DISCLAIMER: The view expressed in this book are my own, not my employers.

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The Underbelly of The Beast is a true crime story told by the prosecutor that has lived these cases. This is no TV show. On the contrary, this memoir tells the story of the maturation of a Los Angeles County District Attorney.

The stories are heartbreaking, funny, and interesting. In one case, a drunk and high driver flees the police and as he runs at 100 MPH he crashes into and kills an innocent two year old. I was assigned as the prosecuting attorney after the first jury hung on the murder count. You will learn how that prosecution touched the lives of thousands of people and ripped at the seams of the law enforcement officers that responded during that rush hour police chase in December 2014.

Other stories demonstrate how judges do incredibly odd things to lessen their workload (my personal favorite: "Kleffman, I haven’t read your motion, but I am going to deny it." The motion was three pages long. . . ). And, still other stories about how and why cases are brought, litigated, settled, and tried. Like the making of sausage, one doesn’t really want to know how cases are prosecuted. And, when I tell you the stories, you won’t believe me, (but, trust me, the stories are all true).

This is the inside story about crime in America as told by a local prosecutor trying to find justice in a bureaucratic process. And, more than anything, a story that tries to give voice to the many victims I’ve tried to serve through my career.