Thread: 'Sopranos' actor Lillo Brancato cleared in murder of cop, convicted of attempted burg

'Sopranos' actor Lillo Brancato cleared in murder of cop, convicted of attempted burglary

BY MELISSA GRACE AND CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Updated Monday, December 22nd 2008, 6:08 PM

The Bronx tale of actor-turned-junkie Lillo Brancato ended Monday with a twist - he beat the rap for murdering a police officer.

Brancato was found guilty only of trying to burglarize his buddy's house, the crime that sparked the confrontation that left Officer Daniel Enchautegui dead.

Stunned by the verdict, Brancato closed his eyes while his mother, seated a couple rows back, began sobbing.

On the other side of the gallery, Enchautegui's sister appeared stricken.

"Oh my God," said Yolanda Rosa. "I waited three long years for this. I'm very disappointed. I'm very disappointed."

It took the jury four days to reach a verdict that outraged police groups, who wanted Brancato sent up the river even though it was his accomplice, Steven Armento, who pulled the trigger.

While Brancato still faces from three and 1/2 to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 9, he has already spent three years in jail awaiting trial.

His lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, said he could "absolutely" walk with time served.

"The worst is behind Mr. Brancato," he said. "He's very relieved."

Patrolmen's Benevolent Association head Patrick Lynch said he shared Rosa's disappointment in the verdict.

Brancato, 32, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the killing of Enchautegui on Dec. 10, 2005.

To make the charge stick, prosecutors needed to prove Brancato was trying to break into the Bronx home of a friend, Kenny Scovotti, in a frantic search for drugs.

Based on the verdict, it appeared that prosecutors succeeded in doing so. Nevertheless, the jury acquitted Brancato of a felony murder charge that could have resulted in a life sentence.

Brancato, who once starred opposite Robert De Niro in the film "A Bronx Tale" and appeared on "The Sopranos," told the court he was no cop-killer.

The jury believed that part of his story. But the panel wasn't convinced by Brancato's claim that Scovotti supplied him with prescription drugs and often let him crash at his pad.

Brancato said that when he found the garage door locked, he banged on Scovotti's window - unaware that his friend had died several months earlier.

Enchautegui, who was awakened by the sound of breaking glass, came out to investigate and was shot by Armento, 52.
The off-duty officer managed to wound both Brancato and Armento before he died.

Armento was convicted earlier and is already serving a life sentence without parole.

Ex-'Sopranos' actor Lillo Brancato gets 10 years in prison for burglary that led to NYPD cop's death

BY RICH SCHAPIRO AND CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Updated Friday, January 9th 2009, 6:13 PM
A Bronx judge stuck another dagger into the heart of a slain police officer's sister Friday when he gave Lillo Brancato a reduced sentence for the botched burglary that led to the cop's death.
"This is gonna be good for me," the actor-turned-junkie told his lawyer after Justice Martin Marcus handed down a 10-year sentence.

Officer Daniel Enchautegui's outraged sister said the former "Sopranos" actor deserved the 15-year max - and should have been convicted of murder, not just burglary.

"I am disappointed in the justice system," she said outside the Bronx courthouse. "He'll always be a murderer, no matter what the jury says. He's a murderer and he knows he is a murderer."
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association vice president John Puglissi ripped Marcus for not having "the courage to follow through and give the maximum sentence to this lowlife, drug addict, washed-up actor."

"This is a travesty of justice," he said. "Lillo Brancato was able to act his way out of a murder conviction and now that mistake was tragically compounded by less than a maximum sentence."
Brancato, 32, was also sentenced to five years supervision.
Defense lawyer Joseph Tacopina said he expects Brancato to be out of jail in about five years with good time and credit for the three years he's been behind bars.
"He accepts and embraces the five years and he's going to make that into something positive," the lawyer said. "He's going to do something with his life. He's not going to whine and complain about it."
Brancato was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the killing of the 28-year-old officer on Dec. 10, 2005.
Drunk and high, Brancato and Steven Armento were trying to break into the apartment of Brancato’s buddy to steal prescription drugs when they were confronted by Enchautegui.

Last month, a Bronx jury acquitted Brancato of murder but convicted him of burglary - a verdict that outraged Rosa and police groups.
They said Brancato was just as guilty as the 52-year-old triggerman Armento, who shot Enchautegui at point-blank range and was convicted earlier of murder.
Dressed in a dark suit and speaking at his sentencing in a low and shaky voice, Brancato told the court he was sorry.
"There is not a day that goes by that I do not pray for him and his family," Brancato said of the slain cop. "He will forever, until the day I die, be in my thoughts and prayers."
Brancato admitted he made "mistakes," but added, "At my core I am a good and decent person...
"I realize that my drug abuse has harmed many people. I realize I can never allow myself to go back to that life."
Brancato said he's looking forward to starting over.
"I am not talking about resuming my acting career," he said. "I am talking about much more than that. I am talking about being a good son, brother, friend and citizen."

Rosa told Marcus that Brancato and Armento didn't just kill her brother, they broke her parents' hearts, both of whom died after their son was slain.
"I lost Danny, my dad, and my mom because of two men who wanted to drink and do drugs," she said.
Marcus agreed that "this was not a simple burglary attempt." He told Brancato his drug problem "does not excuse your role in these events...
"Officer Enchautegui died that night because you believed there were prescription drugs."

Marcus said Brancato's drug abuse was a "sad story" and that he was guilty of another crime - ruining his life.
"It's also a sad story of good forture and extraordinary opportunity that was wasted and abused," Marcus said.