Long Island teen was killed by ex-con's handgun misfire, police say
BY Kenny Porpora, Joe Kemp and Jonathan Lemire
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Monday, June 15th 2009, 4:00 AM

A promising suburban high school student partying with pals in Brooklyn was accidentally shot to death by a drunken ex-con who was showing off his handgun, police said Sunday.

Phillip Levy, 17, left his home in Wantagh, L.I., Saturday afternoon after telling his family that he was going for a drive with friends, police said.

He and his buddies made the fateful decision to visit Scott Bruno, a 33-year-old Bensonhurst bricklayer, police sources said.

As the three teenagers watched, a drunken Bruno started shooting his 9-mm handgun into the walls as a party trick - and inadvertently discharged a bullet into Phillip's head.

The teenager was killed instantly.

"He was a great kid," said Phillip's heartbroken mother Cheryl Levy. "He cared very much about his family. He was beautiful kid. He was just finding himself."

Investigators believe Phillip and his two friends had been drinking while cruising the beaches of Brooklyn when one of the teens suggested visiting Bruno.

It was not immediately clear how they knew the older man, though investigators were exploring the possibility that Bruno was a drug dealer, police sources said.

The teens arrived at Bruno's modest second-floor apartment on 15th Ave. before 10 p.m., about two hours after cops were first called to the area on reports of a gunshot.

"We think [Bruno] was drinking all day and was goofing off with the gun," said a police source. "He squeezed a shot off early in the night and then brought out the gun again when the kids showed up."

Bruno, who pleaded guilty to drunken driving in 2006, was charged with murder.

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Prosecutor: Man removed magazine before firing fatal shotBY DANIEL EDWARD ROSEN | Special to Newsday
1:23 PM EDT, June 15, 2009

The man who killed a Wantagh teen while horse playing with a pistol in a Brooklyn apartment Saturday night fired several shots into a wall before the fatal accident, a prosecutor told a judge Monday.

Scott Bruno, 33, of Bensonhurst, fired shots from the .9-millimeter semiautomatic then removed the magazine from the gun - but did not realize there was still a round in the chamber, assistant Kings County district attorney Wilfredo Cotto told Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge Robert Kalish.

Philip Levy, 17, had gone with friends to the Bensonhurst home of Bruno, but did not known the man, police said. Having removed the magazine from the pistol, Cotto said Bruno placed it on a table then retrieved it a short while later, aimed it at Levy and pulled the trigger. The shot struck Levy in the head, killing him.

On Monday, Bruno was before Kalish, charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Head shaved, wearing a goatee, jean shorts, a red T-shirt and his legs covered in tatoos, Bruno did not enter a plea. He was ordered remanded until his next court appearance on Friday.

His legal aide attorney, Joseph Miller, stressed the shooting was an accident - and later called it a "quirky" case.

Miller also said two other people were in the apartment in addition to Levy and Bruno.

He did not say how many shots were fired.

Police said the shooting took place at 10:28 p.m. Saturday, and Levy was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. Bruno was arrested Sunday morning, police said.

Levy's mother, Cheryl Levy, said her son would have been a senior at MacArthur High School in Levittown. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life but was a natural-born performer, his mother said.

"He was always cracking us up," she said. "He could have been in the theater."

She recalled that her son had a passionate interest in the Sept. 11 attacks and was "very much into history."

Cheryl Levy said Philip had seen much tragedy in his life - his father died 10 years ago, her parents died recently, and a young cousin had also passed away.

"He was always there for me," she said.

Levy's uncle, Mike Benward, of Manhattan, said Sunday that Levy "was at a friend's party" in Brooklyn but said the family knew little else about what happened Saturday night.

Benward said he did not know Bruno or any of Levy's friends.

Rose Martin, who lives next door to the Levy home in Wantagh, said the slain teen was "a good kid."

"I see him out there mowing the lawn for his mother," she said. "I never heard anything bad about him."

Staff writers John Valenti and Reid J. Epstein contributed to this story.

Last updated: 2:40 pm
June 15, 2009
Posted: 1:21 pm
June 15, 2009

A Brooklyn man has been ordered held without bail after the fatal weekend shooting a 17-year-old Long Island boy.

Prosecutors say 33-year-old Scott Bruno pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and weapons charges. He is accused of firing a handgun inside his Bensonhurst apartment at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

The bullet struck Phillip Levy of Wantagh (WAHN'-tahg) in the head and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Levy joined some friends who went to visit Bruno.

Brooklyn prosecutors say Bruno pleaded guilty in 2006 to a drunken driving charge.

He was represented by a Legal Aid attorney. A spokeswoman did not immediately return a call for comment.

Posted: Monday, 15 June 2009 6:58AM

Cops: Teen Accidentally Shot and Killed in Brooklyn


NEW YORK (1010 WINS)  –– A man fooling around with a gun is allegedly to blame for the death of a young man from Long Island.

Philip Levy, 17, of Wantagh, was fatally shot in the head Saturday night while hanging out with some friends at the Bensonhurst home of 33-year-old Scott Bruno, police said.

Bruno, who fired the shots, was aiming at a wall but missed and hit Levy, a source told 1010 WINS. But Levy's mother claimed Bruno was drunk and twirling the gun when it went off.

She said Bruno was shocked because he didn't know it was loaded.

Levy was pronounced dead at the scene.

Bruno was arrested Sunday morning and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

Photo of Philip Levy from Kathleen Maloney

By Graham Rayman in Graham Rayman, Somebody Got MurderedMonday, Jun. 15 2009 @ 1:17PM

DATE: Saturday, June 13, 10:28 p.m.
LOCATION: 7511 15th Ave., Brooklyn

A Long Island teenager is dead after a gun went off and struck him in the head while his friends were playing with the firearm at a party in Brooklyn.

Phillip Levy, 17, of Wantagh, is dead, and his friend, 33-year-old Scott Bruno has been arrested on a murder charge.

Newsday reports that Bruno took out a gun during the party and began firing it into a wall. One of the bullets missed the wall and hit Levy. He was declared dead at the scene.

The victim's mom told Newsday that her son would be a senior at MacArthur High School in Levittown. She said he was a natural performer.

"He was always cracking us up," the mom said. "He could have been in the theater."

Know anything about the incident or the victim? Drop us a line at [email protected]

Newsday reports that Bruno took out a gun during the party and began firing it into a wall. One of the bullets missed the wall and hit Levy.

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Quite possibly the worst shot on the planet.  

Quoted:
Odd how there was very little mention of his NOT BEING ABLE TO LEGALLY OWN A FIREARM

(I assume "ex-con" = felony)