UK NEWS

SLY BROTHER ON MURDER CHARGE

Stallone’s brother was held in Florida

Sunday August 31,2008

By James Dickinson

THE troubled stepbrother of Hollywood superstar Sylvester “Sly” Stallone was yesterday charged with murder following the shooting of a suspected drug dealer.

Bryan Rhodes, 24, whose mother Kathy is married to the actor’s father, Frank Stallone, was arrested by police in Florida investigating the killing of Kenneth Torres.

Authorities allege Rhodes, who was once a brilliant polo prospect, was the middleman in a meeting during which Torres was robbed and then shot for prescription tablets worth just £12 last month.

Rhodes, who is charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and being an accessory to murder, was to receive 75 tablets in payment, it is alleged.

He faces up to life in prison if convicted. Frank Stallone, a former hairdresser and polo player who will be 89 next month, is heartbroken but believes Rhodes is innocent.

He said: “I raised him from the age of six months in a good, caring family. At one point, he was this country’s most brilliant polo prospect. But then he got into girls and drugs and associating with shady characters.

“This is very painful for me. Bryan always called me dad. He was out of town with us when this happened. He’s a good kid.”

Stallone, 62, who is due to star with fellow actor and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a Bollywood movie, Incredible Love, was not available for comment.