Case Details

Dog ordered, by owner, to attack other dog
Yonkers, NY (US)

Date: Mar 6, 2004
County: Westchester
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted

Abuser/Suspect: Steven J Armento

Case ID: 6608
Classification: Fighting
Animal: dog (pit-bull)
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In August 2005, a Yonkers judge told Steven Armento he could avoid jail time or probation for siccing his pit bull on a neighbor's dog and then punching the dog's owner. He just had to stay out of trouble for a year.

Just like much of the past three decades, the 48-year-old Armento couldn't manage it. But this time, authorities said, his brand of trouble took a violent turn with tragic consequences. The lifelong Yonkers resident is charged with first-degree murder, accused of fatally shooting New York City Police Officer Daniel Enchautegui when the off-duty cop confronted him and his buddy, actor Lillo Brancato Jr., after police said the two tried to break into a Bronx home where they expected to find Valium and other prescription drugs.

Armento's drug use and alcoholism reportedly cost him his marriage and his low-level status in the Genovese crime family. His criminal record dates to 1976 with more than a dozen arrests, starting in Yonkers with a loaded gun.

Armento worked for a time as a laborer for Dunwoodie Nurseries, the family business founded by his grandparents. In recent years, the nursery property around his Smart Avenue home has been sold off, and new stone townhouses have gone up. He spent much of his time drinking at a bar, Murphy's Law, two blocks away.

Armento and his wife, Donna, divorced in 1986 when their twin girls were infants. The girls returned in recent years to the large family home overlooking the Cross County Parkway. Stefanie Armento was dating Brancato, but had repeatedly broken up with him over his drug use.

Instead of siding with his daughter, Armento continued to hang out with the actor, including last weekend after Brancato's latest outburst got him arrested outside Armento's house. They partied at the Crazy Horse strip club in the Bronx near the Pelham border and then, authorities said, decided to score Valium from the home of a dead pal who lived next to Enchautegui.
Armento's first stint in prison, three years, followed a 1979 conviction for attempted burglary.

In 1988, he and his cousin were arrested by a police officer who saw them pulling away from an Ardsley gas station after loading a stolen backhoe on a trailer. He served nearly two years for that offense.
The alert officer that night was Emil Califano, now the village police chief. He recognized the name as soon as he read about last week's cop killing, primarily because the arrest 17 years ago was a key factor in his getting promoted to sergeant.
Armento served another two years in prison for a 1995 arrest when he was found with a backhoe stolen from a Bronx company.

Armento did have a violent side, and neighbor Frank Caiola found that out the hard way. Both men were walking their pit bulls on Smart Avenue on March 6, 2004, when Armento told his dog to attack Caiola's. When Caiola tried separating the dogs, Armento punched him in the face. Caiola's dog required stitches, and Armento was arrested on misdemeanor charges of assault, criminal mischief and animal cruelty. "We were so nervous with this guy around. He's a menace," Caiola said last week.

Armento pleaded guilty this past April 2005, and in August 2005 was fined $250 and given a conditional discharge, requiring him to stay out of trouble, but not putting anyone in a position to make sure he did.
Caiola and his fiancee said they were stunned to learn Armento wasn't on probation. "How do you not see that someone with a record like he had should be monitored, if not in jail?" Caiola said. "It's a shame that cop had to die. And those guys are going to live. It's not right."

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References

The Journal News - December 18, 2005

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