Son-in-law jailed for killing mob boss
Domenico Scopelliti shot father-in-law Rocco Zito after family’s dinner
A man who fatally shot his father-in-law, mobster Rocco Zito, in their North York home has been sent to prison for almost six years.
Domenico Scopelliti, 54, smiled tightly as Justice Faye McWatt delivered the sentence at the University Ave. courthouse on Wednesday before more than a dozen members of Zito’s family, who included his widow, daughters and grandsons.
Zito, 87, was killed shortly after suppertime on Jan. 29, 2016, in the Playfair Ave. bungalow where three generations of his family lived.
At his trial, Scopelliti testified he was acting in self-defence when he shot Zito three times at close range using an illegal .25-calibre pistol that was fitted with a silencer.
He said he killed Zito after the older man pulled a gun on him and threatened his life.
Scopelliti was convicted of manslaughter in June, but found not guilty of the more serious offences of first- and second-degree murder.
During his trial, the court heard that Zito was a local Mafia leader, loan shark and convicted underworld killer.
McWatt noted that Scopelliti had a university education and strong letters of support from community members.
“Generally, the letters cast him as an involved father, a kind and gentle man whose character does not fit the crime he has committed,” McWatt said in her written sentencing decision.
“The defendant has no criminal record and the offence is out of character in terms of his history,” McWatt wrote.
“He has expressed remorse for the shooting,” the judge continued.
“The Crown candidly admitted that the defendant would have entered a guilty plea to manslaughter before the trial if the Crown had consented.”
Zito was considered by police to be “a figure of significant power and authority within organized crime, specifically the Italian Mafia” throughout his adult life, according to an agreed statement of facts submitted by the Crown and defence.
Scopelliti has been in custody since just hours after the shooting, when he surrendered to police after destroying the pistol he used.
The judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison, but with credit for time spent in custody before the trial, he will now serve slightly more than five years and eight months.
Defence lawyer Brian Ross had called for a penitentiary term of seven years while Crown Attorney Anna Stanford said 11 years would be more appropriate.
The court heard that Zito was in poor health in the final days of his life, and required afternoon naps, a cane and occasionally a walker for mobility and help navigating stairs.
Zito’s ailments included diabetes, poor vision in one eye, chronic diarrhea, hardening of the arteries, unstable legs, headaches and mental health challenges.
His granddaughter described him as a confused, often angry man who experienced some signs of dementia and wandered about at nights confused.
Scopelliti testified that he deeply regretted the killing.