Lillo Brancato Jr.

Brancato was born in Bogotá, Colombia. Adopted when he was four months old, he was raised by Italian-American parents, Lillo Sr. (a construction worker), and Domenica (an electrolysist),[3] in Yonkers, New York. Brancato studied at Mount Saint Michael Academy. His adoptive brother, Vinny, briefly worked as a fashion model and now works as a Yonkers civil servant.[4]

Although he was born in Colombia, Brancato has said, "I consider myself Italian. I was raised to eat pasta".[5] Brancato was discovered in 1992, while swimming at New York’s Jones Beach, by a talent scout who noticed Brancato's resemblance to Robert De Niro.[6] Brancato was a fan of De Niro and impressed the scout with an impression of Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. This won him the role of De Niro's son in A Bronx Tale.[4]

Brancato acted in three films in the mid-1990s, prior to joining the cast of The Sopranos. In the 1993 film A Bronx Tale, he played the main character Calogero 'C' Anello, a teenager torn between his father and a mob boss who befriended him as a child. (According to New York Magazine, Brancato earned $25,000 ($44,200 today) for the role.)[4] He appeared in the 1994 movie Renaissance Man, followed by a minor but climactic role as a radio operator in the 1995 film Crimson Tide.

In the second season of The Sopranos, which HBO broadcast in 2000, Brancato starred as Matthew Bevilaqua, a young mobster associated with Tony Soprano's crime syndicate. Bevilaqua first appeared in the second-season premiere, "Guy Walks into a Psychiatrist's Office...", and appeared in five more episodes, the last one being "Bust Out", However, his character was murdered in the previous episode, "From Where to Eternity". Brancato also played a mobster in the TV series Falcone, which debuted in 2000. In 2001, Brancato starred in 'R Xmas, appearing with fellow Sopranos cast member Drea de Matteo.

Brancato’s last film before being charged in 2005 for first-degree burglary was Saturday Morning, released in 2007. The director, whose brother-in-law is a police officer, edited down all of Brancato’s scenes during post-production.[7]

Following his release from prison in 2013, Brancato made his return to acting with the 2016 film Back in The Day.[8][9]

3117-3119 Arnow Place, Bronx, New York 10461, site of the shooting. The house left of the alleyway, number 3117, was Daniel Enchautegui's residence; number 3119, right of the alleyway, was the house that Brancato and his accomplice Armento attempted to burgle.

Brancato started using drugs and alcohol shortly after his introduction to show business in 1992. He was addicted to cocaine and heroin by his mid-20s.[6]

On June 10, 2005, Brancato was arrested by the Yonkers Police Department, in Yonkers, New York. Officers originally pulled Brancato over for having a rear brake light out and found he had an expired registration and no other papers for the vehicle. He gave police permission to look in a cigarette box, where they found four bags of heroin. He was charged with a seventh-degree Class A misdemeanor for criminal possession of a controlled substance.[10]

Six months later, on December 10, 2005, Brancato was arrested by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in the Bronx for the murder of 28-year-old police officer Daniel Enchautegui, who was at home and off-duty at the time of his death. Enchautegui had served with the NYPD for three years and was assigned to the 40th Precinct in the Bronx.[11] Enchautegui confronted Brancato (then 29) and his accomplice, Steven Armento (48), outside a vacant house located at 3119 Arnow Place, next to his own, after hearing glass break. While Enchautegui waited for backup, a gunfight erupted and Enchautegui was shot. He was later taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where he died. Police arrested Brancato and Armento in the vicinity, both with multiple gunshot wounds and in critical condition.

Armento (who was the father of Brancato's girlfriend Stefanie) was found to have fired the fatal shot that killed Enchautegui, and subsequently convicted of first-degree murder on October 30, 2008, receiving a sentence of life in prison without parole.[12]

Brancato was charged with second-degree murder,[13] and his trial began on November 17, 2008.[12] On December 22, 2008, a jury found him not guilty of murder, but found him guilty of first-degree attempted burglary.[14] On January 9, 2009, a judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison.[15]

Brancato was incarcerated in Rikers island and as state inmate #09A0227 in the Oneida Correctional Facility in Rome, New York, and was subsequently transferred to the Hudson Correctional Facility.[1] While in prison, Brancato continued his drug use, suffering a heroin overdose on at least one occasion.[6] On December 31, 2013, he was released on parole.[16] As of 2020, Brancato has stated that he is thirteen years sober and has returned to acting.[17]

• Lillo Brancato Jr. at IMDb
• Lillo Brancato at AllMovie