Fred Valis(1949-2005)
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Fred Valis began his career in NYC as Security Director for the now
defunct Eastern Airlines at Kennedy Airport. In 1971 Fred was recruited
by John Mazzarella, a long time friend and retired CIA operative to
join his investigative team to work undercover in a gun and drug
smuggling operation in cooperation with the B.N.D.D. (Bureau of
Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, later to become the D.E.A.), and the
A.T.F. (Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms) branches of law federal
enforcement. It was during those four years with Mr. Mazzarella, that
Fred Valis learned his trade from that true Master Detective. In 1971,
Valis moved from NYC to California in 1977, where he met 'Dan Hanks'.
Within a year they had become lifelong friends. In 1978 BackStreet
Investigations was founded by Fred Valis, and Dan Hanks came on board.
During those early years, the company focused on the lucrative
insurance business, and very quickly, BackStreet built a reputation as
the "Surveillance Masters". During that period, Valis became an active
member of C.A.L.I. ( the California Association of Licensed
Investigators). Eventually he served as the District Governor, and
later two terms as Director for the San Francisco District, chairing
their Convention in 1981. Valis rekindled his long relationship with
the United States Government in 1982, when Valis approached the Drug
Enforcement Administration and he and Hanks went to work as contract
operatives. He began to infiltrate various drug dealing operations in
the San Francisco Bay Area. His efforts ultimately resulted in the
largest cocaine seizure in the history of the San Francisco DEA office
to that time. He continued to work as covert operative for the DEA all
around the country, piling up arrests in New York, Baltimore, Miami,
Washington, DC, San Francisco, and elsewhere. It was during this
activity in Virginia, and Baltimore that Valis became unwittingly
involved in the "drugs for guns" CIA-Contra operation, and their
relationship with the DEA came to a halt. In 1988 he was recruited as
undercover operative by the FBI on another Federal Investigation. He
spent the next several years infiltrating the gambling arm of the
Gambino Crime Family. Their Federal and State Grand Jury testimony
ultimately resulted in the seizure of millions of dollars, and 27
convictions of known organized crime figures and their associates.
Since 1991, Fred Valis has contracted his investigative Production and
surveillance skills to produce television news and magazine show
segments for Hard Copy (1989), A Current Affair (1986), "Inside Edition" (1988)_ & American Journal (1993).
In 1994, after leaving Hard Copy as in-house investigator, He joined
Dick Clark productions to co-create and produce a one hour special for
NBC ("Caught in the Act"). Then along came O.J.! For the next two
years, along with the rest of the world, He was caught up in the O. J.
Simpson trial, providing the investigative expertise required by many
news organizations, including the aforementioned shows, and such print
publications as the New York Post, The National Enquirer, The Star, The
London Daily Mail, and many others who were covering the case. Since
1996 Valis has continued to support various network and local news
programs in Los Angeles and New York City, including, but not
exclusively for Fox Files on the Fox New Network, Fox Channel 5 in New
York City, KTTV Fox channel 11, and Extra in Los Angeles, contributing
to many Emmy Award winning investigations, which continually aired on
these shows. Most recently BackStreet performed all the investigations
for a reality pilot with Nash Entertainment, and all the background
investigations for the hit TV shows 'Popstars", and "The Mole" for
Stone Stanly Productions Most recently, TBS has purchased Valis' life
story rights, and is developing a series for television based on the
exploits of Fred Valis and Danno Hanks. They have contracted George Gallo to
write the first four scripts, and are planning the primer for the fall
season of 2002.