The duplicitous son of an elderly Bronx mobster was sentenced Friday to die behind bars for orchestrating his father’s execution in a 2018 murder-for-hire plot as the victim sat helplessly in a McDonald’s drive-thru.
Anthony Zottola, 45, was involved in multiple attempts to whack his dad, who turned his work for the Bonanno crime family into a multi-million dollar real estate empire that his son hoped to seize, authorities said.
The mandatory life sentence was imposed by Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Hector Gonzalez, the final chapter in what prosecutors said was a sordid tale of greed and gunfire.
Co-defendant Himen Ross was hit with the same life term as well for pulling the trigger in the killing of Sylvester “Sally Daz” Zottola.
The elder Zottola, 71, died in a fusillade of bullets while waiting in line behind the wheel of his car in the fast food outlet’s drive-through as he waited for a cup of coffee on Oct. 24, 2018.
It was the final and fatal attempt on the dad’s life following five prior failed hits, including one outside his Bronx home three months earlier. Authorities said Anthony also schemed to kill his older brother as part of the plot.
Gonzalez imposed an additional jail term of 71 years to be served consecutively, noting that was the age of his father on the day of the murder, and another 41 years — the age of her brother when he was targeted in 2018.
“Today is another tragic day for the Zottola family,” said defense attorney Henry Mazurek. “Another family member is being taken from his loved ones. Anthony maintains his innocence of this awful crime and vows to continue his fight to show his family that he was not behind the brazen attacks on his father and brother.”
The slain father amassed his fortune over the decades by operating “Joker Poker” gambling machines in the Bronx for organized crime, authorities said.