Former NYPD Cop Now Performs Sinatra

Former NYPD Officer Francis X. Livoti -- known in the mid-90s as an officer accused of killing a Bronx man with excessive force -- is now making his living as an event singer impersonating Frank Sinatra.

Normal 0 According to the Wall Street Journal, Livoti performs under the name Frankie Sands.

Livoti, who grew up in Yonkers listening to the radio show "The Sounds of Sinatra" and playing in jazz bands, now spends his days as a Frank Sinatra impersonator, performing at weddings and other events.

Livoti is most known for the Dec. 22, 1994 incident during which he confronted Anthony Baez and his brothers after their football hit his squad car. A struggle ensued and ended with Baez on ground, dead of asphyxiation.

Prosecutors charged Livoti with criminally negligent homicide and accused him of using a choke hold banned by the NYPD.

He was acquitted by a non-jury trial in 1996.

More than a decade later, Livoti still denies all charges and told the Journal his conscience is clear. 

"You can only be repentant if you did something to repent for," Livoti said. "I feel bad that this guy is dead, anybody would. But I don't feel responsible for his death."

Livoti’s troubles didn’t end with that trial. In 1997, Police Commissioner Howard Safir fired Livoti and at a news conference, called him "abusive and brutal." A year later he was convicted in federal court of violating Baez's civil rights and sentenced to seven years in federal prison.

The conviction barred him from ever working in law enforcement again.

With a disgraced name and few employment options after his release from federal prison in 2005, Livoti was forced to sing for his supper. 

He honed his impersonating skills singing at a karaoke bar a couple nights a week following his release. In 2008, He secured his first big gig with a karaoke fan for a fund-raiser.

Since then Livoti has been booking solo shows at a rate of $250 to $500 an hour. He also regularly performs with an Elvis impersonator. 

Those who book “Frankie Sands” know little about Frank Livoti’s past.

After Livoti’s performance at Ralph Gengo's 80th birthday party, Gengo told the Journal that even had he known about Livoti's past, he still would have booked him.

"I am a firm believer in second chances and all that good stuff," Gengo said. "The guy is out trying to make a living and it is what it is."

 

 

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