Who Was Sylvester Zottola? Reputed Mobster Killed At McDonald's Drive-Thru

Reputed mobster Sylvester Zottola was killed in a McDonald's drive-thru in Bronx, New York, on Thursday night. He was an associate of New York’s Bonanno crime family.

According to law enforcement sources, Zottola was killed in a mafia-style assassination and was shot multiple times in the head, chest and shoulder while sitting in his car outside the food joint. The incident took place around 5 p.m. EDT in 1600 block of Webster Avenue. Police said he was pronounced dead at the scene and his assassin fled in a gray vehicle. Several bullet holes were visible in the passenger-side window of Zottola's maroon SUV.

Juan Bravo, who owns an auto body shop in the area, said he was at a paint store across the street when he heard gunshots and within two minutes “it was commotion with ambulances.” He added that a woman and a baby were in the car but they were unharmed, The New York Times reported. Police collected CCTV footage from his shop and the paint store.

Alexandra Cuatlayo, who was also at the food joint, said, “For this area it’s pretty usual. This area is really active. Around where I live, someone was shot there, too. So this area is really iffy.”

No arrests have been made in the incident so far.

Zottola, 71, was targeted at least three times in the past 12 months. In September 2017, he was hot over the head while he was walking near his Bronx home. In December, he was stabbed in the neck at his own house when he walked in on three burglars ransacking it. He was admitted in a critical condition in Jacobi Medical Center, New York, The New York Post reported.

In June this year, Zottola informed the police that a man had threatened him with a gun outside his house and he fired his own weapon as self-defense. He was arrested and charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor, including for criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. He was due back in court on Oct. 9 in connection to the case.

His son Salvatore Zottola was also injured in July this year when a gunman opened fire at him outside his home. The incident was captured on CCTV but Salvatore refused to cooperate with authorities and no arrests were made. Officials, however, believed the shooting was intended to be a message to his father.

Zattola was connected to Vincent Basciano, also known as Vinny Gorgeous who was convicted to life in prison for two murders in 2011. According to court documents filed in the Eastern District of New York, the two partnered in running Joker poker machines, Heavy.com reported.

The Zattola family is well known in Bronx and he and his son constructed a lavish riverfront property near Locust Point Marina where the family meets for summer get-togethers, Bronx Times reported.