About the Author

Tracks in the Brass, written by one of the best storytellers of our time, unfolds a gripping tale of obsession and unsolved murder. Mixing fiction with reality, this story will keep the reader guessing until the very last chapter. The actions taken by law enforcement are authentic, while the plot is fictional and based on a series of real cases. Tracks in the Brass is educational and entertaining. See if you can find Tracks in the Brass and where they lead.

Jim Ross Lightfoot was born in 1938 in Sioux City, Iowa, to an unwed mother and was adopted when he was merely a few months old. A wonderful farm couple took him in, and he grew up on a farm in Southwest Iowa. His fascinating career began after graduating from high school. He enlisted in the US Army and served in the active reserve from 1956 to 1968. His business career started as an IBM Customer Engineer. Before entering the broadcast industry, he worked as a police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Jim Ross became a household name at KMA Radio, a long-established powerhouse radio station in the Midwest, where he spent 19 years. He was an award-winning farm broadcaster, speaker, and rodeo announcer.

In 1984, he successfully launched a bid for a seat as a U.S. Congressman. During his twelve-year tenure, he focused on agriculture and the infrastructure of highways, airports, and waterways that facilitate the shipping of farm products overseas. As Chairman of the Treasury, Postal, and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, he oversaw a budget of $24.898 billion, which included over 40% of the Federal Law Enforcement budget. This encompassed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the United States Secret Service (USSS), the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), the U.S. Customs Service, the IRS, and other smaller agencies within the Treasury Department. After serving twelve years, he retired, firmly believing in term limits. He concluded his career as VP of Forensic Technology Inc. (FTI), the founder and developer of a system that has become the global standard in ballistic forensics, now utilized in over 88 countries. He served as VP for 14 years before retiring. Lightfoot and wife Nancy live in White Oak, in the Piney Woods of East Texas.

Pete Gagliardi ——  ATF retired Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division. In 2010, Pete authored the book (click the title), The 13 Critical Tasks: An Inside-Out Approach to Solving More Gun Crime.

Tracks in the Brass, by Jim Ross Lightfoot, is a realistic “who-done-it” investigation into the bizarre disappearance of cash from a most unlikely place, a missing grandfather, and a murder. A former Tulsa Police Officer, Broadcaster, Member of Congress, and VP of a Forensic Technology Company, Lightfoot is keenly attuned to how criminals act, the conduct of investigations, and forensics. It’s not his first rodeo. Moreover, he brings a unique perspective on the human impact on loved ones left behind, adding depth beyond gore and suspense in a down-to-earth, country-friendly way.