Mike Moser "I Say" Published April 9, 2004

Nealon will serve the TBI well

Brad Nealon is one of those rare individuals of today of whom one is hard-pressed to find something bad to say. He is the genuine article, the real McCoy; he is a man of honor and a gentleman.

I am not happy with Brad these days. The mixed feelings come from his acceptance of the title of special agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. He will be assigned to Meigs, Roane, Morgan and Loudon counties.

If you see TBI Special Agent Jim Moore of Crossville with a beaming smile it is because he finally pulled off the coup. This year wasn't the first time Nealon was offered a job with the state's top investigative unit. Moore, supervises agents covering a third of Tennessee, and now Brad will be one of his agents.

I am happy for Brad. He enjoys the challenge of a "who done it" and is one of the top investigative minds to come out of Cumberland County. Working with Moore makes the two a formidable team against the bad guys.

In the same sense, I am sad for myself.

My selfish interest lies in the trust and mutual respect I shared with Brad. It was a bit of an unspoken understanding that we shared.

Over the past 20 years there have been many crime stories written by this writer and many were difficult stories with little facts and information available. As is the case so often, I would hear more on the street than I would hear from police. The danger in that is that street talk is not held accountable to anyone and you can hear anything said without fear of having responsibility of supporting the rumors with facts.

The story on the street is almost always better than the one we finally get to print.

I have a job to do and Brad understood and respected that. Brad had a job to do and I understood and respected his task. In what seems to becoming more rare as time goes on, we met in the middle of the road. Brad never told me everything he knew. I never printed everything Brad told me.

The beauty of our adversarial relationship came from our mutual respect. If I needed guidance on where a story was leading me, I could ask Brad if my information was correct. Yes or no kept me from making more than one mistake over the years. I appreciate the trust he had in me.

Last Friday co-workers and friends pulled off a surprise reception for Brad on his last official day at work, showering him with gifts, well-wishes and food. It caught Brad by surprise and with his beloved wife, Ramona, by his side, he wrestled with the emotions of the moment.

In typical Brad form, he paused to collect his thoughts and what he said next came from the heart. He talked about how lucky he is, but he wasn't referring to his new job. Having worked under three different administrations, Brad talked about what he was taking with him to his new assignment.

His friendships, experiences and good times were what he was referring to and when he said thanks, you knew he truly meant it.

His new assignment is good news for the counties he will serve. And it is bad news for the bad guys.

Apologies to Sharon
Sometimes one simply does not have an excuse and it is better to just bite the bullet, admit the shortcoming and say, "I'm sorry." So this note is to Sharon York for a recent reference in a news story to her that erroneously identified her as "Sue."

I would like to think that this mistake happened because of all the sinus medicine I have plied my body with over the past few days.

Or maybe it is because my wife is named Susan and sometimes called Sue. Or, maybe because it was a subconscious thing because we have two "Sues" who work for us.
But after careful thought, I have to the conclusion it was simply carelessness on my part. Sharon took it all in stride, better, I think, than I did. So again, humble apologies again to Sharon York.

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Mike Moser is the editor of the Crossville Chronicle. His column is published periodically on Fridays.