Robert K. Tanenbaum (born 1942) is an American trial attorney, novelist, and former mayor of

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

Early life and education

Robert K. Tanenbaum, born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

on a basketball scholarship where he earned a B.A. He received his J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley.

Legal career

Under the leadership of District Attorney

Frank Hogan Frank Smithwick Hogan (January 17, 1902 – April 2, 1974) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He served as New York County District Attorney for more than 30 years, during which he achieved a reputation for professionalism and ...

Tanenbaum learned about trial preparedness and presenting evidence to a jury as an Assistant

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County, New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws (federal l ...

in Manhattan. Later, Tanenbaum became head of the Homicide Bureau, served as Chief of the Criminal Courts, and was in charge of the D.A.'s legal staff training program. During his time in the D.A.'s office, Tanenbaum never lost a felony case. After his tenure in Manhattan's D.A.'s office, Tanenbaum served as Deputy Chief Counsel for the House Select Committee on Assassinations to investigate the

John F. Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline, Texas gove ...

and the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination. He later resigned from the post shortly after being named. In 1988 he appeared in the documentary '' The Men Who Killed Kennedy''. In private practice, he was a special prosecution consultant on the Hillside Strangler case in Los Angeles; defended Amy Grossberg in her sensationalized baby death case; and represented eight black plaintiffs in a significant racial profiling case against the

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

Police Department. He taught Advanced Criminal Procedure for four years at Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He conducts continuing legal education seminars for practicing lawyers in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He is a member of the State Bars of New York, Pennsylvania and California.

Political career

Tanenbaum served two terms as Mayor of

and was a City Councilmember for eight years, from 1986 to 1994. He ran unsuccessfully for Los Angeles County District Attorney in 1992. He was defeated for re-election to the City Council in 1994.Mathis Chazanov
Victory Vow : Beverly Hills Mayor Says He'll Finish Civic Center, 'Even If I Have to Do It Myself'
''The Los Angeles Times'', April 20, 1989 He also ran D.A.

's re-election campaign for District Attorney in 1973.

Literary career

His byline appears on 33 books; 29 novels and 4 nonfiction works. His cousin Michael Gruber was the ghostwriter of the first part of the popular Butch Karp -Marlene Ciampi series of novels, starting with No Lesser Plea and ending with Resolved. After the partnership with Tanenbaum ended, Gruber began publishing novels using his own name. Tanenbaum's ''The Piano Teacher '', co-written with Peter S. Greenberg, is the true story of a psychotic killer, ''Badge of the Assassin'' recalls the true account of Tanenbaum's investigation and trial of self-proclaimed members of the

Black Liberation Army The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was an underground Marxist–Leninist, black-nationalist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of former Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic of New Afrika (RNA) mem ...

who assassinated two

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

police officers, Waverly Jones and Joseph Piagentini. It was later adapted into a movie titled Badge of the Assassin, starring

James Woods James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. Known for fast-talking, intense roles on screen and stage, he has received numerous accolades, including three Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for t ...

as Tanenbaum. Tanenbaum's signature work, ''Echoes of My Soul'' was published in May 2013 by

Kensington Books Kensington Publishing Corp. is an American, New Yorkbased publishing house founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius (1923–2011)Grimes, William''New York Times'' (MARCH 7, 2011). and Roberta Bender Grossman (1946–1992). Kensington is known as "Am ...

and was named 'Pick of the Week' by ''Publishers Weekly'' in its April 22, 2013 edition. It is about ''

Miranda v. Arizona ''Miranda v. Arizona'', 384 U.S. 436 (1966), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that law enforcement in the United States must warn a person of their constitutional righ ...

'', the United States Supreme Court decision that laid the groundwork for

Miranda rights In the United States, the ''Miranda'' warning is a type of notification customarily given by police to criminal suspects in police custody (or in a custodial interrogation) advising them of their right to silence and, in effect, protection ...

. A recent novel, ''Without Fear or Favor'', was published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

Gallery Books in August 2017.

Bibliography

Non-fiction

* 1987: ''The Piano Teacher: The True Story of a Psychotic Killer'' * 1979: ''Badge of the Assassin'' (1985 TV film adaption '' Badge of the Assassin'') * 2013: ''Echoes of My Soul'' * 2023: ''Coal Country Killing''

Fiction

* 1987: ''No Lesser Plea'' * 1989: ''Depraved Indifference'' * 1991: ''Immoral Certainty'' * 1992: ''Reversible Error'' * 1993: ''Material Witness'' * 1994: ''Justice Denied'' * 1994: ''Corruption of Blood'' * 1996: ''Falsely Accused'' * 1997: ''Irresistible Impulse'' * 1998: ''Reckless Endangerment'' * 1999: ''Act of Revenge'' * 2000: ''True Justice'' * 2001: ''Enemy Within'' * 2002: ''Absolute Rage'' * 2003: ''Resolved'' * 2004: ''Hoax'' * 2005: ''Fury'' * 2006: ''Counterplay'' * 2007: ''Malice'' * 2008: ''Escape'' * 2009: ''Capture'' * 2010: ''Betrayed'' * 2011: ''Outrage'' * 2012: ''Bad Faith'' * 2013: ''Tragic'' * 2014: ''Fatal Conceit'' * 2015: ''Trap'' * 2016: ''Infamy'' * 2017: ''Without Fear or Favor''

References

External links

robertktanenbaumbooks.com

Interview with Len Osanic
on Black Op Radio (Ep. 731). {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanenbaum, Robert K. Living people UC Berkeley School of Law alumni American crime fiction writers Mayors of Beverly Hills, California American male novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American novelists University of California, Berkeley alumni Writers from Brooklyn Novelists from New York City California city council members UC Berkeley School of Law faculty 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 1942 births