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Mugsy McGuffin is a crime boss who was the antagonist of the 1987 TV series episode Polly Wanna Pizza.

History[]

McGuffin was incarcerated for fifteen years stealing the Galoobie Ruby, but the gem was never recovered. The ruby had been stashed in a safe at the Bering Arms Hotel, with the key secured around the neck of his beloved parrot, Polly. When Mugsy was released, April and Vernon traveled to the prison to attempt to be granted an interview with him, but both were denied, with him throwing Vernon into a trash can.

While preparing welcome home signs for Mugsy, his henchman Boris sneezed on the paint, getting it all over Polly. He took the parrot to Ralph at Ralph's Rent A Pet to get cleaned off in time for Mugsy's return. Ralph cleans the parrot off and sets him next to another nigh-identical parrot, when Michelangelo walks into the facility to return Clyde, a monkey he rented that had caused too much trouble for him to keep around. Ralph offers him one of the parrots in exchange, which turns out to be Polly. Boris walks in just as Mikey leaves, and takes the other parrot, thinking that it's Polly.

When Mugsy returns to his old hideout, he shoves Boris into a couch, breaking his sign over his head, and tries to reclaim the key to the vault. He finds the key missing and realizes after it doesn't talk that the parrot isn't Polly. He berates Boris for losing his bird and sets off to find him. He and Boris head off to Ralph's and Mugsy threatens the store owner into giving him whatever info he has on who took Polly, the "weird guy with a green face".

Boris and Mugsy stop in front of the hotel and Mugsy tells him that's where the ruby is, but he can't get to it until he retrieves the key. A demolition foreman approaches Mugsy's limousine and tells them to clear out, since the hotel is set to be brought down. Mugsy panics and realizes he has only a limited time to get the key and then the ruby before he potentially loses his chance forever.

They pass a green man in a trenchcoat and fedora heading down an alley and assume he's the one who has the bird, and accost him. It turns out this man is actually a professional wrestler, the Mean Green Giant, and he doesn't take too kindly to being approached harshly. He throws both men back into the limo - Boris through the passenger side window, and Mugsy through the sunroof.

Mugsy calls April at Channel 6 amd tells her he'll grant her an interview if she can get to his hideout. Vernon overhears the conversation and hits the elevator up button when she enters, delaying her trip to the parking garage while he hops in the newsvan in an effort to usurp the story. April finally makes it to the garage and hops on the news cycle to race to the hideout.

Vernon shows up to the hideout first and Mugsy fails to recognize him for his earlier attempt at getting an interview. Since he only cared to talk to April, he bends the lens to Vernon's camcorder when he points it at him. He finally recognizes Vernon, but he tries to play it off as that being an impostor. Regardless, he intends to have Vernon injured in a manner to match his camcorder, and Boris picks him up to prepare to hurt him, when April rolls up and interrupts, telling them that if they hurt Vernon, the world will bear witness. Mugsy orders Boris to release Vernon, then insincerely tells April that his attack on Vernon was a result of stress due to losing Polly. His interview with April is to broadcast his loss of Polly, playing up emotions for the parrot to garner sympathy.

When he shows a picture of Polly, Raphael sees it on TV and realizes that it's "Ditto", the parrot that had been causing havoc in their lair. Donatello realizes that the key must be to wherever the ruby is hidden. Raph and Leonardo go out to stop Mikey from returning the parrot while Don continues to read the analysis he'd run on the key earlier.

While on the way to Ralph's, Mike passes T.V. Vision and sees Mugsy's interview on the TVs in the storefront window. Mikey realizes that "Ditto" is Polly, and Polly suddenly flies off while talking about the Galooby Ruby and Bering Arms Hotel. Mike follows him to the hotel, and Polly flies up to a high-up window. Mike climbs to the window with his Turtle Line and enters the room, but as he approaches the safe, the floor caves in and drops him, and then the safe, several stories. Polly flies out the window calling for help, returning to the lair to retrieve the other Turtles.

As they follow Polly to the hotel, Mugsy reaches out of his sunroof with a net and grabs Polly. After the Turtles see April on the TV in the Turtle Van mention the building will be detonated in five minutes, they race Mugsy to the hotel to save Mikey. When Mugsy arrives, he takes the key off of Polly, only for Polly to bite him and take the key back and swallow it. Polly helps the Turtles rescue Mike just in time, and when the building is detonated, the ruby is destroyed, showering shiny red bits everywhere. Mugsy is apprehended again, along with Boris, and "Ditto" is relocated to the City Zoo. Polly Wanna Pizza

Notes and trivia[]

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