Reality TV Diner Featured in Murder for Hire Arrest
April 10, 2013— -- The Tick Tock Diner in Clifton, N.J., won fame for its "disco fries" and other unique fare on the reality show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives."
The show, however, may have missed the most dramatic scene, when the diner's manager Georgios Spyropoulos was arrested for allegedly tried to hire a hitman to kill his uncle.
Spyropoulos was arrested at the diner on Tuesday.
Police said the diner manager tried to have his uncle killed because Spyropoulos wanted a "large amount of cash" his uncle, Alexandros Sgourdos, stored in a safe. His uncle manages a Tick Tock diner in Manhattan.
"Motivated by greed, Spyropoulos allegedly had planned in great detail how he would have his uncle tortured, robbed and murdered, and he had enlisted two men who he thought were going to carry out his ruthless plot," said New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa.
State Police said they learned through a confidential source that Spyropoulos was looking for someone to murder Sgourdos and set him up with an undercover trooper.
On Tuesday, April 2, Spyropoulos provided the "hired killer" with an unregistered handgun, a photo of the intended target, his address, and a down payment of $3,000, according to court papers.
"Our trooper played the would-be assassin to whom Spyropoulos gave the gun and cash," said State Police Colonel Rick Fuentes. "Spyropoulos made a deal with the wrong hit man."
Spyropoulos indicated to the "hit man" he needed Sgourdos to divulge the combination to his safe before he was killed, police said.
After troopers arrested Spyropoulos, his home was searched and two semiautomatic handguns, one shotgun and one assault style rifle were seized. A search of his vehicle, a silver Mercedes Benz, revealed six cell phones and several thousand dollars in cash, court papers state. It is not clear what the large number of phones were for.
Spyropoulos was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempt to commit murder, and unlawful possession of weapons. He's being held in Passaic County Jail on $1 million cash bail.
His uncle manages the Manhattan location of the Tick Tock.
The Tick Tock diner is known for its "disco fries," French fries doused in brown gravy and mozzarella cheese. The slogan is "eat heavy."
