Dec 29, 2005 11:47 am US/Eastern
Apology From Actor Implicated In Officer Killing
Lillo Brancato Jr. Might Take Stand At Trial
NEW YORK (AP) ―
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Slain Officer Daniel Enchautegui
CBS
The actor accused in the slaying of an off-duty Bronx police officer said in a jailhouse interview that he wept while reading a newspaper story about the dead man's funeral.
Lillo Brancato Jr. told the New York Post that when he saw the picture of his father, it brought tears to his eyes because he looked like one of those old-fashioned men -- kind of like my father.
Brancato is charged with murder in the shooting death of Daniel Enchautegui, who was fatally wounded in a December 10 gunfight. Police said that Enchautegui was shot after he heard Brancato and another man, Steven Aremento, breaking into a basement apartment in the Bronx.
Brancato made his acting debut opposite Robert De Niro in the film "A Bronx Tale," and appeared in a recurring role as a mob wannabe on "The Sopranos."
Brancato insisted that he was unaware Armento was carrying a weapon when they left a Bronx strip club to break into the apartment and steal prescription drugs. Authorities identified Armento as the gunman in the slaying.
Brancato said he wouldn't have allowed Armento in his car.
According to Brancato, Armento plans to acknowledge that the actor knew nothing about the gun. Brancato said he might take the witness stand at trial to tell the jury "how horrible I feel about my stupidity."
Brancato made the sign of the cross every time he mentioned Enchautegui's name during the 40-minute interview at Rikers Island. And he offered an apology to the officer's family.
(© 2005 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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