The Breakfast Club - Lillo Brancato Jr Interview

Episode Date: April 9, 2015

Lillo Brancato Jr. stops through to discuss his incarceration, the death of the police officer during his crime, his attempt to fix his life, returning to acting and much more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Real people, real celebrities, real talk. Join the Breakfast Club. Weekday mornings, 6 to 10. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy, Angela Yee, Charlamagne Tha God. We are the Breakfast Club. We got a guest with us this morning. And you know what's so crazy, man?

We be having rappers in here, right, who act so hardcore and gangsta and act like they done did so much and haven't done nothing. They probably think you're a chef or something. Yeah. But you put in that work. Lilo Brancato Jr. Yes. Thank you.

Good morning, sir. You got talking to the mic. Weilo Brancato Jr. Yes. Thank you. Good morning, sir. You got talking to the mic? We know you from Sopranos. Right. Bronx Tale, in particular, though, one of my favorite movies. Bronx Tale. How do you say? Collogio?

Collogero. Collogero. What was your role in Sopranos? I played Matthew Bevilacqua. I was a stockbroker, low-level guy, trying to get in with Tony and those guys. And ultimately, I was killed on the show. You really talk like that. Yeah.

I didn't know if that was a voice for the show or what. I'm going to ask you to spit out your gum, though. Oh, yeah, yeah. You can hear that on the mic. Okay, sorry. That's my job. Now, you served 10 years in prison, or 8 to 10 years. I served 8 out of a 10-year sentence.

8 out of a 10-year sentence for attempted burglary. Right. And all three police officers were shot, actually, during that robbery. Right. So what, I mean, you served your time, so you can talk about it, right? Yeah. Is the statute of limitations up? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay. So what happened? So you shot the cop? No. No, I didn't. I was in, you know, I was convicted of the burglary the burglary and in commission of that crime, in a commission of any felony, when it results in the death of someone else, they call that felony murder.

That's what I was charged with, not intentional murder. So your friend who you were with is actually the person that he's in jail for life. Right, he got an actual life. So explain to us what happened on that day, December 10, 2005. You know, at that time in my life, I was, you know, addicted to drugs. I was addicted to crack,

heroin. Crack? Yeah, both. Wow. Both drugs. And, you know, I mean, you know, I'm proud to say

I'm sober now, eight years. But, you know, with that being said, that night, you know, we came to, you know,

we got a little desperate. We couldn't find any drugs. No one had anything. I knew of a place where. So you weren't acting at that time, so you had no money. No, we did have money on us. It wasn't. It wasn't enough to buy some heroin.

No, no, it wasn't that. We couldn't find heroin. The guys that we usually go to ran out. Got you, got you. It was too late. We had money on us. It's not like we were going to rob the house for a VCR or something like that. It was a house that I knew would have prescription pills

because I knew the guy from way back when. Prescription pills give you the same high as heroin in some cases. Right. Opiates, narcotic pain medication. It's all the same. On a urinalysis, it would all come up the same. Gotcha. And we went to the house.

You know, I was really desperate to try to get in. Banged on the window, made all kinds of noise. No one answered. So eventually I broke the window. With your hand? With my foot. Yikes. You must have worn it as a high bat.

Yeah. You know, they actually used my boot as evidence because they had microscopic glass shards in the front. Wow. Which were consistent with the window. So, you know, there was no saying that I didn't break the glass. Mm-hmm. The off-duty police officer, Daniel N. Chaltegi, lived next door.

Oh, okay. Okay. He was off-duty. I heard he had just finished his shift. Heard the noise. Came outside. I was walking away from the window, and that's when I heard a male voice.

That's when I heard someone say, Don't move and you know like i said i was uh you know i was high and i just smoked crack so i was very jittery and i was paranoid and when when i heard the voice don't move you know what did i do i moved i turned around real fast and upon doing so i was shot shot to to one two direct hits and one that grazed me hmm what were you hit where or where yeah where we had my abdomen and you know and then I just seen like blood squirting out of my stomach right I didn't you know I didn't know who that was that shot me and I was kind you know I'm not

gonna lie I was afraid you know I was unarmed I didn't have who that was that shot me. And I was kind of, you know, I'm not going to lie, I was afraid. You know, I was unarmed. I didn't have a gun that night. He said that night. Other nights you might have had one, but that night. No, no, no, no, no. Never carried a gun in my life. I mean, I don't feel sympathy, though, because he was trying to break into somebody's house.

