NYPD union leader calls for boycott of new Lillo Brancato movie

Lillo Brancato, Jr.is shown in a Feb. 2005 photo in New York. (AP)

The head of the New York Police Department's union has called for a boycott of an upcoming film featuring actor Lillo Brancato.

The former "Sopranos" actor was released on parole in 2013 after serving eight years for his involvement in an attempted burglary that killed NYPD officer Daniel Enchautegui.

"We will never be able to forgive and forget the role that junkie Lillo Brancato played in the death of hero Police Officer Daniel Enchautegui," Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (PBA) president Patrick J. Lynch said in a statement. "To that end we ask all right-thinking people not to support this thug’s acting career by avoiding this movie and any project in which he is involved."

The 38 year old is slotted to play the cousin of an opponent of the main character in the boxing epic "Back in the Day," due next spring, the New York Post reports. Its cast includes Alec Baldwin, Michael Masden and Danny Glover.

A jury found Brancato guilty on the attempted burglary charge in 2008 but acquitted him of murder in the death of Officer Daniel Enchautegui. The actor was sentenced to 10 years. His co-defendant was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Brancato made his debut in 1993 in "A Bronx Tale" opposite Robert De Niro. He played a doomed aspiring mobster in HBO's "The Sopranos."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.