Police Murder Trial Begins for Actor from The Sopranos

Lillo Brancato Jr, 32, appeared in six episodes of the mafia television series before his character, Matt Bevilaqua, was killed off. However, prosecutors argue that his mafia links continued when he befriended Steven Armento, a reputed member of the Genovese crime family who had been thrown out of the organisation over his drug addiction.

Brancato had enjoyed a promising film career after being "spotted", aged 15, on a New York beach by the casting director for A Bronx Tale, in which the young actor appeared with Robert de Niro. But his life reportedly took a nosedive as he was involved in two drug-related arrests and, finally, with the killing in 2005 of Daniel Enchautegui, a New York police officer.

Prosecutors allege that Brancato drove himself and Armento to the home of Mr Enchautegui's next-door neighbour, where they began stealing prescription drugs.

When confronted by the policeman, Armento shot him. Both Armento and Brancato were wounded.

Armento, 48, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced last week to life in prison without parole.

However, Brancato's lawyers claim his case is different. "Lillo didn't have a gun. Nor did he know anyone had a gun. Lillo wasn't burglarising anyone's home," said Joseph Tacopina, his lawyer. "It's a tragic case, it's tragic in a lot of ways. But that doesn't mean he's behind the crime."

Brancato denies second-degree murder and other charges in the trial, for which jury selection has begun.

Family and friends have said he is a good man with a drug problem, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"He obviously had problems he kept well hidden, but that doesn't mean he should be held accountable for the actions of the man he was with, especially if that man was under the influence," said Chris Tardio, who also appeared in The Sopranos.

Thanks to Tom Leonard

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18 Arrested as Police Use Backhoe Digging for Body of Mob Hit Victim

The Rhode Island State Police on Monday arrested 18 people allegedly connected to Mafia rings and used a backhoe to dig through an East Providence lot searching for the victim of a three-decade-old mob hit.

The dig for the body was called off around dark and was expected to resume Tuesday.

Some of those arrested allegedly had ties to the Patriarca crime family, which for years controlled organized crime in Providence and Boston. One alleged long-time Patriarca figure arrested Monday was Nicholas Pari, 71, of North Providence.

Investigators said he took counterfeit handbags and sneakers from undercover federal agents who infiltrated the ring, allegedly based out of the Valley Street Flea Market in Providence. In return, the agents got guns and drugs, including cocaine, marijuana and Vicodin, said State Police Lt. Col. Steven O'Donnell.

Pari previously was sentenced to seven years in prison for manslaughter in the 1978 killing of Joseph "Joe Onions" Scanlon, whose body was never found.

State Police officials said they were digging at an East Providence apartment complex for a victim killed by the mob about 30 years ago. Authorities would not say whether Scanlon was the victim they were seeking.

Pari was charged with racketeering, firearms violations and drug offenses. Pari did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment. It was unclear Monday whether he had an attorney.

Detectives also arrested Gerald Tillinghast, 62, on drug and gambling charges. Tillinghast, released last year from prison for a mob-related killing, is accused of operating an illegal gambling and drug sales business. Tillinghast was ordered held without bail after a court hearing Monday afternoon, his attorney Paul DiMaio said. He was not asked to enter a plea.

"I just don't believe that he was involved," DiMaio said. "He's been trying to do the right thing. I know he was trying to find a job, find a chauffeur's license."

Other suspects are accused of fencing stolen goods, selling stolen jewelry and setting up heists and sales of catalytic converters, police said. All 18 men were being arraigned in Providence District Court on Monday.

Police said more arrests are on the way and that the sting would make it harder for older reputed mobsters to recruit younger would-be criminals.

"This I think will serve as a devastating blow to some of the older generation that have really been such a problem," Attorney General Patrick Lynch said at a news conference announcing the arrests.

Thanks to Hillary Russ

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The New Face of Organized Crime?

Over time, some street gangs fade into obscurity.

MS-13 isn’t one of those.

The notorious Latin American gang has been around since the 1980s, and now some are calling them the new face of organized crime.

“These guys don’t have regular jobs. They don’t have alarm clocks. They don’t wake up and work hard like 95 percent of America. They are out there ripping off people and hurting people,” Deputy Alfredo Perez of the U.S. Marshals said.

On November 1, in a Washington, D.C. suburb called Silver Spring, three MS-13 gang members allegedly fired into a bus. Three teen passengers were hit. One of them, 14-year-old honor student Tai Lam, died. The story made headlines for days.

Police arrested the alleged shooter, Hector Hernandez, last week. But his fellow gang members, Gilmar Leonardo Romero and Mario Ernesto Milan-Canales, were on the run.

That is, until they were arrested Thursday morning in Houston.

“Just old-fashioned police work. We looked at the area where these gang members congregate and just set up surveillance,” Perez said.

Undercover investigators with the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force spotted Romero and Milan-Canales getting on a Metro bus at Fulton and Cavalcade.

“Those two individuals were the only passengers on the bus, and we effectively and safely took them into custody,” Perez said.

Hernandez is being held without bond in Silver Spring, because the government says he’s in the country illegally.

It’s unclear if Romero and Milan-Canales are illegal immigrants, too. But the U.S. Marshals Office said one thing was clear: MS-13 gang members in Houston were giving them room and board while they hid from the law.

Thanks to Jeff McShan

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