Right. Yeah. But your friend had a gun on him. Right. So what happened? So you got shot and you fall on the floor. No, I didn't fall on the floor. My adrenaline kicked in and I was trying to leave, trying to get as far away from that situation as possible.

And as I was walking away, I heard gunshots. And I didn't know at the time that my co-defendant was armed. So I didn't know where all that was coming from. But obviously a gunfight ensued between the two of them and you know the off-duty police officer was hit with you know he was hitting the heart what a 357 Magnum whoa and I'm coming back from now yeah and and he was he was killed killed right well you were you mad at your code d like why did you have to get into a gunfight with him well you know not even that not even that

i mean even further back than that you know why did you even carry a gun and not tell me that you had it yeah because you know at the situation you know i mean yeah i was still somewhat pursuing an acting career i was pursuing my addiction a little more but i was still pursuing you know an acting career. I was pursuing my addiction a little more, but I was still pursuing, you know, an acting career. But do you also feel like maybe he was defending you because if you're doing a burglary and somebody has a gun

and you didn't say he announced himself as a police officer and he shoots you twice, I mean, he could have been defending you. Well, yeah, that, you know, that is one way to look at it

because he also got shot nine times. So he got shot nine times. I got shot two to three times. He lived? Yeah, he lived. Oh, he should have did an album. How many bullets did that cop have?

He's in jail for life. So the cop, he changed clips. I don't know. I didn't see what happened between them. I only heard it. Right. Because I was already walking down the street. He must have had two guns, though.

Unless he reloaded. The.357 only got six shots, right? No, no, no. No, no. The.357 went the other way. Oh, okay. Got you, got you, got you, got you. So, yeah, you know, and then the gunfight ended between the two.

I didn't see the aftermath of what happened. I was already on the corner of, you knowchester Avenue in the Bronx right on our place and cops came on the scene they didn't they weren't called to the scene there was a bagel store down the street and they were getting bagels heard a gunshot and heard the gunshots so came over there and by the time they got there I was on the floor I was on the corner and I was like you know fighting for my life I'm surprised they didn't let you die but they probably know you had anything to do with it they didn't know what happened well they didn't know they didn't know that there was an

off-duty police officer dead three houses down but the neighbors came outside and like calling them like you know and then and then they call what they call buses ambulances right they called the bus and they got they got three of them over there and And we went to the hospital. And inside the ambulance, I remember trying to say, I didn't do anything. But for some reason, my voice, you couldn't hear it. You did.

You did something. They were looking at you like, oh, you did something. You're sitting there bleeding with gunshots. Yeah, right. So you did something. Right. And, you know, we brought to the hospital, gave them the surgery.

You know, they took my spleen out, part of my colon. I had a collapsed lung. And then I found out after coming out of all of that that an off-duty police officer was killed. And, I mean, you know, wow, I was really... They pressed you immediately about being an eyewitness, I'm sure. More like an accomplice, I would think, too. Well, even more than an accomplice because they've seen the broken window.

There was a burglary in progress, and somebody was killed as a result of that. So an accomplice wouldn't have been as bad as actually being charged with murder itself. So, you know, uh, we were, you know, charged with murder, you know, before, you know, if you had a Bronx homicide detectives came there and, uh, you know, we were interrogated at bedside and, uh, you know, the interrogation was, uh, you know, while I was, uh, you know, intubated with tubes down my throat, you know, in, in, in what, you know, while I was, you know, intubated with tubes down my throat, you know, in what, you know, the doctor called, the expert called a twilight sleep. And, you know, because I was administered like five different medications at the same time. And this is the method in which they obtained, you know, statements of what happened.

No words, just affirmative, just nodding. So you told what you saw? No, no, what happened. No words. Just affirmative. Just nodding. So you told what you saw? No lawyer present? Excuse me? No lawyer? You didn't have a lawyer? No, because they came in and did that before my family was able to say that

he has a lawyer. No, I mean yeah, I mean like you said, you know, did you tell him what you saw? Yeah, what I saw was that I got shot, and I was unarmed, and I didn't, you know, have a gun. Gotcha. But at the same time, I take, you know, full responsibility for how my actions and, you

know, my drug addiction put me there that night, and how it cost, you know, a heroic New York City police officer his life. Did you have to go on the stand and tell on your Cody? No. They offered me a deal to do so, and I didn't. And they offered me a deal of a three to nine, but there was nothing to say. So I took it to trial. They even offered me 15 years before, a week before jury selection,

to not have to go to trial. Were you charged with murder at the time? Yeah, I was charged with murder. And you took that to trial of a cop? Yeah. I had a very good lawyer. His name was Joe Takapina. He was a top-notch attorney.

