Power-hungry mobster stands trial for murder of his own Bonnano and Lucchese-linked father, 71, for control of $45m empire: Paid Bloods gangster $200,000 for hit at McDonald’s DriveThru
- Prosecutors say Anthony Zottola hired a Bloods gang-member to shoot and kill his father, Sylvester Zottola, an associate of the Lucchese and Bonanno families
- They say Anthony did so in order to seize control of his father’s $45 million real estate empire, which his brother said raked in $1 million a year
- Anthony’s brother, Salvatore, who survived an attempt at his life just month’s before Sylvester’s murder, testified about his father’s assets
- Prosecutors also showed texts between Anthony and hitman Brushawn Shelton joking about the $200,000 assassination after it happened
- Sylvester was shot several times in October 2018 while ordering a coffee at a McDonald’s drive-thru in the Bronx
The son of a Lucchese and Bonanno mobster is standing trial for allegedly hiring a Bloods gang member to assassinate his father to gain control of his $45m real estate empire.
Prosecutors alleged Anthony Zottola Sr. hired a Bloods gang-member to shoot and kill his father, Sylvester ‘Sally Daz’ Zottola, 71, outside a McDonald’s in the Bronx in 2018, the New York Post reported.
Prosecutors described the younger Zottola as a power-hungry and ruthless man who joked with hitman Brushawn Shelton after he and his associates completed the $200,000 killing.
‘Can we party today or tomorrow,’ Shelton texted Anthony following the hit, according to messages presented by the prosecution.
‘Tomorrow. It’s my little man’s bday. I’m taking him to his favorite place, McDonald’s,’ Anthony allegedly texted. ‘Then to a movie. LOL like I eat that stuff.’
‘Thank you for being a great friend my man.’
Among the people testifying against Anthony was his own brother, Salvatore Zottola, who survived an assassination attempt just months before his father’s murder.
Prosecutors alleged Anthony Zottola Sr. (bottom left) hired a Bloods gang-member to shoot and kill his father, Sylvester ‘Sally Daz’ Zottola, 71. His brother Salvatore (top right) took the stand on Wednesday as he testified about his father’s $45 million real estate empire
Anthony stands accused of orchestrating the hit in order to seize control of his father’s assets. Pictured, Salvatore testifying about his father’s final moments (inset)
Sylvester, who paid dues to the infamous Lucchese and Bonanno mob families, was shot multiple times while at a drive-thru at a McDonald’s in the Bronx
Bushawn Shelton (right), a Bloods gang-member, was accused of carrying out the hit against Sylvester (left) through his associates, Himen Ross and Alfred Lopez
Pictured: Sylvester’s car riddled with bullet holes while he was ordering a coffee
Salvatore, Sylvester’s eldest son, testified that his father had a sprawling real estate empire that drew in more than $1 million per year in rental income.
In his testimony, the older brother recounted the shootings he and his father experienced.
The 71-year-old victim had just ordered a medium coffee when bullets struck him in the head, chest and shoulder on October 4, 2018.
Months earlier in July 2018, Salvatore was shot multiple times, including in the head, outside his Bronx home, but survived.
A cooperating witness had told investigators the hit on Salvatore was intended to lure his father into the open.
In her opening statements on Tuesday, Assistant US Attorney Devon Lash told jurors that Sylvester, who paid dues to the infamous Lucchese and Bonanno mob families, had spent years dodging attempts at his life by goons who stabbed him and beat him.
Lash said Sylvester was able to survive each would-be assassin until the 2018 shooting, which she said was masterminded by Anthony to seize his father’s assets.
‘The defendant wanted that control,’ Lash said.
Along with his real estate empire, prosecutors said Sylvester ran an illegal poker machine vending operation.
Salvatore, Sylvester’s eldest son, also recounted the attempt on his own life, which saw him shot several times just moths before his father’s murder. Pictured: A courtroom sketch of Salvatore describing the gunshot wound he suffered on his head
Pictured: Salvatore (left) pictured walking towards his brother’s indictment in 2019.
Anthony been charged with murder-for-hire conspiracy, causing death through the use of a firearm and unlawful use and possession of firearms. Pictured: police at the scene shortly after the older Zottola was gunned down in the Bronx
Anthony has been charged with murder-for-hire conspiracy, causing death through the use of a firearm and unlawful use and possession of firearms.
Himen Ross, the man accused of carrying out the hit for Shelton and his alleged get-a-way driver, Alfred Lopez, are also on trial over the murder.
In their opening statements, the attorney’s for each of the defendants slammed the prosecution’s case against their clients, saying it was filled with holes and that the trio could not be convicted.
‘Not guilty,’ John Burke, who is defending Lopez, told the jury.
The defense attorneys also said that the witnesses the prosecution will call forth are not credible and are members of a violent street gang that would lie for plea deals.
The Bloods and the Mob alliance in the Zottola murder-for-hire case
Anthony Zottola hired a Bloods street gang member Bushawn ‘Shelz’ Shelton to kill his father Sylvester ‘Sally Daz’ Zottola, 71, an associate of the Bonanno and Lucchese crime families, in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx. The murder-for-hire plot represent a rare instance of New York City street gangs working with the Mob.
Here’s what you should know about the criminal enterprises involved in the case.
Lucchese crime family – One of the most powerful of the American mafia’s five families in New York City. Sometimes referred to as ‘Lukes’ the Luchese family was originally entrenched in rackets surrounding the garment industry. It gets its name from its second crime boss Tommy Luchese, who served as a generally peaceful boss from 1951 to 1967. That changed, under the leadership of Victor ‘Little Vic’ Amuso aka ‘The Deadly Don’ and his underboss Anthony ‘Gaspipe’ Caso, who ushered in one of the deadliest periods of organized crime from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. They’re estimated to be responsible for more than 100 hits and even deployed to NYPD cops to carry out some of their rubouts. The mob organization took a serious hit in 2017 when some 17 members were indicted on charges of racketeering, murder, money laundering, illegal gambling, narcotics and selling bootleg cigarettes.
Bonanno crime family – Again named after the criminal enterprise’s second leader, Joseph ‘Joe Bananas’ Bonanno, who earned his title at the age of 26. The family dealt mostly in illegal gambling, loansharking and drugs, but expanded their operations outside of New York into California, Arizona and Canada. The most notorious episodes of the crime family happened in the mid-1970s when FBI agent Joe Pistone, aka Donnie Brasco, infiltrated the organization documenting criminal exploits and landing more than 200 indictments and 100 convictions for his work. The operation became a major motion picture starring Johnnie Depp. The elder Zottola has been connected to the family through former Bonanno boss Vincent ‘Vinny Gorgeous’ Basciano, who is currently serving life in prison without parole on various murder and racketeering charges.
The Bloods – The gang began with a black street crew in Los Angeles, California, but has expanded to a lose network across the United States. Bloods distinguish themselves from other street gangs, like the Crips, by wearing red. Their initiation, referred to as a ‘Blood in’ ceremony involves the recruit taking a brutal beating at the hands of current gang members. The East Coast Bloods were formed in Rikers Island jail in the early 1990s as a way to protect black inmates from Hispanic gang members in the Latin Kings or the Netas behind bars. The Bloods general deal in narcotics, but in 2007 the New Jersey Attorney general broke up an illegal gambling, drug and loan sharking ring run in coordination with the Lucchese crime family.
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