A man has been handed a life sentence after hiring a hitman to kill his father in a bid to seize control of the family ‘lucrative’ business.
Anthony Zottola Sr, 45, was sentenced to life in prison plus 112 additional years for ordering a hitman to murder his father, 71-year-old real estate magnate and reported mobster Sylvester Zottola.
A press release from the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said Anthony hired 37-year-old hitman Himen Ross, who also received a life sentence for his role in Sylvester’s death – which saw him gunned down at a Bronx McDonald’s drive-thru while ordering a cup of coffee.
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Anthony had also plotted to kill his brother Salvatore, 42, who was shot several times outside his Throgs Neck compound in The Bronx but survived.
US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement: “Over the course of more than a year, the elderly victim, Sylvester Zottola, was stalked, beaten, and stabbed, never knowing who orchestrated the attacks. It was his own son, who was so determined to control the family’s lucrative real estate business, that he hired a gang of hit men to murder his father.
“For sentencing his father to a violent death, Anthony Zottola and his co-defendant will spend the rest of their lives in prison.”
Anthony had helped manage the family’s real estate business by maintaining properties, collecting rent and helping run maintenance through a company jointly owned with Salvatore.
According to the DoJ, he had wanted to kill his family members to ‘take control’ of the Zottolas’ two dozen Bronx multi-family rental and commercial properties, valued at $45 million.
In a victim impact statement in court, Salvatore told his brother: “Why? Anthony, my brother, why? What did you do? Dad gave you everything. What you did to me and dad is unimaginable.”
Assistant US Attorney Devon Lash told jurors Sylvester’s murder followed six previous botched attempts, in which he was stabbed and beaten.
One attempt saw Sylvester held at gunpoint in November 2017, before three men invaded his home a month later, shooting him in the head, stabbing him several times and slashing his throat.
The final fatal hit involved a tracking device that was placed on Sylvester’s car, which allowed Himen to track him to the McDonald’s restaurant.
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll said in a previous statement: “Zottola had not one, not two, but multiple chances to rethink his deadly intent to murder his own father. He and the others he recruited chose to continue with their savage plot and succeeded. Now, instead of living off his father’s millions, his only payday will be federal prison.”
Jess Hardiman