Morley Sporesworth
Morley Sporesworth is a mole and the proprietor of The Fungus Emporium, an "artisanal mycology boutique" that serves as a front for money laundering operations connected to Clawrence Lynxley's network. He is arrested in S02E13 "Nine-Nine" following a joint investigation by ZPD Precinct 99 and the pack.
Background
Sporesworth operated The Fungus Emporium, a specialty mushroom shop that attracted initial police attention due to mundane complaints---delivery trucks at odd hours and unusual smells emanating from the premises. Investigation revealed the "unusual smell" was industrial cleaning solvents, the kind used to wash dye pack residue off cash.
The shop generated significantly more revenue than its customer traffic could explain, leading Amy Santiago to identify financial patterns in the seized records that matched no legitimate accounting system---later confirmed by Pawbert as a modified version of the Lynxley accounting methodology.
Series History
Season 2
S02E13 "Nine-Nine"
When Precinct 99 requests the pack's assistance with financial patterns they can't identify, Pawbert examines the seized records and recognizes his father's accounting system---modified and updated, but with the same base structure Milton Lynxley made him learn at age twelve.
Pawbert deciphers the system: dates are offset by thirty-nine days to obscure real transaction dates, and amounts are split across three columns that must be added together to reveal actual transfers. The analysis shows Sporesworth was moving approximately two hundred thousand dollars per month through the mushroom shop.
Jake Peralta and Rosa Diaz interrogate Sporesworth at Precinct 99. The size difference is notable---Sporesworth, at perhaps eight inches tall, sits on a specially elevated chair while Jake and Rosa tower over him. Initially attempting to deny involvement, Sporesworth breaks when confronted with the specific details of the cipher system, proving the investigators have already cracked his books.
Under pressure, Sporesworth reveals he receives instructions from an intermediary company called Tempest Holdings---a weather-themed name that Pawbert connects to Clawrence Lynxley, the former Chief Engineer of the weather wall system. Sporesworth claims he doesn't know who ultimately controls the operation; he just receives instructions and follows them.
Criminal Operations
Sporesworth served as a financial conduit in Clawrence's network:
- Money laundering: Using The Fungus Emporium as a front to clean cash
- Lynxley methodology: Employing accounting systems derived from Milton Lynxley's teaching
- Compartmentalized knowledge: Only aware of his piece of the operation, receiving instructions through Tempest Holdings
Key Quotes
| Quote | Context |
|---|---|
| "I don't know what you're talking about." | Initial denial during interrogation (S02E13) |
| "I DON'T KNOW! It's all done through intermediaries! I get instructions, I follow them, I get paid!" | Breaking under pressure (S02E13) |
| "A company called Tempest Holdings! That's all I know!" | Revealing his connection to Clawrence's network (S02E13) |
Trivia
- Sporesworth's business, The Fungus Emporium, is described by Raymond Holt as "an artisanal mycology boutique," which Jake enthusiastically translates as "FANCY MUSHROOMS."
- His small size (mole) creates a stark visual contrast during the interrogation scene, where Jake and Rosa appear to tower over him like buildings.
- The discovery of Tempest Holdings as his handler provides the first direct financial link between Clawrence's network and ground-level criminal operations.
- His arrest leads to Tempest Holdings being flagged in ZSI databases, though the full scope of Clawrence's network remains hidden.