Lillo Brancato, convicted in fatal shooting of NYPD officer, now helping others. Here's more on his mission.
METUCHEN, N.J. -- Actor Lillo Brancato was once a rising star in Hollywood, known for his role in "A Bronx Tale" in the 1990s. However, he was plagued by addiction and spent time in jail after being convicted for his role in the fatal shooting of NYPD Officer Daniel Enchautegui nearly 20 years ago.
Brancato has since turned his life around. He's sober and helping others get on the right path.
He is a testament to the power of personal transformation.
"I'm a modern day miracle," Brancato told CBS New York exclusively.
Sobriety at the root of Lillo Brancato's new life
He has been sober for more than 15 years.
"It wasn't easy to get to where I am today and there was a lot of rejection, but I guess that's a part of life," Brancato said.
He is taking his once-personal struggles with drugs to help those struggling now.
Determined to make a positive impact on others by inspiring and educating other addicts at the More Life Recovery Center in Metuchen, New Jersey, Brancato uses tough love.
"I'm not going to tell you everything is going to be OK, because it's not. If you don't deal with this addiction and really try to control it, it's not going to be OK," Brancato said.
Lillo Brancato is teaching fellow drug addicts what not to do
Joseph Perez-Muller is a recovering drug addict.
"Lillo helps bring the life back into you," said Perez-Muller, who said he has been clean for nine months. "There's ups and downs but finding a good message, support and a mentor like Lillo is great."
Perez-Muller is one of Brancato's success stories.
"No matter how bad things are ... it only gets better or your ability to deal with it will get better. That's one of the most important things I learned behind bars," Brancato said.
His mission to help others came from once being in that dark place.
"I made a lot of bad choices and bad decisions," Brancato said.
Lillo Brancato's dramatic fall from grace
He was once a rising star in Hollywood, cast in the 1993 hit "A Bronx Tale" alongside Robert De Niro.
But on a fateful night in December 2005, Brancato, who was then 29, was arrested for being an accomplice in a burglary that ended in the death of Enchautegui, an NYPD officer in the Bronx.
He says while he didn't pull the trigger, "I've always taken full responsibility for how my actions and my drug addiction at the time did make a contribution in death of the heroic officer."
That hard fall resonates with those he helps.
"He had a lot of things going for him, but the drugs and alcohol, they don't discriminate," Perez-Muller said. "You can always end up in one of these chairs."
While Brancato's criminal past still plagues him from time to time, especially with Hollywood, he said, "I would love to do that, but it's not necessary. My recovery, my sobriety, and helping others, that is necessary."
Now married to his wife, Nikki, as of early April, he calls what he does now part of his journey, the second act.
"What I am going to do is be a little bit better today than I was yesterday and try to help as many people as possible and be kind and it doesn't cost anything," Brancato said.
