Dan Hanks

Birth Name: Daniel Joseph Portley

Dan "Danno" Hanks, has a seven-page rap sheet showing more than fifty arrests and three terms in state and federal prisons.The youngest of ten children, he took to the night streets as a tee ...Show More

Dan "Danno" Hanks, has a seven-page rap sheet showing more than fifty arrests and three terms in state and federal prisons.The youngest of ten children, he took to the night streets as a teenager, to avoid the advances of a sexually abusive stepfather. In 1976, while imprisoned at San Quentin, he witnessed a fatal stabbing in the chow line. Two inmates were arguing whether or not one character was sleeping with another on an afternoon soap. Upon his release, he discovered he could make more money and stay out of jail by working the other side of the law - as a private investigator and a Confidential Informant for the DEA & FBI.For a period of the time that Danno was incarcerated, it was in the co-ed federal prison in Pleasanton, California. Danno was the first (and for a long time, the only) male prisoner in the prison. He wrote a short story "Prisoner in Paradise", which is being turned into a series for HBO by George Gallo & Howard Deutch.Danno teamed up with Fred Valis after his release from prison and the two of them formed Backstreet Investigations. Danno has since been responsible for solving more than a thousand theft, fraud, and drug cases. After working with Fred Valis for 25 years, he obtained a certificate of Rehablitation and was granted his own private investigator's license. Shortly after his long time partner, Fred Valis passed away, leaving Danno to carry on the Backstreet Investigations legacy alone.Danno has worked as a story consultant to writer George Gallo & a technical advisor on police & crime dramas. He can be seen as a regular commentator on "Geraldo at Large".He still does investigation work for the entertainment community & the news media. Hide