Merl is Cletus's cousin. He was a construction worker on the Springfield Dam when he accidentally covered his dog, Geech, in concrete. When Cecil Terwilliger planned to blow up the Dam, he pointed out that everyone would blame "the master criminal who works at the Dam and has a grudge against Springfield" afterword. At first, Sideshow Bob thought his brother meant Merl and pointed that Merl "has had his troubles with the revenuers, but he's hardly a master crim..." before realizing that he was the one about to be framed.