New York Daily News

Mobster killed at Bx. McD’s

- BY ROCCO PARASCANDO­LA AND GRAHAM RAYMAN With Tom Tracy and Elizabeth Elizalde

A reputed mobster was shot dead Thursday while sitting in his car at a McDonald’s drivethru in the Bronx, cops said.

Sylvester Zottola, 71, a reputed Luchese crime family associate, was hit five times, police sources said — once in the head, three times in the chest and once in the shoulder.

The victim survived a stabbing in the neck and back last December when he confronted three burglars in his home.

He also had a run-in with a gunman in June. He fired several rounds at a man who pulled a gun on him around 7:30 a.m. outside his Pelham Bay home.

Zottola (photo) was arrested for reckless endangerme­nt and other charges.

His murder comes four months after his son, alleged gangster Salvatore (Sally Daz) Zottola, 41, but survived a rub-out attempt near his Bronx home in July.

A police source said the elder Zottola, who was affiliated with ex-Bonanno family boss Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano until he got a life sentence after a 2007 murder conviction, was into gambling and loansharki­ng.

“He was a real old-fashioned mobster,” the source said.

Zottola was shot about 4:45 p.m. at the restaurant on Webster Ave. near E. 173rd St. in Claremont (below), cops said.

The gunman wore a black hoodie and fled south on Clay Ave. in a gray Acura, cops said.

Medics said Zottola was dead at the scene.

 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States