April 27, 2014 - 10:12 AM
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Former "Sopranos" actor Lillo Brancato Jr. says after spending about eight years in prison in New York, he's trying to help young people avoid making the mistakes he did.
Colombian-born Brancato was interviewed Sunday on WNYM-AM. He was paroled in December after serving time for his role in a 2005 Bronx burglary during which an off-duty police officer was killed.
The 37-year-old says he's reaching out to young people to discuss the drug addiction that led him to squander opportunities.
He says his last high was in prison, in 2006.
Brancato was acquitted of murder in the officer's death but convicted of attempted burglary. An accomplice was convicted of firing the fatal bullet.
Brancato got his break in the 1993 film "A Bronx Tale," with Robert De Niro.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014