--- No one ever said he wasn't a good actor.....Patty



In sopranos@yahoogroups.com, David Kaplan <sexzguy@...> wrote:
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> THE-SOPRANOS
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: THE-SOPRANOS@yahoogroups.com
> To: THE-SOPRANOS@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 1:15 PM
> Subject: [THE-SOPRANOS] Digest Number 1497
>
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> THE-SOPRANOS
> Messages In This Digest (1 Message)
> 1. Ex-Actor Acquitted of Officer's Murder From: Lynn Ellingwood
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> 1. Ex-Actor Acquitted of Officer's Murder
> Posted by: "Lynn Ellingwood" lellingw@... lynnellingwood
> Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:05 pm (PST)
> Ex-Actor Acquitted of Officer's Murder
> By SEWELL CHAN and MATHEW R. WARREN
> Published: December 22, 2008
> A former actor who fell from stardom, tumbling from early success
in
> Hollywood into desperate drug abuse, was acquitted of felony
murder on
> Monday afternoon in the 2005 shooting death of an off-duty police
> officer in the Bronx.
>
> David Greene/Associated Press
> Lillo Brancato Jr. in 2005.
>
> New York City Police Department
> Officer Daniel Enchautegui.
> The actor, Lillo Brancato Jr., was also acquitted on two burglary
> charges. In a blow to prosecutors, he was convicted only on a
single
> attempted burglary charge.
>
> His hands clasped as if in prayer, Mr. Brancato expressed little
> emotion as the verdict was read. Theresa A. Gottlieb, a Bronx
> assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case, said Mr.
Brancato
> could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison on the attempted
> burglary conviction. The sentencing was set for Jan. 9.
>
> Patrick J. Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent
Association,
> which represents New York City police officers, said after the
> verdict, "We're obviously frustrated today that the jury did not
see
> what was plain and simple." He urged the judge to sentence Mr.
> Brancato to the maximum 15 years.
>
> Yolanda Rosa, a sister of the slain officer, Daniel Enchautegui,
said,
> "I waited three long years for this. I'm disappointed." She asked
of
> the verdict, "What message is this sending out to New York police
> officers today?"In a statement on Monday, Police Commissioner
Raymond
> W. Kelly said the jury's decision saddened him, coming as it did
hours
> after a mistrial was declared in Brooklyn in the trial of Lee
Woods,
> one of three defendants accused of murdering another officer,
Russel
> Timoshenko.
>
> "On this day of disappointments in court, we hope that the family
and
> friends of Daniel Enchautegui find some comfort in the fact that
at
> least one of the pair responsible for his death was convicted of
> murder," Mr. Kelly said.
>
> Mr. Brancato's co-defendant, Steven Armento, was convicted of
first-
> degree murder in October and was sentenced in November to life in
> prison.
>
> Although Mr. Brancato never fired at Officer Enchautegui , or
even had
> a gun in his possession on the morning of the killing,
prosecutors
> argued that he was responsible under the law because he had
committed
> a burglary that led to the officer's death. The jury did not
agree.
>
> The acquittal drew attention to the fall from grace for a young
actor
> with a once-promising career. Mr. Brancato had starred with
Robert De
> Niro in the 1993 film "A Bronx Tale" as a teenager before landing
> small roles in a string of movies and half a dozen episodes
of "The
> Sopranos." But he slowly descended into heavy drug abuse,
becoming,
> according to his testimony during the trial, a "dope-sick" crack
and
> heroin addict.
>
> Mr. Brancato was in search of drugs when he and Mr. Armento
confronted
> Officer Enchautegui (pronounced EN-cha-tay-gee) in the early
hours of
> Dec. 10, 2005. Prosecutors argued during the trial that after a
long
> night of alcohol-fueled partying at a strip club, Mr. Armento and
Mr.
> Brancato showed up at a home on Arnow Place in the Pelham Bay
section
> of the Bronx to get prescription painkillers from an acquaintance
who
> lived there, Kenneth Scovotti. But because Mr. Scovotti had
recently
> died, they found the doors locked and the house silent.
>
> What happened next was a crucial sticking point during the trial.
Mr.
> Brancato said he was in the throes of withdrawal and desperate to
get
> high, causing him to break a window in the apartment accidentally
as
> he tried to get Mr. Scovotti's attention, unaware that the man
had
> died months before. But prosecutors accused Mr. Brancato of
scripting
> a fantasy to mislead the jury, saying he deliberately smashed the
> glass so that he and Mr. Armento could break into the home and
steal
> pills. They pointed out that a screen had been carefully removed
from
> the window, and a prosecution expert testified that latex gloves
found
> at the scene contained both men's DNA.
>
> "You make what's fiction appear to be reality," Ms. Gottlieb said
> during a cross-examination.
>
> As Mr. Armento and Mr. Brancato lingered outside the house, the
sound
> of breaking glass awoke Officer Enchautegui, who lived next door
and
> went outside to investigate. Dressed in plain clothes and armed
with
> his handgun, Officer Enchautegui approached the two men and
shouted:
> "Don't Move! Don't Move!"
>
> Startled, Mr. Brancato said he turned around and was shot
multiple
> times. As he ran away, Mr. Armento, who was carrying a .357
Magnum,
> opened fire on Officer Enchautegui, fatally shooting him once in
the
> heart. Mr. Brancato said he had no idea Mr. Armento was carrying
a
> weapon, a claim that prosecutors also challenged.
>
> The nearly four-week trial of Mr. Brancato was almost derailed
twice.
> One juror was replaced midway through the trial when he was
arrested
> on assault charges. Then, on Thursday, as deliberations were
under
> way, a second juror was replaced after it was revealed that he
had
> taken notes during the trial and researched the case online.
>
> Anahad O'Connor contributed reporting.
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