Tony Moreno

Tony Moreno was born and raised in East Los Angeles and has been around street gangs and the gang culture his entire life. He credits his strong father and loving mother for making the "right decisions" in life and proceeding down the "right path".

After graduating high school, Tony went to East Los Angeles College where he was influenced to take on a career in law enforcement. In 1975, he entered the Los Angeles Police Department Academy and served on the Department for 32 years, retiring in 2007 as a Detective Supervisor.

During his career, Tony worked a wide variety of assignments such as patrol, school car, special problems unit, detectives, juvenile detectives, narcotics and organized crime, but he spent most of his career dedicated to working gangs in one aspect or another. From 1982 through 1986, Tony worked gangs and drove a yellow Plymouth Fury and was known by gang members in south/central LA as "Pac Man". That theme was later used in the storyline of the cult-classic gang movie "Colors".

To this day and over 40 years later since 1982, Tony is still active writing and conducting training to law enforcement, civic groups, students and service providers.

"Pac Man Life" is Tony's fifth book and is a culmination of over 40 years on the frontline dealing with the "gang issue" and has stories and lessons from his experiences over that time span. Covered in the book are topics such as the law enforcement career, crime and the community, kids and family, leadership, officer safety and mental health.

"Cop Spirit" is his 6th book but his first "fictional" novel about a young man growing up and experiencing life in Los Angeles as a police officer.

For more information, visit Tony's website at www.gangcop.com.