csua.org/u/e9b -> www.newsday.com/news/printedition/newyork/nyc-nysusp114548743dec11,0,1993851.story?coll=nyc-nynews-print
com%2Fnews%2Fprintedition%2Fnewyork%2Fnyc-nysusp114548743dec11%2C0%2C2106624%2Cprin tstory%3Flast_modified%3D12%2F11%2F05+3%3A35%3A45 BY HERBERT LOWE AND SARAH GARLAND; Herbert Lowe is a staff writer and Sar ah Garland is a freelance writer Staff writers Luis Perez and David Lepeska also contributed to this story . Brancato, 29, one of two men from Yonkers allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of a city police officer yesterday, made his professional acti ng debut as Robert De Niro's son in the film "A Bronx Tale."
In the 1993 movie, De Niro stars as Anello, a blue-collar father aiming t o keep his son from a life of crime and befriending a Mafia kingpin. Hav ing earned the role of 17-year-old Calogero Anello, thanks to his auditi on impersonations of De Niro's earlier film roles, Brancato's character pursues the Mafia lifestyle until his mobster mentor is killed. But in real life, Brancato - who later played a young gangster killed on the television series "The Sopranos" - seemed to be living a sad tale. "He's not the same person he was in the 'Bronx Tale,'" said Paula Izuriet a, 25, who lives on Resby Way in Yonkers, across from Steven Armento, wh o police said was with Brancato during the shooting. Police said Brancato and Armento, 48, were coming out of a house on Arnow Place in the working-class Pelham section of the Bronx when confronted by Officer Daniel Enchautegui, 28, who lived in an apartment next door t o the house and who believed a burglary was going on there. One of the men allegedly fired at Enchautegui, mortally wounding the offi cer in the chest, police said. Enchautegui fired back several shots, wou nding both suspects, before succumbing to his injury. Brancato and Armen to were both in serious condition at Jacobi Medical Center and facing mu ltiple felony charges, police said. Frank Capra, the actor who played Calogero at age 9 in "A Bronx Tale," on ce lived with his family in the same house in which Enchautegui was rent ing an apartment. Capra's family moved away in 1999, but his autographed portrait adorns a wall in a nearby barber shop. Brancato, a native of Colombia, has two prior arrests, both in Yonkers, p olice said, one for criminal mischief in 1994 and the other in June afte r he was allegedly found with four bags of heroin. Armento has a criminal record dating back to 1976, including on charges i nvolving drugs, criminal trespass, burglary, grand larceny and criminal possession of a weapon, police said. He has served three stints in priso n for charges involving drugs, weapons possession or burglary. He was mo st recently released in 1999 after serving 2 years for criminal possessi on of stolen property, according to police. Izurieta said Brancato had dated one of Armento's daughters until recentl y, but that the two men were still hanging out as friends even after the breakup. A couple blocks away on Rushby Way, Brancato lives with his adoptive pare nts, who brought him to the United States when he was 4 months old, as w ell as a younger brother. His brother, Vincent Brancato, had a small part in "A Bronx Tale" a s one of the boys who jumped on the back of the bus driven by De Niro, a ccording to a film biography. Relatives and friends at the Brancato house declined to comment. Ken Nowak, 41, who lives in the Brancatos' neighborhood, described Lillo Brancato Jr. as a "really nice guy" for an actor with modest success. "For a guy who worked with De Niro, he was pretty down to earth, didn't s eem arrogant or cocky at all," Nowak said. Herbert Lowe is a staff writer and Sarah Garland is a freelance writer. S taff writers Luis Perez and David Lepeska also contributed to this story .
|
http://csua.com/feed/