After once promising actor Lillo Brancato Jr. was sentenced to 10 years in prison (possibly getting out in 5 years, with good behavior), he told his lawyer, "This is going to be good for me, this five years. I'm going to straighten myself out, put my thoughts together."
Brancato, whose claims to fame were a starring role in A Bronx Tale and a recurring role on one season of The Sopranos, was on trial for the 2005 fatal shooting of an off-duty cop, but was only convicted of attempted burglary. He and his friend Steven Armento were breaking into a house for drugs, and Armento pulled the trigger when cop Daniel Enchautegui interrupted them. The judge, Justice Martin Marcus, said, "While I accept that verdict, in sentencing you I cannot ignore the fact that as a result of the attempted burglary of which you were convicted, a brave, young police officer is dead."
Yolanda Rosa, Enchautegui's sister, who had begged the judge to give Brancato the 15-year maximum sentence, said, "I'm disappointed in the judicial system right now." The Bronx DA's office tried to argue Brancato hadn't changed, noting, per the Times, that he overdosed on drugs in the prison chapel. And Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Vice President John Puglissi also criticized the judge for lacking "the courage to follow through and give the maximum sentence to this lowlife, drug addict, washed-up actor... This is a travesty of justice."
Brancato's lawyer Joseph Tacopina had been hoping his client, who had been in jail since the shooting, would get time-served. Tacopina acknowledged time-served was "never a realistic sentence" and took time to blast Mayor Bloomberg, who was upset by the jury's murder acquittal for Brancato. The lawyer told reporters, "For appointed officials to criticize the verdict, it makes you wonder why anyone would want to serve jury duty."
