The Body In The Barrel

ormer professional photographer and TV-show host, Richard G. Opper later chose law school and went to UCLA where he met his wife, Ann Poppe, during their first year. They’ve been together ever since, and have two grown children of whom they are exceedingly proud.

After graduating they opened a law partnership in Santa Cruz, but they were soon lured away to work for the Attorney General’s Office for the Territory of Guam. Their children were born on Guam, where the family enjoyed their sailboat and being part of the local community. Richard later became the Attorney General for the Territory, which led to a variety of experiences, ranging from travel, armed, to the islands of Palau with a DEA agent for the return of a fugitive (during which task the President of Palau was murdered), to locking down an active local Savings and Loan branch on behalf of the federal government. On his leaving the office, he was awarded membership in the Ancient Order of the Chamorri, one of the highest civilian honors the Government of Guam can bestow.

He left the islands to settle in San Diego, where he established a career in environmental law and practiced the power of storytelling in jury trials. Richard was a frequent lecturer on the topic of brownfield redevelopment, and the US EPA sent him to Europe several times to describe cutting edge ideas to our European allies.

Richard Opper was also a founding director of Progresso Fronterizo (Foundation for Border Progress), an organization focusing on environmental and health conditions along the US-Mexico border, and for many years a board member for the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego.

An avid photographer and cyclist, Opper has published articles in the San Diego Union Tribune and professional journals. The Body in the Barrel is his first novel.