Suspected cop-killer Steven Armento told investigators that his alleged accomplice, “Sopranos” actor Lillo Brancato, knew he had a gun and had doctored bullets with mercury to make them more deadly, prosecutors say.
“If the bullet doesn’t kill you, the mercury will,” Armento told cops days after shooting Police Officer Daniel Enchautegui during a burglary attempt in December 2005, according to the Bronx district attorney.
Authorities said Armento made the comment when asked by a detective what Brancato knew about his handgun.
“He knows I have a gun. He knows I slice the hollow-point bullets like a half an inch down so it disappears, so there’s no ballistics. Lillo knows I slice the bullets, I put mercury in the bullets, and I use wax to seal it,” he said, according to authorities.
He said the bullet that killed the officer had not been doctored, according to authorities.
Armento, on the witness stand yesterday in a pretrial hearing at Bronx Supreme Court, said he didn’t recall making any statements while he was recovering from being shot by Enchautegui, who fired before succumbing to his own wounds.