Policeman, mafia hit-man, author and actor in his spare time

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2005

NEW YORK (AFP) — In between his jobs as a policeman and alleged mafia hit-man, Louis Eppolito, one of the two former New York policemen arrested this week, found time to write an autobiography and play himself -- as cop and as mafia killer -- in 12 movies, including Martin Scorcese's blockbuster "Goodfellas."

In what might have appeared at the time as an ironic casting move, Eppolito played mafia bad guy "Fat Andy" in the violent 1990 New York gangster epic, which starred Robert de Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta.

After retiring from the city police department in 1990, Eppolito played characters who were bad cops, killers and mafia men. He also wrote "Mafia Cop," an autobiography subtitled "The Story of an Honest Cop Whose Family Was the Mob."

"Although his...