Daniel Brandon 'Danny' Shea is a fictional character in Mark Winegardner

Mark Winegardner

Mark Winegardner is an American writer born and raised in Bryan, Ohio. His novels include The Godfather Returns, Crooked River Burning, and The Veracruz Blues. He published a collection of short stories, That's True of Everybody, in 2002. His newest novel, The Godfather's Revenge, was published...

's novels The Godfather Returns

The Godfather Returns

The Godfather Returns is a novel written by author Mark Winegardner, published in 2004. It is the sequel to Mario Puzo's The Godfather, which was originally published in 1969, and The Sicilian...

and The Godfather's Revenge

The Godfather's Revenge

The Godfather's Revenge, a 2006 novel written by author Mark Winegardner, is the sequel to The Godfather, The Sicilian, and The Godfather Returns. The story takes place from 1963–1964, and picks up the story from where The Godfather Returns left off...

. He is based on Attorney General and US Senator Robert F. Kennedy

Robert F. Kennedy

Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...

.

Danny, as he is affectionately called by his family, grows up in a poor neighborhood in the Bronx. He idolizes his brother, James

James Shea

James William Shea is an English footballer playing as a goalkeeper for Dagenham & Redbridge in Football League Two on loan from Arsenal.-Arsenal:Shea joined Arsenal's youth team in August 2007...

. His father is a bootlegger, and they become rich working with Vito Corleone

Vito Corleone

Vito Andolini Corleone is a fictional character and the main character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather, as well as Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather trilogy, where he was portrayed by Marlon Brando in The Godfather and by Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II. Premiere Magazine listed Vito...

. By the early 1950s, he becomes the assistant Attorney General in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. He and his brother are both womanizers.

By 1956, his father makes a deal with Corleone family consigliere

Consigliere

Consigliere is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The word was popularized by Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather , and its film adaptation...

Tom Hagen

Tom Hagen

Thomas "Tom" Feargal Hagen is a fictional character in the Godfather books and films. He was portrayed by Robert Duvall in the films. He is the informally adopted son of Don Vito Corleone and serves as the family lawyer and consigliere . Mild-mannered and soft-spoken, he often serves as a voice of...

 to get his son, James, elected president. Danny works on his brother's campaign and in 1960, he becomes Attorney General after James is elected president.

He is depicted as involved in key moments in American history, like the assassination of Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

's bodyguard, the Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...

, the hit on Carmine Marino

Carmine Marino

Carmine Marino is a fictional character who plays a prominent role in the novel The Godfather Returns.-Character history:Marino came into America in 1956 to be a hostage held by Donnie Bags, Eddie Paradise, and Momo Barone. He plays cards with them in a building being supervised by caporegime Rocco...

, and the prosecution of crime lords, such as Carlo Tramonti

Carlo Tramonti

Carlo Tramonti is a fictional character in the novels The Godfather and The Godfather's Revenge. In the universe of the novels, he is the Don of the New Orleans syndicate from 1931 to 1964.-Character overview:...

. He is depicted as the prosecutor in Tramonti's case.

In 1964, his brother is assassinated and Danny realizes who was behind it. He steps down as Attorney General and runs for governor of New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

in 1966. He runs for president in 1968, but is assassinated in a manner similar to his brother.