This is just sad

Andrea Eppolito

I'm gonna fight till Dad's home

Mafia cop's daughter says he's innocent, vows to spend her life saving his

Daily News Exclusive

BY MICHELLE CARUSO
DAILY NEWS WEST COAST BUREAU CHIEF

LAS VEGAS - "I'll dedicate the rest of my life to saving his life."

That's the stoic pledge of Andrea Eppolito, the eldest daughter of convicted "Mafia cop" Louis Eppolito, who faces life in prison for his crimes, which include racketeering, conspiracy and taking part in gangland murders.

"He is innocent. He didn't do it! That is such a powerful truth for me. It is inconceivable to me that he's a murderer. When I hear him called 'Mafia cop,' that is so infuriating," Eppolito, 29, told the Daily News.

"As long as there is a court that will listen to me, I will fight. He is not going to die in prison," she vowed. "I will never give up. It'll never be over until he is back home with our family," she said.

The devoted, raven-haired daughter will fly to New York to testify at a June 23 hearing to determine whether her father's conviction should be overturned. On advice of her father's attorney, Joe Bondy, she declined to reveal what she'll say in court or discuss facts of the case.

Expect passion.

"As a collective family, we are completely heartbroken. But we will not break," she said of her mother, Fran; sister, Deanna, 28, and brother, Tony, 25.

No amount of evidence or testimony will ever convince Eppolito, a successful Vegas restaurant manager and event planner, that her father committed any crime.

She believes, simply and firmly, that the federal government relied on lying, self-serving informants to build a case, and made her dad a scapegoat for unsolved murders.

"I'm horrified and disillusioned about this government. They are not supposed to conduct a witch hunt and manufacture lies. They made my father a Band-Aid - 'Here's somebody to blame'" she says, her voice betraying no hint of her New York roots.

"I hate that he is paying for the sins of his father and uncles ... persecuted because his last name ends in a vowel."

Man, she is delusional. These guys were dirty 10 years ago according to the NYPD.

How do you frame a cop for mob murders? That's a pretty neat trick.

This is just a sad case of daddy love me to get something she obviously lacked. At one point on tape, her loving father was quoted as answering questions about her sex life for a friend.

I hope she gets a clue at some point.