‘Sopranos’ actor Lillo Brancato to be freed

[KingsOfTheDay]

‘Sopranos’ actor Lillo Brancato to be freed

By Larry Celona and Bruce GoldingDecember 30, 2013 | 7:22pm

Photo: Splash News

“Sopranos” actor Lillo Brancato will begin the new year a free man after spending eight years in the slammer for a botched Bronx break-in that ended with his pal killing an off-duty cop.

Brancato, 37, bragged about his release in a tweet that said Monday would be “my last full day in prison.”

“Thank you for your love and support. I love you all!” the star of 1993’s “A Bronx Tale” said in a tweet he dictated from behind bars.

He had been set for release in July after serving eight years of a 10-year sentence. But he is getting out early after agreeing to an unusual deal with the parole board in which he will serve five years’ parole with a 10 p.m. curfew. Had he waited until July, he would not have faced parole.

His release outraged the sister of Officer Daniel Enchautegui, who was fatally shot by the actor’s cohort in a burglary in 2005.

“I’m still upset that he was not convicted of the murder and that he did not serve enough time,” Yolanda Rosa said.

“I don’t know how I will feel tomorrow when he is free, walking on the streets, while my brother will not.”

Brancato was convicted of attempted burglary in 2008 but beat a murder rap that could have sent him away for life. He had been doing time at the upstate Hudson Correctional Facility.

He was trying to break in to a friend’s house in The Bronx to steal drugs on Dec. 10, 2005, when accomplice Steven Armento shot Enchautegui in the chest.

The cop, who lived nearby, was investigating after hearing Brancato kick out a window. He shot back and wounded both crooks.

Rosa said she was told Brancato had been a “model prisoner,” although he was sued last year by a jailmate who claimed the actor beat him up over a pay phone

“Well, he wasn’t a model citizen before. We’ll see if he’s a model citizen after he gets out,” Rosa said.

Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch vowed the “lowlife thug” would be made to abide by his parole conditions “to the last letter.”

“The minute he steps out of line, we’ll be sure that he is returned to prison to finish out the rest of his sentence,” Lynch said.