And we were very confident based on the facts in the case that there was no murder case. I mean, a burglary case and an attempted burglary case was a lot stronger, but I took the stand in my own defense. I trialed because this took place in the Bronx. I was in the Bronx tail, so know, this took place in the Bronx. You know, I was in the Bronx Tale. So, you know, these jurors are all from the Bronx. My lawyer thought it would be the, you know,

best idea to do so because, you know, the jurors are going to want to hear me. So this was after Bronx Tale? Yeah, this was after Sopranos. This was after Sopranos? Yes. Yikes. Yeah, this was Bronx Tale.

This was like 13 years after Bronx Tale. Yeah. So now, what's the... So what's next for you? Because, you know, there's a mother that lost her son, and so there's some children that lost their dad. I know cops hate you. I would never drive if I was you.

Oh, listen, the NYPD, they were actually protesting because you are in a new movie, and they didn't feel like anybody should be casting you in a movie. The movie's in Brooklyn, right? Right. Well, Brooklyn, and's in Brooklyn, right? Right. Well, Brooklyn and we also shot in Pennsylvania. Right. And, you know, an opportunity that I was very blessed to have been given

and very thankful for. You know, my friend Willie DeMayo and Paul Borghese, they took a shot on me and, you know, gave me, you know, the opportunity, which I'm very thankful for. But, you know, I even heard you guys say it in reference to the kid who got the heart transplant a little while ago that everyone deserves a second chance. I agree with that. And I don't see why I would be any different in that situation.

But you can see why people would be upset, though. Absolutely. There's no question about that. But what I'm saying is I served my time. I didn't take no shortcuts. I didn't take the stand on anyone. I put myself there that night. Took a

huge gamble. Went to trial. Was confident in the facts and the case. In my involvement in the situation. in my uh you know involvement in the the situation or lack thereof and you know while away i you know made the most of the time i got sober how did that how did you get off crack and heroin because a lot of times people go to jail yeah no they go to jail and get worse sometimes yeah yeah well i i got high i was getting high in rikers island i overdosed in my cell and still continued to use after that but then you know i got 80 days in the box and when i went there did a lot of you know soul searching

and thinking there's no way for you to get anything you can get it in there you get it anywhere yeah um rikers island uh you know it's readily available you know did you beat it with help or like you just like i can't believe you got off cracking heroin cold turkey. Just on your own. Well, initially, I had to. I had to because I didn't know the ins and outs of Rikers Island. I didn't know. But as I became accustomed to doing time and being in that situation,

I was able to find drugs and continue to use, especially in that situation. It, you know, was able to, you know, find drugs and, you know, continue to use, you know, especially in that situation. It was very painful. I was facing the rest of my life, you know, for one night. The overdose still continued to use. That was about a year after I'd been in Rikers Island. Then when I went to the box, I just, I got a visit from a couple of friends and that visit changed my life. What'd they say to you? Well,

they came in, I was already sitting there handcuffed to the, whatever it was, the wall, the metal thing. And when they came in, you know,

when I saw them, you know, I had a smile on my face. I was like, happy to see them. And, you know, they didn't,

they weren't too happy to see me. And they said like, you know, had smile on my face I was like happy to see them and you know they didn't they didn't weren't too happy to see me and they said like you know what are you doing you got all these people that are here for you and want to see you you know get through this and you're doing this you're still you're still getting high like what's wrong with you and for some reason that day it just stuck and it really affected me and I and I just made the decision that day that it just stuck. And it really affected me. And I just made the decision that day that I got to change my life. And that was November 18, 2006. And I've never gone high since then. Damn!

And now, you know... You said you first started using drugs while you were filming a Bronx Tale? Yeah, well, the first time I ever smoked pot was during the Bronx Tale. So how did you graduate all the way to cracking heroin from pot? You know. Was it Hollywood?

