Death & Taxes

It had started out to be such a good year - until he screwed things up. As a determined employee headed toward Edison Shaw's office at the IRS Service Center in Fresno, California, he knows what he must do to protect his interests. A few moments after he enters Shaw's office and closes the door for their meeting, the man pulls out a gun, points it at Shaw's temple, and pulls the trigger - just as planned.

In this compelling crime thriller, Dick Hartmann is a seasoned FBI agent who heads up San Francisco's Violent Crime Squad. When he and his elite squad are assigned to investigate a suspicious death at the IRS Service Center in Fresno, they're soon led into the bowels of the city's largest street gang - the Bulldogs. As the case grabs the attention of America's president, the squad travels to Los Angeles and then to Mexico where they must infiltrate a drug cartel to take down a gang member with the power to ruin the lives of millions of American taxpayers. Now only time will tell if they can stop him before it is too late.

Richard Rupp was born in Santa Monica, California, and grew up within a Hollywood movie industry family. His business career led him to the commercial insurance industry, where he became an executive that specialized in developing new insurance products and risk financing concepts. His forte was research, writing, and designing risk management and risk funding products to be used by major corporations. His position allowed him to travel the world with frequent trips to London, and Bermuda. Dick, and the love of his life Coleen, split their time between Los Angeles and Palm Desert, California. Coleen encourages Dick's passion for writing, and serves as the primary editor for his creative endeavors.