This is at about the same point in the interview as the July 1 interview, about 10-15 minutes into it. Maybe you can find this now in your transcripts.
Aired September 4
http://www.silenter.com/cgi-bin/nph-go.cgi/00000/687474702f7777772e636e6e2e636f6d2f5452414e534352495054532f303230392f30342f6c6b6c2e30302e68746d6c
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE," August 28, 2002)
ED SMART, FATHER OF ELIZABETH SMART: I believe he knows a lot more than what he's told us, and I have been -- I, along with so many people, have been praying that his heart would be softened, that he would tell us, you know, just bring an end to this nightmare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: That was the missing Elizabeth Smart's father Ed, talking about the late Mr. Ricci two days before he would die, after he went into the coma. You're going to read to us a letter he sent to you from prison.
RICCI: Can I respond to what I just heard?
KING: Sure.
RICCI: You know, Rick was extremely heartbroken over Elizabeth's disappearance. He did tell them everything that he knew. He gave them everything he had. He just didn't give them what they wanted to hear.
KING: He liked Elizabeth?
RICCI: Well, he liked -- he always talked about...
KING: How extremely heartbroken he was, must have remembered her.
RICCI: Well, heartbroken for the Smart family. The only one he ever really spoke of was Ed. He didn't go on about the girls.
KING: Did he speak of him in nice terms?
RICCI: Yes, yes, he had respect for Ed, thought he was a good businessman and -- you know, and he mentioned that the girls played the harp and he thought that was cool. But as far as spending time with the children...
KING: So he was heartbroken for the situation?
RICCI: Exactly. Exactly.
KING: Before you read from the letter, Nancy, what is Angela attempting to do?
POMEROY: I think she's just attempting to give balance. Because if you read the papers and you go through the media, and I think for the most part they've tried to be balanced in some areas, but all they're getting is his rap sheet. They're getting his rap sheet. They're getting anything wrong that he ever did. And people are coming out in droves saying, well, this is my experience, and this is the way he is. And she's trying to represent the family and say, this is the Richard we knew, and just balance it. So you make up your own mind.
KING: The police wound up saying that they will never be able to get anything unless they find a body or she comes back. And it seems they're out of leads, right?
POMEROY: Well, they're working on other things, but they've put so much focus on Richard, the other things haven't been focused on as much.
RICCI: I think he was heartbroken, the day that they dug up our yard, he was on the phone with me. He was still in jail. And he said, Angela, this is so sad, they're wasting their time. They have the wrong guy, you know.
KING: What did he say in the letter?
RICCI: And so what he said here is -- he says: "I guess the only thing I would like the public to know would be I really don't know anybody who would kidnap a child. I don't have many friends, just family. I had nothing to do with the abduction. I don't know how a child abductor thinks. I just can't believe it."
KING: So you know that your husband had problems in life and he did do some petty stuff.
RICCI: Yes.
KING: But never anything like this?
RICCI: Never anything like this, never.
KING: And never an interest in young children?
RICCI: Never. KING: Now, about the mystery of the white Jeep, which I'm going to -- I want to make sure my notes are right, that the repair shop owner maintains that your husband left the Jeep at his shop, took the vehicle May 30, returned it June 8, 500 miles on it. The repair shop owner also maintains that Mr. Ricci took a post hole digger out of the Jeep, removed two seat covers, carried away another bag, met a second man across the street from the repair shop. Ricci steadfastly denied taking the Jeep. Did you discuss this with Richard?
RICCI: Yes, I did discuss with Rick several times. He did not take that Jeep.
KING: So the guy is wrong or lying?
RICCI: He's mistaken. Maybe someone took that Jeep, but it wasn't Rick. There were keys stolen to that Jeep. That Jeep has never had seat covers, ever had seat covers. To my knowledge, I don't know that he spoke with the person that took the Jeep or brought the Jeep back, only that he observed that it was gone and came back. I'm not sure of the full report on that. You know, I know Rick didn't have the Jeep. I know I didn't have the jeep. No one at his work saw the Jeep.
KING: Has any of the police pressured you to change your side of the story, that he was with you that night?
RICCI: They tried to turn me against Rick all the time. He was in bed with me. That's the truth.
KING: And they did try to say that that was not the truth?
RICCI: Yes. They're trying to make me think he's a cat burglar that sneaks out at night. And that's just not the truth.
KING: Did he take a lie detector test?
RICCI: Yes, he did. And no one, not even his attorneys have gotten the results of that test.
KING: So nobody's announced whether he passed it, failed it or anything?
RICCI: No. Well, they printed in the paper that he failed.
KING: But you don't know that for a fact?
RICCI: But I don't know that for a fact.
KING: Did they ask you to take one?
RICCI: I did take one and I passed with flying colors. The FBI told me that.
KING: So when you say he was with you that night -- the FBI told you. And when you say he was with you that night, you are telling the truth. RICCI: Yes. I have been telling the truth from the gate.
KING: Have you talked to the Smarts?
RICCI: I did speak with Ed Smart. He pulled me aside after Rick's first court appearance.
KING: And?
RICCI: And he asked me about the Jeep. And my opinion the whole time has been that I think someone else took that Jeep. The keys were stolen to that Jeep.
KING: So therefore, you think Elizabeth has been harmed?
RICCI: I don't know. I don't even think the Jeep has anything to do with the disappearance, to be honest with you. I just think if it was Rick's Jeep that was gone, it was just weird timing. Now, I did call the mechanic at one time, and this is important to me. I called him one time to talk to him about the mechanical problem. The mechanic went into a different mechanical problem. I said, no, the electronic fuel pump. and he conveyed to me, oh, I have two, three white Jeeps here now.
KING: There were other white Jeeps.
RICCI: Yes. He said, I have two, three white Jeeps here now.
KING: White Jeeps are fairly common, right? in Utah especially.
POMEROY: They are, especially in Utah.
RICCI: And I told the police that as well.
Post 412 - 6th paragraph from the bottom - Ricci: "I don't know. I don't even think the Jeep has anything to do with the disappearance...."
Angela then states that yes, she "did call the mechanic at one time, and this is important to me. I called him one time to talk to him about the mechanical problem. The mechanic went into a different mechanical problem. I said, 'no, the electronic fuel pump....'"
Her comment is not an admittance of having made the phone call on May 30th. She doesn't say on what day she called the garage.
Ricci took the Jeep in to Moul's shop on May 30th, right? Angela would not have called on May 30th to get it back on the same day, knowing what was wrong with it.
Remember back, Sherl, we also heard that the problem was the ignition.
Moul, an Oriental immigrant, does not speak fluent English. He's got at least two white Jeeps in his shop for repair, possibly three. One has a faulty electronic fuel pump (presumably Ricci's vehicle), another one has the ignition problem, and he has them confused. His confusion works to the advantage of LE.
The FBI entered this case early on, & I can't believe they made that decision unless they had some evidence that either Elizabeth was taken from the state of Utah, or the culprit is a suspect in other cases.
I'm not an expert on the feds and how they now work and decide to enter certain cases.
We all care about these abducted children, adolescents, but face it, Elizabeth is only one of many. There is some reason she has been singled out for in-depth federal government investigation. Just my humble opinion.