Pittsburgh graffiti legend Mike "Mook" Monack has traded in his cans of spray paint for a tattoo needle. The former tagger spends his days as an apprentice at the Immortal Tattoo parlor in Shadyside. He says he doesn't miss tagging bridges, buildings and city vehicles under cover of darkness. "I don't miss the painting," says Mook, 21. Mook started tagging Pittsburgh landmarks in 1997 and became known for hitting hard-to-reach places that were difficult for city crews to clean. He once put his name on the window of a city truck used to combat the graffiti. Mook says he has hung up his cans of spray paint. Court records show he pleaded guilty on Oct. 22, 2002, to trespass, criminal mischief and conspiracy in connection with incidents on Nov. 2 and Nov. 13, 2001. He was arrested on Halloween 2001 for receiving stolen property, but all charges were withdrawn on July 11, 2002. He was found not guilty on Feb. 24, 2004, by Common Pleas Judge Robert E. Colville on charges that he spray-painted the Armstrong Tunnel on March 2, 2003. Mook says he was ordered to pay thousands of dollars in cleanup costs. He served three months in jail and nine months on house arrest. The media publicity and police pressure became too much, he says. He says he still owes the city $7,000. For all he cares, he says dryly, that figure "might as well be $7 million." Mook has strong words for the new generation of graffiti crews who have descended on the Steel City since he was forced into early retirement. "They're all garbage," he says. If Mook sounds bitter, it's because he is. He doesn't have a girlfriend, and his infamy precedes him in many circles of the city. As for taggers operating with what some maintain is virtual impunity in Pittsburgh, Mook says police are fighting a losing battle. "It's like the terrorists," he says. "Graffiti is always going to be there." Mook makes it clear he has no beef with city police, pointing out that he has people he considers friends on the force. "Still," he says, "the cops here don't know how to deal with it."

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