a non-fiction "bronx tale"

Court officers await the arraignment of actor Lillo Brancato Jr. and one-time Genovese crime family associate Steven Armento in the murder of NYPD Officer Daniel Enchautegui, who confronted them during a burglary in the Bronx last month.
A court officer waves back reporters who rushed the courtroom door after an initial group of reporters were allowed to enter.
After the hearing, about 200 officers await outside the Bronx Supreme Court building for a press conference held by Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.
More officers.
Backed by cops and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion (left), Lynch warned potential jurors that Brancato, who appeared in several episodes of "The Sopranos," could "summon tears upon request" after roles in more than a dozen movies. Lynch said both men should face the death penalty, despite statements by Brancato's attorney that the actor did not know Armento had a gun. "When you are there, you are as guilty as the person who did it," the union leader said.




BRONX
In a courtroom packed with off-duty police officers and distraught relatives, actor Lillo Brancato Jr. and a career criminal pleaded not guilty yesterday to murder charges in the shooting of an off-duty police officer last month.
Brancato, 29, who made his big-screen debut opposite Robert De Niro in 1993’s “A Bronx Tale,” and Steven Armento, 48, were arraigned in Bronx Supreme Court on charges of second-degree murder, burglary and weapon possession.
Armento, whose rap sheet dates back to 1979, was also charged with two counts of first-degree murder for allegedly firing the bullet from a .357-caliber revolver that killed Officer Daniel Enchautegui, 28, on Dec. 10 as he responded to a burglary in a Bronx apartment.
The men, both of Yonkers, entered the courtroom in handcuffs and pleaded not guilty before state Supreme Court Justice John Collins. Brancato was dressed in a dark suit with a white T-shirt and dark shoes. Armento wore a pink shirt, dark pants and white sneakers.
Immediately following his entrance, friends and relatives of the former “Sopranos” actor began sobbing, including his mother, Dominique Brancato. On the other side of the courtroom, the parents of the slain officer, Pedro and Maria Enchautegui, who were applauded by officers as they arrived, sat with dozens of New York’s Finest.
According to police sources and prosecutors, Brancato and Armento decided to break into an apartment in search of Valium. Enchautegui, who was returning home from a late-night shift, heard shattering glass and confronted the men as they exited the residence. Armento allegedly then opened fire after Enchautegui identified himself as an officer.
Enchautegui was struck once in the chest, with a bullet piercing his aorta. He somehow managed to return at least eight shots with his off-duty handgun, a .25-caliber pistol, striking Brancato twice and Armento six times.

--

As he left the courthouse yesterday with Brancato’s family, attorney Mel Sachs tried to distance his client from Armento.
“[Brancato] did not shoot the police officer, he didn’t have a gun with him and he didn’t know that [Armento] had a gun,” Sachs said. “This wasn’t forseeable in any way. He is not criminally responsible for the murder.”
Sachs declined to comment whether or not Brancato would testifty against Armento, who befriended the actor about two years ago when he began dating Armento’s 20-year-old daughter, Stephanie.
Armento’s attorney, William Flack, said he was concerned with a decision by the Bronx District Attorney’s Office to take an audio statement -- and not a videotaped one -- from Armento as he was hospitalized for gunshot wounds.
“My client was in no condition to be spoken to,” Flack said. “They did not want the public to see what he looked like. It’s a shame that they did it that way.”

--

Minutes later, Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch, who stood in front of nearly 200 officers on the steps of the courthouse, called Brancato an “evil man” who should “never see the light of day.”
“Our concern here today is to make sure that the celebrity that murdered a New York City police officer is not treated any
differently,” Lynch said. “Do not allow that celebrity to get in the way of treating these people like they are -- criminals who killed a resident of the Bronx and a proud New York City police officer.”
Lynch, who again called for the death penalty in the case, continued, “[Brancato] is an actor; he can summon tears upon request. Do not be fooled, he’s an evil man and you cannot take evil out of a person, actor or otherwise.”
When asked about Sach’s comments that Brancato did not know Armento was armed, Lynch was unmoved.
“When you are there, you are as guilty as the person who did it,” Lynch said. “He made his choice. His choice was to stand with that killer -- he’s equally as guilty. Now, when his fat is in the fryer, he decides he’s going to start pointing fingers. The reality is he was there, he participated, he committed the crime and he killed a hero. Now it’s time to make sure there’s justice and he never, ever sees the light of day.”
Both men were remanded without bail and are due back in court on March 13.

---

Born in Bogota, Columbia, a four-month-old Brancato was adopted in 1976 by Lillo and Dominique Brancato, of Yonkers, N.Y., just north of New York City.
He was eventually discovered by talent scouts while wading in the water at Jones Beach. It was Brancato's impersonation of De Niro in "Taxi Driver" that reportedly won him the chance to play alongside one of the most respected and decorated actors in Hollywood.
In 1993's "A Bronx Tale," Brancato played Calogero, the teenage son of Lorenzo (De Niro), a bus driver in the Bronx. As a boy, Calogero, or "C," witnessed a fatal shooting by the neighborhood's mob boss (Chazz Palminteri) and decided not to inform police. A strong paternal bond between the gangster and boy ensued, much to the dismay of hard-working Lorenzo. Ultimately, however, Calogero shunned the gangster lifestyle, opting to follow his father's honest footsteps.
Brancato went onto appear in a dozen movies, including "Renaissance Man," "Crimson Tide" and "The Adventures of Pluto Nash."
He also played Matthew Bevilacqua, an aspiring mobster in HBO's "The Sopranos," and as "Lucky" in the crime drama "Falcone," based upon the book by undercover FBI agent Joseph Falcone, aka Donnie Brasco.