I mean, a little bit of that. You know, that definitely had an influence on the path that I eventually took. I mean, you know, being in that business is lucrative. So, you know, you got got money you got free time and you know it's a it's it's a recipe for disaster and you know like any addiction it progresses it's worse it doesn't get better now what now what about the the family of the the slain officer and I agree everybody deserves a second chance but it's what you do with that second chance right was no matter what even though you say you served your time,

you know, that man's not coming back. Right. I could imagine if it was my dad or my son and the guy saying, well, I served my time. And, you know, I'm sure the family, like, that doesn't mean ish. That means nothing. My guy's dead. My dad is dead or my son is dead, you know.

Right. I think people would be more welcome to give you a second chance if their people could get the second chance. Like the person that you killed could get a second chance. Well, he didn't have a gun. Well, every action is a reaction. The person who killed him is in jail. Yeah, but he led them to the house.

He was like, I know a house we can go around. I tell my son every time, like you might not, if you don't want nothing bad to happen, don't do nothing stupid. Because anything can happen. I could be in a car with a bunch of knuckleheads and I do something and they do something I'm gonna be charged so what what are you are you doing anything for the family or like you're saying the second chance well yeah well you know that's that's what I'm you know I mean I think people who are worthy of a second chance should definitely get one and I feel that you know my actions have you know spoken volumes of the person that i've

become i mean to when you when you're incarcerated it's the doc the department of corrections to correct yourself and i truly believe that i used the time for what it was intended for i went there like i said i got sober which is not easy um And also, after I fought my case and was ultimately acquitted of the murder and went upstate, convicted of an attempt at burglary, I had a sentence of 10 years. So that would mean an additional

five and a half from the, you know, from that Rikers Island point. So when I went upstate, I still, you know, I didn't have my GED. So I knew that was one of the first things I wanted to do. And it was satisfying, but I just felt that I should use the time as wisely as possible. So with whatever, you know, money I had left, I figured, you know, investing in my education. Because they don't offer, they offer high school in you know

state correctional New York state correctional facilities but I enrolled in a male correspondence out of my own pocket accredited school in Georgia North Cross Georgia Ashworth College and I studied business management and as you know I was I was able to earn an associate's degree I earned 60 credits and it made a huge difference in my life you know do a huge difference in my life and you know I came out and haven't been in trouble one time since I've been home have you done anything for the family though not for the family but I've been to high schools I've been to colleges addiction centers I'm actually going someplace tomorrow.

Why haven't you reached out to the family? You feel like they'll shun you? Absolutely. I just don't think it's the appropriate time yet. Because they publicly have denounced your role and very upset with your role. Of course, as they should be. Of course.

I would be the same way if the situation was reversed. If that was my brother, absolutely. And I definitely have empathy and can put myself, well, try to at least think what they're thinking. And I understand exactly where they're coming from. But I can't control the way they think and feel. But what I can control is my own actions. And I've tried to make them as positive as possible. And what would you say?

What can you say? I'm sorry. I mean, I don't think they want to hear you say, you know, I didn't pull the trigger. They don't want to hear none of that. They just want to at least, I mean, at least they can look and see, you know, if they're watching TV, like, you know,

if I was someplace, you know, helping kids, you know, to deter them from making mistakes that I made and use the situation in a positive way. I mean, I've really worked my butt off since I got home to show people I'm a different person. If you didn't go to jail, you might have ended up dead yourself, though. I remember reading about you getting pulled over. You had heroin in the car.

Right, yes. That was a few months there was a like a few months before that you know i was on a you know i was on a you know a downward spiral and ultimately that you know that night uh happened and you're right if i uh hadn't got you know locked up that night and arrested i probably would be dead right now i don't know too many people that came back from heroin like what's that high like? Well, I never used it intravenously. I never shot it in my veins. You sniffed it?

I used to sniff it. Oh, okay, okay. I used to sniff it. The high, you know, the high was, you know, I mean, it's very deceiving and very, you know, seductive. But there's a huge price to pay for it. Because like anything else, it's always the best in the beginning. And what that does is it imprints a memory in your brain, a memory of euphoria that you

never forget. And every time you do it, you feel less and less of that. You keep trying to recreate it. Right. And you chase it. And then, you know, with heroin, which is an opiate, is a physically addicting drug because your body itself produces opiates.

