EX-DETECTIVE FINDS FAME LESS THAN FLEETING.

Byline: Dennis McCarthy 

A few diners in the crowded Woodland Hills restaurant turn in their chairs to take a look, trying to put a name with the familiar face of this middle-age guy sipping on a cup of coffee.

They've seen him somewhere before, but where? He's somebody, but who? TV? Movies? The news? Where?

Tom Lange sees the looks, and turns back to his coffee, a little embarrassed. Even a year after the O.J. Simpson trial ended, Lange's still not used to the stares he gets in public - to the semicelebrity status he never asked for or wanted.

``I used to wonder why people were staring at me,'' the 29-year veteran police officer says, reaching for another cup of coffee.

``But then I realized how could they not stare when my mug was pushed in their faces almost every night on TV for over a year.''

He's not a cop anymore - not Detective Tom Lange, one half of the Los Angeles Police Department homicide team that slapped the cuffs on O.J. Simpson, and thus began the most controversial, media covered, viewer devoured, TV murder case and trial in history.

Lange's a private citizen these days. Like his partner, Phil Vannatter, he chose retirement from the LAPD after the trial was over - retirement with a bad taste in his mouth for the verdict and the department he had worked at for 29 years, 20 of them as a homicide detective.

``I miss the people I worked with, but not the department one bit,'' he says, matter of factly. ``And I sure don't miss wearing a tie every day.''

The Simpson acquittal played a part in his decision to retire from the department at 51, but not a large part, he says.

``I looked at a lot of things - my age, family, their ages, my income, my mental attitude,'' he says. ``It had gotten to the point where the job wasn't fun anymore.

``Once you can't contribute and don't want to be there, it's time to leave,'' Lange said.

After the retirement parties, and all-night bull sessions commiserating with longtime buddies still on the force were over, the homicide partners headed off in different directions and lifestyles.

Vannatter moved his family to Indiana, choosing a simple life on a farm - as far away from the media crush and O.J.-philes as he could get.

Lange stayed closer to the action, at home in Simi Valley - hanging out a shingle as a private investigator with a new partner, Los Angeles private investigator Adam Dawson.

He also gives seminars on police work, serves as a consultant on a TV cop show, and is writing a book with Vannatter about the Simpson case and trial.

He reads the look on my face. Do we really need another O.J. book? Yeah, he says, to set the record straight on this case as seen through a cop's eyes, and the real job he and his partner did.

Not the job that earned them the nickname the ``twin demons of evil'' by the defense.

``Phil and I personally, and law enforcement, in general, were vilified by the defense attorneys, media, politicians, and even our own department. We need to respond.''

He pauses, looking for the right words to explain the bitter feelings.

``You're a cop out front doing a tough job, and hoping somebody's back there behind you, backing you up,'' he says.

``But you turn around and nobody's there.''

Lange takes a quick look around the restaurant, eager to change the subject, lighten it up. He runs a hand over his bald head, swearing that since he quit the force - leaving the Simpson stress and bureaucratic nonsense behind - a few strands of his dead and gone hair are struggling to come back.

``You know, having a face that's recognizable isn't all bad,'' he says, getting ready to leave and go knock on a few doors as a private investigator.

``Last week, I was looking for some guy, and his landlord was being very belligerent and defensive about my being there and asking questions,'' Lange said.

``Then he stops and gives me this `Hey, I know you' look, and says, `Aren't you the cop from O.J.?' I say yeah.

``All of a sudden I'm in his living room drinking his coffee, and getting all the cooperation I need.''

MEMO: Dennis McCarthy's column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

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Photo

PHOTO Although retired from the LAPD, Tom Lange is still re cognized for his role in O.J. Simpson's trial. Lange, now a private investigator, is writing a book on the case.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News