The son of murdered New York mob associate Sylvester “Sally Daz” Zottola has been convicted of hiring the hitmen who killed him.
According to Sky News partner NBC New York, Anthony Zottola was convicted of plotting to kill his father and brother in an attempt to take over the family’s multi-million dollar property empire.
Zottola and Himen Ross, a co-conspirator, were convicted on Wednesday, following a six-week federal trial over the 2018 killing of 71-year-old Sylvester at a McDonald’s drive-in in the Bronx area of New York City.
Both face mandatory life terms when sentenced.
Sylvester Zottola was shot several times in the head and body at the fast-food restaurant in what police initially described at the time as a possible mob hit.
Prosecutors told jurors of a detailed conspiracy between Anthony and Bloods gang leader Bushawn Shelton to carry out a series of attacks on his father and older brother, Salvatore Zottola.
Ross was hired as the triggerman after a previous gun-for hire, Ron Cabey, had tried to kill Sylvester Zottola.
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On the stand, Cabey described at least six botched attempts to murder the businessman over a period of several months.
Sylvester Zottola controlled a residential property portfolio valued at tens of millions of dollars at the time of his death.
His son Anthony helped manage the business by maintaining the properties, collecting rent, and helping to run a maintenance company he jointly owned with his brother.
The court heard he wanted to take control of the family business, so hired Bushawn Shelton to organise the killing of his father and his brother.
The defence team had argued the hit could have been the work of Albanian gangsters in the Bronx who were trying to claim a piece of the illegal gambling machine racket that Sylvester Zottola allegedly ran.
Shelton pleaded guilty in August 2022 to murder-for-hire conspiracy and murder-for-hire. He is awaiting sentencing.
