Reputed NYC mobster fatally shot at McDonald’s drive-thru
Reputed mobster Sylvester Zottola was shot at a McDonald’s drive-thru in the Bronx while waiting for a cup of coffee.
A reputed mobster, whose son was injured in an attempted hit job three months ago, was fatally shot Thursday afternoon at a McDonald’s drive-thru in the Bronx while waiting for a cup of coffee, police said.
Sylvester Zottola, 71, a Bonanno crime family associate, was shot outside the fast food restaurant at around 4:45 p.m., sources told The New York Daily News. He was reportedly hit with five shots, including once in the head and three in the chest. He was also reportedly hit in the shoulder.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. Law enforcement official described as a mafia-style assassination, The New York Times reported. Zottola had been pursued for months by someone who wanted him dead, and it appears that someone caught up with him, according to The Times.
Zottola had ordered a medium coffee at the drive-thru, and his car was boxed in when the gunman opened fire, sources told The New York Post.
The gunman was dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt and fled the scene in a gray vehicle, police told The News.
No arrests had been made.
His son, Salvatore Zottola, 41, was injured when a gunman opened fire on him outside his Bronx home on July 11.
The July shooting was captured on surveillance video, but the younger Zottola did not cooperate with authorities and no arrests were made, sources told the Post.
Investigators believe the attack on Salvatore was intended to be a message to his father, who received his share of attempted assaults, the paper reported.
Sylvester had survived three attacks in the past year, the report said. In September 2017, an assailant clubbed him over the head near his Bronx home.
Two months later, a suspect holding a gun unsuccessfully tried to force him into a vehicle. Last December, one out three burglars ransacked his home and stabbed him in the neck, leaving him in critical condition.
Thursday was the fatal conclusion to the months of "gangland-style assaults" against Sylvester and his son, according to The Times. In the 1990s through early 2000s, the father-son team supplied and serviced Joker Poker machines to gambling hubs controlled by mobs, the paper reported, citing court documents.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
