Bachelor detective takes on case of two Pittsburgh boys

(CBS NEWS)--PITTSBURGH - Generally speaking, if you're a kid growing up in Pittsburgh, like Jessee and Josh Lyle, the last place you ever want to be is in a courtroom, across the table, from detective Jack Mook.



Mook is a by the book, no nonsense, chew-them-up, spit-'em-out, 22-year veteran of the force.



Outside of work he's a committed bachelor, a man's man, who would never so much as let a Vidalia onion see his soft side.



For fun he hits people. He volunteers at the Steel City Boxing gym, teaching the sport to underprivileged kids.



\"Most of the kids who come in this gym are street kids,\" said Mook. \"Many of them have been born into poverty.\"



Kids like 11-year-old Jessee and his 15-year-old brother Josh. Long before their date in court, Jack had been working with them. He really liked these kids and he knew the feeling was mutual. So when they just stopped showing up at the gym one day, Mook went out and found the older boy.



\"And he looked terrible - bags under his eyes - 12 years old,\" recalled Mook.



\"And he was asking me about it and then I just cried,\" added Josh.



What Mook didn't know -- what no one knew until that moment -- was just how bad these kids had it. They were in a foster home with foster parents who Mook says were extremely abusive and neglectful.



\"They have had it as worse as any other kid that's ever lived in the city of Pittsburgh, living conditions wise,\" said Mook. \"And I had enough of it.\"



So Jack Mook took matters into his own hands. Cashed in some favors and got the kids placed in a new home: his.



\"I slept the best I ever did that night,\" said Josh.



Jack has been their foster parent for almost two years now. And for this tough-guy detective, it's still quite a transition. He says the homework alone is brutal.



\"I'm relearning prepositions and declarative statements, and this is right up your alley, but I have no idea what this kid is talking about,\" said Mook.



And homework is just the beginning of this bachelor's rebranding.



\"I'm in here trying to learn my culinary skills, brother,\" said Mook as he walked into his kitchen.



But, Mook admits, he's really loving it.



\"Yeah, it's awesome,\" he said. \"It's the best thing I ever did in my life.\"



At least it was the best thing, until this week when he went to court and did one better. He adopted the boys, and made them Mooks.



\"You're a Mook. Alright? You happy? Good,\" Mook said as he hugged the boys, laughing. \"Now you're going to go home and cut my grass.\"



Safe to say the thought of chores has never been more welcome.



 

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