This isn't out of the ordinary; there are even people who actually do this for conference tournaments, even the Missouri Valley.) Once again, Marty promised the moon, flights, tickets, parties, hotels, etc. This time the cost was $18,000. The payoff was promised to be $60,000 - $75,000.

June came around it was time for the fight. Everyone flew out together. When they landed, the hotel was not as promised. Decent? Yes. On the strip? No. Marty of course, had an excuse and said it was a last-minute mixup and he had to scramble. Also, when they got to a casino, Marty could NOT walk past a slot machine without gambling. He would disappear for long stretches, and the live remotes never happened but Marty would always have an excuse. They assumed all the advertising that was promised was being played back at home in Des Moines. Back in the 90's there was no way to check in on it. The internet was still in the AOL days. No smart phones, no streaming.

The night of the fight, they were supposed to meet at 6 PM at the MGM Grand. They would do the live remote, get their tickets, and go to the flight. Everyone gathers at 6 PM. Everyone, but Marty. Doesn't answer his phone. Melvin's anger goes from six to midnight. Reasonably so. He knew what was happening; he was a businessman, he knew. They walked around for three hours and couldn't find him. He never answered his phone. Eventually, Mike Tyson got hungry, and Evander Holyfield's ear was on the menu. All hell breaks loose. Pretty much around the sports world and definitely in Vegas, DEFINITELY at the MGM Grand.

Chris stayed behind the next day and stayed on the regularly scheduled fight. Melvin and everyone else took an earlier flight because Melvin was going to kill Marty if he saw him. Marty strolls in like nothing was wrong, and Chris confronts him. He delivers his dad's message and his anger. Marty claims he was trying to call them all night. Chris calls him out on his BS and tells him that "when you get a phone call from my dad, you better answer." Melvin called, but Marty never answered.

Melvin gets back home and wants to make sure that nobody else falls for this scheme. Taking a man's pride and money will conjure up certain feelings. No lawyers would touch the case against Marty. WHO-TV Channel 13 News did a story on Melvin and Tom Wotoski, an investigative reporter for the Des Moines Register told Melvin, "You aren't the only one." Marty had screwed over Okoboji Bar & Grill, a very popular and successful chain of restaurants in Central Iowa. The article exposed Marty for what he truly was, but the audience wasn't big enough. The true audience was listening to the radio, where Marty called Chris and Melvin names on the radio. Eventually getting vicious and vile enough that Chris's wife ended up weeping. Chris went to the radio station and confronted Marty, saying he'd beat the snot out of him if he ever mentioned his name again.

Finally, a lawyer took the case. They settled out of court for measily $10,000 because they feared Marty didn't have enough assets to go after. The lawyer took $3,500. Lost over $22,000 to Marty and got $6,500 out of it. A loss of $15,500. To a small business owner, that's a death sentence. The $22,000 could have been spent on growing the flourishing business.

The business would survive, barely, for a few more years until 2003. It was a struggle to make ends meet, and it was just Chris and Melvin. They were lucky to do $7,000 a month, and the rent was $1,500. Dad sold the house for $190,000 and moved into a trailer. That house would be worth $400,000 now. The type of house you retire in and watch your grandchildren grow up from.

Everything that happened to Melvin ate him alive. It ate him alive that nobody listened to him about Marty. And that other lives and businesses and families were ruined because of him. He felt like a failure. A man is supposed to take care of his family, but he couldn't do that. He would do jobs like working as a security guard, but after a relative committee suicide, he just couldn't do it anymore. He quit and lived off Social Security. He ended up passing because of a stroke. Nineteen days before Chris's marriage to his second wife.

All in all, Chris just wants his dad's story to be told. His story to be told. He wants people to see Marty for what he always was. He has no sympathy to those who did business with Marty. Yet he ended up getting a DM on Twitter from Marty's co-host Ken Miller. They just had an amazing podcast here. He doesn't want violence but wants Marty to get what's coming to him. He doesn't let him consume it for more than 5 minutes; it's just not worth it. He takes no pleasure in any of it. He just wants the story to be told.

Melvin Shipley was the American dream. He was running a successful business with his son. He was providing jobs and income to employees he loved like family. He had a forever home where he could eventually retire and grow old. He had it all. But he lost everything because of Marty Tirrell. He lived out his final days nearly broke financially, living off social security, but mentally broken in a trailer park because of Marty Tirrell.