Shearn Moody Jr. (May 23, 1933 – June 25, 1996) was an American financier, entrepreneur, and philanthropist from

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Gal ...

. He was heir to a financial empire as well as a

convicted In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is con ...

felon A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

and originator of the

Moody Gardens Moody Gardens is an educational tourist destination, with a golf course and hotel in Galveston, Texas which opened in 1986. The non-profit destination uses nature to educate and excite visitors about conservation and wildlife. Moody Gardens featu ...

resort complex. Moody was the grandson of insurance and financial tycoon William Lewis Moody Jr.

Personal life

Shearn Moody Jr., was born on May 23, 1933, to Shearn Moody Sr. and Frances Moody Newman in Galveston, Texas. His father died in 1936, while he was an infant. Moody was well known for eccentric behavior, such as building a slide from his bedroom window to a swimming pool, where he kept pet penguins, and wearing house slippers wherever he went. Moody, a homosexual, never married and spent the final years of his life involved in civil court cases. His longtime partner was a former Las Vegas dancer named Jimmy Stoker. Moody felt that the court system was corrupt and believed that his enemies used the legal system to try to steal his wealth and power; he claimed to have employed "several hundred" lawyers in various legal battles and even at one point hired nationally known lawyer

Roy Cohn Roy Marcus Cohn (; February 20, 1927 – August 2, 1986) was an American lawyer and prosecutor who came to prominence for his role as Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel during the Army–McCarthy hearings in 1954, when he assisted McCart ...

to help in his ongoing

litigation - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

problems. Moody died at home in 1996, after suffering from years of chronic high blood pressure and kidney disease.

Business and legal dealings

His grandfather, William L. Moody Jr., made a fortune by founding the American National Insurance Company, and the younger Moody hoped to follow in his grandfather's footsteps by establishing the Alabama-based Empire Life Insurance Company. This dream was short lived, however, as in 1972 his own company ousted him after the federal government began investigating his business dealings. The investigation would eventually lead to his conviction of bankruptcy fraud. In 1987 Moody was convicted by a federal court of

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activit ...

and

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activit ...

in connection with attempts to defraud his family's

Moody Foundation The Moody Foundation is a charitable foundation incorporated in Texas and based in the island city of Galveston. It was chartered in 1942 by William Lewis Moody Jr. and his wife Libbie Rice Shearn Moody ''"to benefit, in perpetuity, present and ...

. Moody had long served on the board of the charitable foundation, helping to direct millions of dollars in grants to just causes. However the Internal Revenue Service accused him making millions of dollars of grants to himself, and therefore owing more than $14 million in taxes and penalties. After a trial that included accusations of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have u ...

, Moody singing a risque song he had commissioned about the legal profession, and threats to "blow the legs off" former

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

attorney

Douglas Caddy Douglas Caddy (born March 23, 1938), is an American attorney who was briefly counsel for the five men arrested for the Watergate burglaries, as well as two other men involved in the Watergate scandal, E. Howard Hunt and Gordon Liddy. Background C ...

, a federal appellate court overturned the convictions. In 1987, Moody was featured on the cover of

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and i ...

magazine and proclaimed "the sleaziest man in Texas" and in November 1989, after an investigation spanning more than a decade, he was convicted of bankruptcy fraud in connection with the now defunct Empire Life Insurance Company. Although sentenced to five years in federal prison, Moody served little time and was released on parole in May 1991.

Legacy

In his later years, Moody devoted much of his time to his work on the board of directors of

. He was quoted in the

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

as saying, "I originally conceived the project of the gardens because we wanted to use the gardens to give this community another source of income"

Notes

External links

Moody National BankThe Moody FoundationMoody Mansion Historic HomeWilliam Lewis Moody Jr.
at Handbook of Texas Online
Mary Elizabeth Moody Northen
at Handbook of Texas Online {{DEFAULTSORT:Moody, Shearn Jr. 1933 births 1996 deaths American financiers American bankers People from Galveston, Texas American people convicted of money laundering Businesspeople from Texas Wealth in the United States American people convicted of fraud American businesspeople convicted of crimes 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists

Personal life

Business and legal dealings

Legacy

See also

Notes

External links