Cop's sister outraged by Brancato verdict
BRONX, N.Y., Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The sister of slain New York Police Officer Daniel Enchautegui says she is disappointed actor Lillo Brancato was acquitted of killing him.
Brancato, an admitted drug addict best known for his roles in the film "A Bronx Tale" and on HBO's "The Sopranos," was accused of attempting to break into a Bronx home and catching the attention of the off-duty police officer next door who was shot by Brancato's friend -- now serving life in prison without the chance of parole -- when Enchautegui went to investigate.
The actor was charged with felony murder, burglary and attempted burglary because he allegedly helped set off the chain of events that resulted in the officer's death.
A Bronx jury Monday acquitted him of all charges except for attempted burglary.
"I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed," the New York Daily News quoted Yolanda Rosa as saying after the verdict was read. "What message is this sending out to the New York City police officers today? ... Oh, my God. I waited three long years for this. ... It's wrong."
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch echoed the sentiment.
"This would not have happened if not for this animal's drug habit," said Lynch. "The only good thing is that this skunk is not walking out to spend Christmas with his family. The sad part is that neither is Daniel."
Brancato faces between 3 1/2 and 15 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 9, the Daily News said.
"The worst is behind Mr. Brancato," the actor's lawyer Joseph Tacopina said. "He's very relieved."
SAG postpones actors' strike vote
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Screen Actors Guild said Monday it would postpone a strike vote while it tries to reconcile differences between pro-strike and anti-strike members.
The union had planned to mail ballots Jan. 2 for a strike authorization vote, with results tabulated by Jan. 23. However, the issue have been contentious within SAG, and Doug Allen, the union's national executive director and chief negotiator, posted a message on the guild's Web site Monday saying members of the board were concerned "about the organized opposition to SAG's vote 'yes' campaign to encourage members to authorize" a strike.
"While almost 100 high profile members and 2,524 total members have endorsed the strike authorization vote mandated by the National Board, more than 100 high profile actors and 1,373 actors have lent their names to the opposition campaign," he said.
Allen said he and SAG President Alan Rosenberg would call a board meeting in Los Angeles for Jan. 12 to try to resolve the issue and a strike vote would be held immediately after the meeting.
A "yes" vote by 75 percent of members voting is required to authorize the board to call a strike.
SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have been without a contract since June 30. AMPTP said Monday it hopes to reach a new agreement with the Screen Actors Guild in early 2009.
"The last year has surely been a challenging one, but after long sessions of hard bargaining, all of the guilds and unions in our industry, except one, have reached new labor agreements," AMPTP said in a statement. "These agreements contain meaningful economic increases and first-ever new media rights and residuals."
The producers said they were "proud to have made such important agreements even as the national economic crisis has worsened almost by the day" and urged SAG members to "make an independent decision as to whether it makes sense to strike over a deal that will raise wages, raise benefits, add new residuals and establish jurisdiction in new media for the first time."
Rep says Jackson is in fine health
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Michael Jackson's spokesman says the 50-year-old singer "is in fine health," contrary to a widely circulated report claiming Jackson needs a lung transplant.
Britain's The Sun newspaper Monday quoted Ian Halperin, the author of an upcoming Jackson biography, as saying the eccentric entertainer is suffering from a rare genetic disorder that affects his lungs and has also left him struggling to speak and nearly blind in one eye.
However, Dr. Tohme Tohme, who identifies himself as Jackson's "official and sole spokesperson," insists the story isn't true.
"The writer's wild allegations concerning Mr. Jackson's health are a total fabrication," CNN quoted Tohme as saying. "Mr. Jackson is in fine health, and finalizing negotiations with a major entertainment company and television network for both a world tour and a series of specials and appearances."
CNN said Tohme implied Halperin made his claims in an attempt to drum up publicity for his Jackson tome.
"Concerning this author's allegations, we would hope in the future that legitimate media will not continue to be exploited by such an obvious attempt to promote this unauthorized 'biography,'" Tohme said.
Stiller breaks hand snowboarding
NEW YORK, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Ben Stiller's publicist confirmed the Hollywood actor has broken his hand in a snowboarding mishap.
Contactmusic.com said the "Tropic Thunder" and "Night at the Museum" star went to New York's Mount Sinai Hospital Sunday where he was treated for the injury, but released from the facility later that day.
"One of the hospital's top hand specialists was called in to treat him," the New York Daily News quoted a source as saying.
Stiller's publicist told Contactmusic.com, "I can confirm that he broke his hand snowboarding."
