Timothy M. Brennan was born in Chicago , IL and grew up in Park Ridge , near O'Hare International Airport on the northwest side of the city . Brennan 's family had a long history in construction and law enforcement . His father Richard and brothers Mike and Pat were carpenters . His mother Madeleine had been a longtime secretary and matron for the Park Ridge Police Department , and both of his grandfathers and his great uncle were Chicago cops from the 1920s through the 1950s and had worked through the gang wars of Al Capone and the Italian gangsters against Bugs Moran and the Irish gangsters . Brennan joined the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve at seventeen while still in high school . He was stationed in New Jersey , Virginia , Louisiana , and Illinois . He worked construction by day and got his high school diploma by going to school at night . Eventually , the Chicago winters took their toll , and in February 1981 , Brennan put his motorcycle and clothes in the back of his mini pickup and headed out west with $ 1200 , a new lease on life , and a desire to be a cop - a real cop in an area with a high crime rate , where real police work could be done . After looking for work and a place to stay in Arizona and Nevada , and with only $ 500 left , he decided to try Long Beach , California . He stored his bike and , as his money dwindled , slept in his truck . He eventually found construction work and got an apartment in downtown Long Beach
gang wars
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
Timothy M. Brennan and Robert Ladd