Son had father killed at McDonald’s drive-thru after he survived other attacks, feds say

For more than a year, Sylvester Zottola, a 71-year-old suspected mobster, survived repeated attacks in which he was beaten, stabbed and had his throat slashed.

He had no idea these were calculated murder attempts planned by one of his sons, Anthony Zottola, Sr., 44, who was hellbent on taking over his family’s multi-million dollar real estate empire — and also tried having his brother killed, according to federal prosecutors in New York City.

Anthony Zottola’s plot to kill his father succeeded when Sylvester Zottola was shot to death while waiting for a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-thru in the Bronx on Oct. 4, 2018, prosecutors said.

About 10 minutes after learning of his father’s death, Anthony Zottola texted his suspected hired co-conspirator saying he was taking his son to his favorite place — McDonald’s — for his birthday and wrote “lol,” court documents show.

Anthony Zottola, of Larchmont, New York, and Himen Ross, 37, of the Bronx, who was convicted of fatally shooting Sylvester Zottola, were sentenced to life in prison plus 112 years on April 14, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced in an April 16 news release.

Anthony Zottola was “so determined to control the family’s lucrative real estate business, that he hired a gang of hit men to murder his father,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.

“For sentencing his father to a violent death, Anthony Zottola and his co-defendant will spend the rest of their lives in prison,” Peace added.

Henry E. Mazurek, Anthony Zottola’s attorney, told McClatchy News in a statement on April 16 that his client maintains his innocence and blamed “Big Sal’s murder” on gang violence.

“Anthony’s sentencing is another tragic day for the Zottola family,” Mazurek said. “Another family member is being taken from his loved ones.”

Ross’ defense team declined a request for comment from McClatchy News on April 16.

Before judge Hector Gonzalez issued Anthony Zottola’s life sentence in court, his brother Salavatore Zottola spoke to him, according to the New York Times.

“You had everything in life,” he told his brother, the Times reported. “What you did to Dad, to myself and to this entire family is unimaginable.”

A ‘rift’ emerges in the Zottola family

The case dates to when Anthony Zottola, his wife and children moved to a $1.5 million home in Larchmont, about 10 miles northeast of where they lived in the “Zottola family compound” in the Bronx in July 2017, according to the government’s sentencing memo.

Sylvester Zottola had built homes for his three children, including Anthony and Salvatore Zottola, the memo says. It was his “dream” for the family to live together in the Bronx, according to prosecutors.

After Anthony Zottola moved without telling his father and brother beforehand, it caused a “rift,” according to the sentencing memo.

At the time, Sylvester Zottola was in charge of the family’s residential real estate portfolio worth tens of millions of dollars, prosecutors said. Anthony Zottola helped manage the business and co-owned a related business, A&S Maintenance, with his brother.

In prior court proceedings, Salvatore Zottola acknowledged his father had connections to an organized crime family in New York City but said he “wasn’t a wiseguy” and denied he was in the Mafia, PIX 11 reported.

The murder-for-hire plot and a series of attacks

Anthony Zottola is accused of hiring Bushawn Shelton, 38, of Brooklyn, to kill his father and Salvatore Zottola, prosecutors said. Shelton is accused of recruiting others, including Ross, to help him.

Shelton awaits sentencing in the case, according to prosecutors. McClatchy News contacted his attorneys for comment on April 16 and didn’t immediately receive a response.

In 2017, the series of violent attacks on Sylvester Zottola began, according to the sentencing memo.

As Sylvester Zottola checked his mail in September, 2017, a co-conspirator appeared and repeatedly punched him in the face and body before fleeing, according to prosecutors.

During another attack in November, Sylvester Zottola was in his car when a dark van pulled up and a masked individual got out and pointed a gun at him, the sentencing memo says. Sylvester Zottola escaped by /“placing his car in reverse and speeding away to a police precinct to report the attack.”

About a month later, three men entered Sylvester Zottola’s home, hit him in the head with a gun, repeatedly stabbed him and slashed his throat, prosecutors said. But he survived.

In July 2018, Salvatore Zottola was shot in his head, chest and hand while outside his home, according to prosecutors. He also survived.

Before Sylvester Zottola was killed on Oct. 4, 2018, a tracking device was put on his car, according to prosecutors.

Then, Ross followed Sylvester Zottola to McDonald’s and repeatedly shot him, the release said.

Immediately afterward, Ross texted Shelton, who messaged Anthony Zottola about his father’s death and wrote “Can we party today or tomorrow?,” prosecutors said.

Anthony Zottola promised Shelton he would get his money for helping kill his father, according to prosecutors.

In statements made at sentencing, Anthony Zottola shared how he loves his wife, children, brother and sister but did not show remorse for the murder of his father, according to the New York Times.

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