New York
An actor who played an aspiring mobster on the HBO series The Sopranos is being held this week in the murder of an off-duty New York City police officer. The actor, Lillo Brancato Jr., 29, allegedly broke into a Bronx apartment with an accomplice, Steven Armento, 48, to steal prescription drugs after a night spent drinking in a strip club. The men were surprised outside at 5:20 a.m. by the policeman, Daniel Enchautegui, 28, who lived next door. A gunfight erupted between Enchautegui and Armento. Enchautegui was killed, and both Armento and Brancato were wounded. The actor was discovered as a teenager when a movie executive was struck by his resemblance to a young Robert De Niro, and cast him as De Niro’s son in A Bronx Tale. Friends said a heroin habit had steered Brancato astray.
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