So when you're giving your body opiates from an outside source, your body says, we don't have to make them anymore. You were describing crack first. When you said to hide at... No, we're talking about heroin. No, we're talking about heroin. Okay, okay. See, crack is not physically addicting.

That's all in the mind. You know, you could smoke crack for 10 days straight, take a nap, and, you know, it's like nothing ever happened. Gotcha. But heroin is not like that. You do it 10 days straight... You're hooked. You're gonna have...

Your body's gonna want it. And if you try to withdraw yourself, I know I've seen people, they're, like, shaking and sweating and throwing up and all of that. It's a very horrible feeling and something that no one should ever have to go through because I myself seen, you know, you know, and have been in the grips of addiction. And that's why I choose to spend my time informing and using the experience to deter people from

ever getting into that situation themselves. And that, you know, at the same time, that helps me stay on the right path. When you were on Rikers Island, they didn't have you in general population. No, they had me what was called CMC, Central Monitored Case, high-profile cases. It was, you know, like, you know,

any movement has to be, you know, they have to call Albany. Like it's, it's not as, if you're not a high, if you're not CMC and, you know, saying, you know, uh, you're in seven cell and your sink broke. Now you want to move to eight cell because they got, you know, the sinks, you know, it works. You can't just do that because of being a CMC that has to be, you know, they have to make a call to Albany and say, well, listen, you know, this CMC so-and-so

wants to move to another cell for this reason, and they have to approve it. It takes days. Yeah, you know, sometimes it does and sometimes it does. And I know Plexico Burris was in there with you. He wasn't in Rikers Island. He was in Rikers Island, but not when I was there. We were upstate together.

Okay. We were upstate together. Okay. We were upstate together. We were in Oneida from 2009 to 2011. I remember he got there. It was like September, and then he got released in like June of 2011. Why didn't he have you in General Pop? Well. Because I would think, I mean, sadly, some of the inmates would look at you as a hero

because you was in a situation where a cop got killed. Well, I guess just because of the nature of the case and it was high profile. I mean, you had other guys with cases like mine. Got you. You know, other guys involved in the same type of stuff where I was, you know, but it's just high profile. Were you ever scared in prison? Because you knew the cops had it out for you? Yeah, I'm not going to lie

and say, you know, that I wasn't. But yeah, at times. Did they ever do anything to you? No. Starve you out? No. Don't let you wash? Beat you up? I think, you know, it's all about the way you carry yourself. And, you know, you just mind your the way you carry yourself um and you know you

just mind your business and just do your time uh you're gonna be all right and what about your cody have you spoke to him while you were in or spoke to him outside well i haven't spoke to him since uh you know since i mean we you know like you know through people in the neighborhood you know it was oh you know so and hello, you know, tell him hello. But when we were on Rikers Island together, we used to see each other when we used to go to court. We were in different buildings, but the ESCO, Emergency Service Unit, because we didn't go on the bus because it was a high profile. So we'd go in the van, me, him, and maybe a few other, you know, high profile guys. And we used to see each other in the van and, you know, go to court.

But then, you know, we had separate trials. Does he think you ratted him up? No, absolutely not. Absolutely not. I mean, that's all, you know, that's all. I mean, you can go online and see that, you know, none of that happened. I took it to trial. It was a trial a trial of you know that consisted of over 30 days a guy who tells on someone doesn't get 10 years for an attempted burglary right now what

about the how much did that trial cost you um cost me uh about 250 000. oh you had a real lawyer yeah i was thinking he was on hand and crack probably had no money he said he had no money no no he didn't he said he had money he just didn't find no money. No, he said he had money. He said he had no drugs. He just couldn't find a place to buy the drugs. Like I said, we weren't two burglars going to rob a DVD. He just couldn't find anybody to deal. There was nowhere around. He ran out.

The other guy, when it rains, it pours. There was nothing around. Now, since you've gotten out, though, people have reached out to you and tried to help you. And you have been casted in a couple of movies. And I even saw you did a music video with a pop star and people were angry about it. Well, the video never went through.

Right. Because of all the commotion that, you know, my involvement was causing. They put the kibosh on it and it never went through. What video was there a girl on Natalie Yura she's a Russian pop singer so um and then you got cast in in this Alec Baldwin film and um so but that's good to go like

filming I know there's been some issues with people protesting but you're solidified in that right no that we already I'm already I I'm already, I'm already, it's already on, I'm already shot my scenes. Did anybody say anything to you? Like the actors, like Alex? Did the actors ask you or? Oh, I didn't work with him. Oh, gotcha.

