Free Republic

A STAR of the mega-hit Sopranos TV drama, Lillo Brancato, has appeared in a New York court facing a murder charge. Brancato, 29, and co-defendant Steven Armento, 48, were charged with second-degree murder over the death of an off-duty police officer last month. Mr Armento, who allegedly pulled the trigger, was also charged with first-degree murder. Brancato entered the court in handcuffs as dozens of police officers and media looked on, Associated Press reported. Both men have denied the charges. The parents of the victim, Daniel Enchautegui, attended the proceedings in the Bronx court. According to the police case, Mr...

A young "Sopranos" actor accused in the slaying of an off-duty police officer said in a jailhouse interview he's sorry and didn't know his alleged burglary accomplice was carrying a gun. Lillo Brancato Jr., who appeared opposite Robert De Niro "A Bronx Tale" and more recently was in several episodes of "The Sopranos," was charged with murder and other counts in the Dec. 10 shooting of Daniel Enchautegui during a gunfight. He told the New York Post in an interview published Thursday that he wept while reading a newspaper account of Enchautegui's funeral. "When I saw the picture of his...

NYC police officer killed; 'Sopranos' actor ID'd as a suspect AP December 10, 2005 New York - An off-duty police officer was killed Saturday in a gunfight with two burglars outside his home, and authorities said an actor from "The Sopranos" was a suspect. Daniel Enchautegui, 28, a three-year veteran, was pronounced dead at a hospital following the 5:15 a.m. shooting, said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. He was the second officer to die in the line of duty in two weeks. "This is a loss to the department and the city," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who joined Kelly at the...