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By FRAN SWAEBLY
Herald Radio—TV Writer
Morton (Doc) Downey, Miami's embattled disc jockey, tendered his resignation to station WFUN Thursday. It was accepted.
He is, he said "through with top 40 radio as long as I live. God help radio if it continues on its present course. It won't need any Federal Communications Commission to kill it. It will fight itself to death.
"I'm fed to the nose with it," Downey continued, "and it's too bad. If ever I loved a place, it's Miami and its people, but I just can't subject my wife and child to any more harassment."
By way of harassment, Downey claims that recently his apartment was broken into, turned upside down. He says cushions and the baby's crib mattress was slashed with a knife, and that outside, four-letter words and the call letters of another radio station were scratched into his car paint. Nothing was stolen.
Downey says he blames nobody for the vandalism, but feels it was the work of "inflamed kids" all worked up by charges made against Downey and the highly-charged feud between WFUN and WQAM. This is, he thinks, the trouble with top 40 (predominately rock 'n roll) radio. The kids get emotionally involved with their favorites.
As to what he'll do now, Downey isn't certain. "I'll probably go back East -- maybe take an offer I have in private industry. But I will stay in the Miami area until I settle the various charges against me."
The accusations go back several weeks. Some adults complained that "Don't Bring Me Down," a record he was playing, was "dirty." That argument was just settling down when there were reports that Downey had an illegal financial interest in the same recording.
WFUN suspended him for four days while investigating the reports, re-instated him upon finding, to its satisfaction, "no financial interest, directly or indirectly."
Then, on Wednesday, the FCC revealed that it had received and investigated a letter from Charles Murdock that claimed Downey had used WFUN to harass him in various ways. Until last week, Murdock was an executive of WQAM and was on the air several hours daily directly opposite Downey.
Among other things, Murdock claimed his telephone number had been broadcast, and listeners had been told that, by dialing the number, they could talk to a popular rock singing group.
Murdock also said in the letter, dated April 5, that Downey played a tape of a private telephone conversation between Murdock and a fan.
Downey has denied all Murdock's accusations and said Thursday that, after receiving from the FCC copy of the letter, he filed a formal reply and denial on May 21.
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