He's in the film. Mike Tyson is in the film. Michael Madsen, Annabella Sciorra, you know, Danny Glover, William DeMayo. Did you talk to Mike? I'm sure he understands. No, I didn't, I didn No, I didn't speak to Mike, but I have a picture of Mike. When I was on the cover of the Post last week,

I have a picture of Mike holding up the paper. Oh, really? Yeah, so that was cool. Yeah, no, a guy like that, I mean, he can definitely understand where I'm coming from. He was in a, you know. Do you think people will ever forgive you? I think, you know, when enough time goes on and people see, you know you think people ever forgive you i think you know when enough time goes on

and people see you know through my actions that you know this guy's really changed i think uh you know i'll uh i'll be worthy of it and i think people eventually you mean everyone no right but uh i think that i'm on the path you know with the path that i'm on i think that on the path that I'm on, I think that I will be able to convince people because it's from the heart that I have changed. Will you ever forgive yourself? Yeah. I mean, you know, I'm proud of the person that I've become and that I was able to turn such a negative into a positive. And positive and you know like when I talk to these kids at high schools and colleges and

I see the look on their faces when I'm speaking to them it's just like such a fulfilling feeling to be able to do that and to you know even I mean you're not going to be able to change or you know every single one of them but if if you change five, that's huge. And this is you doing this on your own. It's not a condition of your role. No, no, no, absolutely not. Absolutely not. It's just this is what God wanted.

A lot of my friends... I don't think God wanted the cop to get you. No, absolutely not. No, absolutely not. But this is why God saw fit to it that I didn't get convicted of murder and I didn't get killed. I'm still alive for a reason. Like everything in life happens for a reason.

And that reason wasn't for me to be released after eight years and go back to doing the same stuff. Oh, absolutely. It was to come out and make a difference in my own life and in other people's lives. And that's what I do. I read that you're also playing a priest in a movie.

Is that true? Yes, right. That was my first role. It wasn't as big as a film as the one I just completed. Right. But that one has Eric Roberts. Got a nice cast as well.

They didn't do no background check on that one. No. So, but, you know, when they offered me that film, the kid was from Yonkers. His name was Frankie. Came to my house with a box of cookies and a script. Literally came to my house because, you know, we went to the same high school.

He's much younger than me. Rang my doorbell and, you know, said, listen, I got the script. I wrote it. You know, we're going to, we got some money and because you know we went to the same high school he's much younger than me rang my doorbell and you know said listen I got the script I wrote it you know we're gonna we got some money and you know we want you to be in it you know I really look up to you you bought the cookies for y'all to eat yeah that's a weird offering like a mix like an assortment you know you was recovering addicts anyone bring on you don't want to bring a drink. No. You don't drink, right? No. You don't drink. I didn't bring a beer. I did read an article about you going to clubs and how a lot of the people in the clubs,

the owners, they feel like they don't want the NYPD to mess with them. Twice, twice. I can't just go today to be here. I have to get a travel pass. I have it in my bag from my parole officer to travel. I'm restricted. My traveling, I'm restricted into where I travel.

I cannot travel into any of the five boroughs without a travel pass from my parole officer. What do you say you stay? Yonkers. Wow. Are you not allowed to drink or anything? Is that a condition of your... Absolutely. Yeah, that's one of the stipulations.

But at the same time, I know it's my worst enemy because I know if I have one drink, it turns me into a different person and it's going to bring me back to where I was. And maybe this time I'm not going to be as lucky. What about your family? Were they very supportive of you while you were away? And the whole time that you were on drugs, did they know?

Did they say, okay, he's on heroin and did they talk to you, sit you down? Or was it something that you were able to hide from them? No, no, no. It got to the point where there was no hiding it. I was, you know, I mean, I was at rock bottom pretty much. I mean, I was as bad as you get. And, you know, my mom would cry.

