Mobster killed at Bx. McD’s
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.