Danny grew up on Staten Island, in an "Italian Mafia" family under surveillance (as hinted at in the episode "Tanglewood"). As a result, he formed his own set of hybrid ethics, caught between the world of lawbreakers and lawmakers. Though very little is known about the Messer family, Danny openly admits that he has had a very rocky relationship with his older brother, Louie, since a fateful night in 1991. After promising to take Danny to a party in Atlantic City with some of his friends, Louie pulled over beside a football stadium where he and two others began to severely beat a drug dealer, telling him it was an initiation into the Tanglewood Boys gang. When Danny protested, Louie called him a disgrace and told him to leave (episode 220, "Run Silent, Run Deep"). Despite the strained relationship that resulted, Danny would often lend money to Louie (episode 211, "Trapped"). After graduating first in his class at the NYPD police academy, (episode 122, "The Closer") CSI team leader Mac Taylor personally selected Danny for his team, an honor and a responsibility that he attempts to live up to each day.
At one time, Danny suffered from commitment problems and was scared of falling in love to the point of telling Mac to not even make jokes about it (episode 115, "Til Death Do We Part"). However, he has since shown signs of growing out of his commitment-phobic ways (i.e.; joking about marrying Lindsay Monroe after she displayed a knowedge of football (episode 219, "Supermen")).
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