'Calogero' cleared of Murder, but guilty of throwing life away

I know, I know... I'm a month or so late. However, I felt the need to draft a brief post about the abject fuckery that Lillo Brancato Jr's life has become.

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He had, arguably, the lead role in 'A Bronx Tale' ahead of his co-stars Robert De Niro and Chaz Palminteri. After that, he worked like most actors do... from time to time. Then, after a few years, he hit the semi-big time again, with a prominent role in Season Series 2 of HBO's The Sopranos (these 'Italian'-American dudes get typecast worse than any other ethnic group, but that's by the by).

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So how did this promising young actor go from this, to being on trial for murdering an off-duty NYPD officer who disrupted a burglary he was conducting with his pal, a gun-toting degenerate smackhead? Drugas... because he was baghead too, and he wanted to rob someones telly so he could buy some more brown. In the end, he was acquitted of 2nd Degree murder (his partner in crime wasn't so lucky, having pulled the trigger), but found guilty of attempted burglary. His lawyer thought 3 years was a realistic sentence, and he'd already served 2 awaiting trial. But a policeman had died... and so he was sentenced to 10 years.

Another promising life ruined... choose your friends wisely.