I got to work on another LA Weekly spot recently with a subject that reads like something from a TV crime drama.

A suburban neighborhood gangster, who only a few months ago was hailed by city officials as a local hero for saving a neighbor from a burning house, finally went too far, imprisoning a couple for six days in his garage, and torturing the husband — carving and burning a four-letter word into his skin — all because the horrified couple owed him $250! Yikes!