And, you know, my mom and dad were just like, you know, so depressed on what I had become. My brother wouldn't even talk to me. You know, I mean, I was a crackhead. You know, I mean, you know, there's on what I had become. My brother wouldn't even talk to me. You know, I mean, I was a crackhead. You know, I mean, there's no other way to put it. Did you clean up stuff around the house for them? Like, were you good with your hands, maintenance? You know a lot of crackheads in the hood,

they're good with their hands. They're good, cheap labor. No, no, I didn't do any of that. I was usually out. He had money, man. He's not a typical crackhead He wasn't sucking D Or cleaning cars

I see Nothing about sucking D That's disrespectful He was a typical crackhead This guy right here Now listen We had this discussion The other day

What do you think is worse Alcohol or crack? You know what They're equally as bad They're equally as bad Let me put it to you this way Detoxing from crack is very uncomfortable. You go through the shakes and you sweat and you'll come down really hard.

But you won't die. If you're an alcoholic and you drink every day for a certain amount of time, you cannot just stop because you will die okay you need librium people you know are very misconceived about you know alcohol alcohol is a drug also right it's definitely it happens to be legal but at the same time it's just as destructive as any of those other drugs. And usually it's the catalyst because once you drink, your judgment becomes impaired and all the

good things that you put in place out the window because now you think differently. So I got to say they're equally as bad. Thank you for proving me and Envy right. No, he said equally as bad. You said that crack isn't as bad. That's not proving you right. So you I wanted to wanted to ask you just now oh did you have any remorse when you were in

jail for the cop absolutely i still got remorse i mean because i feel like you was more sorry for yourself than it no i mean this listen i i you know i accepted i accepted responsibility and i still do for my actions my drug addiction how they made a contribution in the death of that heroic police officer, Daniel N. Chautegui, you know? And that's something that I got to live with for the rest of my life. There's not one day that goes by that I don't think of December 10, 2005, at least one time, okay? Sometimes it's 20 times, but at least one time and say,

damn, you know, I wish I could go back and change that night. All the time. And that guy would be alive still, you know. Do you think that was too much time when you got that time? Do you think it was too much time for you? Since you said you didn't have anything to do with the shooting and a typical robbery case probably would have got a year. Well, the sentencing guidelines, since it was an attempted burglary in the first degree, it was a sentencing guideline of three and a half to 15 years. The judge gave me 10 on my first felony.

You know, there was other cases in the same, you know, in Bronx County that my lawyer spoke about in front of the judge prior to being sentenced guys with two and three felonies in the same county the same charge we're getting seven and eight years and i got 10 on my first felony um but then someone died as well right i was killed yeah right you know do i think it was excessive i don't want to use the word excessive because I truly believe that it was, you know, I mean, the sentence imposed came out of the judge's mouth, but I truly believe that the sentence imposed was won by God because I think that he, that is the amount of time that he thought that I needed.

Right, and you have to feel blessed that it wasn't worse than that. It could have went way worse than that. Absolutely. I could have been convicted Of murder too And I would have got A 20 to life Or a 25 to life

Now for our local listeners Westchester, Yonkers That seems like A pretty bad county As far as police And the court systems Do you agree? Westchester County?

Tougher than New York I would say As far as being able To take a case like that To trial and being victorious? Well you rarely see that In that county, I think. I think with that same case, my lawyers and the lawyers that I have spoken to all said that I was lucky that that kind of case happened in the Bronx because

you're gonna get the best jurors in the Bronx had it happened in Westchester County you'd have got life yeah it would have been

a very good shot that that's a very tough place I would have you know maybe in a situation like that maybe I wouldn't have taken it to trial

right have you heard from Robert De Niro no I haven't Niro no did you ever have a relationship with him at all yeah absolutely yeah we did you know that was his directorial and you know did he turn you on the drugs no no he's boy he did the exact opposite he tried it you know he tried to tell me and he even came to my house and he went to the wrong house he rang the next-door neighbors. That must have been weird. That's an awkward intervention.

I'm trying to intervene. I go to the wrong guy's house. Imagine Robert De Niro comes to your house. No, but he's, I mean, what a great guy. I mean, the guy taught me so much. And to give an unknown, at 15 years old, shot of a lifetime. You do look like you could be a second. You look like Robert De Niro a little bit.

It made sense. And, you know, I mean, the decisions that I made in my life definitely had to, you know, let him down. And, you know, I don't, I mean, I understand that he hasn't reached out. But at the same time, he still hadn't, he never said anything negative.

