Not that Murphy was asking, exactly. But as it turned out, he got his kidney, from Mattei, 44, Murphy's chief of investigations for nine years. Then, when his body rejected it, he received a second, which is working fine, from another member of his staff, Det. Daniel Ingellis, his bodyguard and driver for six years. "Privately," says Ingellis, 54, "I call him Bill or Murph. He's very compassionate, a man of understanding."
Diagnosed with diabetes in 1976, Murphy, 56, was running for reelection in 1999, when doctors told him his kidneys were failing. After Murphy failed to find a compatible donor, Mattei stepped up to the plate. Mattel's wife, attorney Grace, 40, has lived with one kidney since a childhood illness, and, he says, "I thought it was the right thing to do."
After Murphy's body rejected his kidney in February, Mattei says, "I just didn't think it was fair." Ingellis, however, was waiting in the wings. "He's not just a boss, he's a friend, a member of the family," says Ingellis. "A lot of people around here feel that way."
As for Murphy, he's awed by his staff's generosity. "I'm the beneficiary of some wonderful people," he says. His one concern: He's been told transplant recipients sometimes crave food their donors like. Ingellis is fond of fish. And Murphy? "I hate fish," he says.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