He kind of, like, you know, just said that it was unfortunate for everyone involved which uh you know is what you're supposed to say in that situation right and um you know i mean i haven't reached out to him but you know one day after uh you know i mean you feel like you've proven yeah after i truly believe i mean i think it's still too early now i I mean, not reach out to him for a job, but reach out to him just to make things right and just to look in his eyes and say, you know, Bobby. Do the family first

though, before Robert. Right. No, absolutely. I mean, I would have did that already. Believe me. I want to sit with his sister and say, you know, listen, you know, I truly apologize and I am really sorry. But you should say, because you know they're going to see this,

so if you had something to say to them right now. If I had something to say to them right now, you know, I mean, you know, I'm sorry, you know, for your loss, and I'm sorry for my involvement, you know. But please find it in your heart to forgive me. You know, I didn't, you know, I wasn't, I didn't, you know, I wasn't the one who killed, you know, your brother. And, you know, hopefully in time, and, you know, and if there was anything I can do for them, I would do it. You know, but I just, you know, with the situation,

it's going to be really hard to get them to forgive you and to open up to you in a way which was, you know, it almost becomes amicable. I don't think that's ever a possibility. I really don't, you know, which I understand. I'm not mad about it. You know, I understand because, you know, when the situation was reversed, I probably, I don't know what I would do.

It might help them to heal, though. To forgive you, it might help them to heal as well. Yeah. Do you feel like you'll get blackballed for anything in the future? Like, I've seen Chaz Palminteri has spoken out and said you better not try to reach out to him. Right. He would never reach out to you because he was in a Bronx tale with you also. Right.

Do you feel like there's certain roles are moving forward that you might get blackballed um yeah absolutely I think to a certain extent that would definitely happen I mean there are you know I mean it's a business and in that business there are all different kinds of people and there are some that will be more willing to give you the opportunity, maybe know someone who was in a situation where they were involved in drug addiction and can understand and empathize in what you went through

and how it was the drugs that put you in that situation. But now that you've used the situation and made yourself a better person, I attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings three to five times a week, try to help anyone in that situation and try yourself a better person. I attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings three to five times a week, try to help anyone in that situation and try to talk to them. But then you're-

What else did you do while you were in prison? Did you think about writing your memoirs? Like I said, the first three years in Rikers Island, I couldn't think about anything else but that case. I had a case file, the whole case file, which was like a stack of papers that I used to have laid out on my bed and try to strategize.

And I was in the law library a lot and learning how to shepherdize cases and different case law pertaining to that case and the charges that I was facing. Try to educate myself as much as possible in the law to know what I was up, try to, you know, educate myself as much as possible in the law to know what I was up against and to help my lawyer help me. So that's all I could think about at that time. And then when I was, you know, acquitted of the murder and, you know, had an additional five and a half to serve, I spent my time educating myself and learning

business management. It's a, it's a major that encompasses a lot i took you know four accounting courses financial management politics psychology i learned so much and uh you know truly say i'm a much better person for it okay you know we appreciate you for joining us yeah and wish you the best yeah yeah i guess good luck on your request to redemption yeah thank you all right guys for the opportunity when does the movie come out, just so people know? Check it out. The movie is going to come out, I think, early next year. And I also want to mention one other thing.

I got something that is in the works right now, a film that we are currently trying to raise money, a film called Valhalla, which is the Westchester County Jail. It's a jail movie. It's a jail movie, but it's more about what I just spoke about. Like the most important thing to somebody incarcerated is not, you know, is not beating someone up or, you know, the most important thing to someone who's locked up is their freedom and how do they get that freedom. And that's by learning the law. And when I read the script, I said, wow, that's really the

way it is. That's an accurate depiction. So for that reason, I'm very passionate about the project because I want to kind of show people what jail is really like. And so we're really close to securing the financing. That's something that I would be a producer on and also starring. We're looking to start by June, July

on that. Val Halle. Val Halle, yes. With that being said, thank you all for the opportunity. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Lilo Brancato Jr. is the Breakfast Club.

Good morning. Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy.

There are 55 gallons of water for 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God. What is that? Bullets.

Listen to Escape from Zakistan. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a

chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay. Have grace with yourself. You're trying your best and you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Melrose Place was introduced to the world. We are going to be reliving every hookup,

every scandal, and every single wig removal together. So listen to Still the Place on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hi, I'm Dani Shapiro, host of the hit podcast, Family Secrets. How would you feel if when you met your biological father for the first time, he didn't even say hello? And what if your past itself was a secret? Family Secrets.