Anthony Zottola Sr., Murder-for-Hire, New York 2022

Grimy Times has exclusively learned that Anthony Zottola Sr. and Himen Ross have been sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the murder-for-hire of Sylvester Zottola at a McDonald’s drive-thru on October 4, 2018, in Brooklyn, New York.

Sylvester Zottola, the 71-year-old father of Anthony Zottola Sr., was gunned down multiple times while waiting to pick up a cup of coffee at the drive-thru. The brutal murder was orchestrated by Anthony Zottola Sr., who stood to gain control of his father’s lucrative real estate business.

According to prosecutors, Anthony Zottola Sr. hired a gang of hit men, including co-conspirator Bushawn Shelton, to carry out the murder. Shelton and his accomplices stalked and attacked Sylvester Zottola on multiple occasions, including a botched attempt to kill him on December 27, 2017, when three men invaded his residence and stabbed him multiple times.

On July 11, 2018, Salvatore Zottola, Anthony’s brother, was shot in the head, chest, and hand in front of his residence. The conspirators placed a tracking device on Sylvester Zottola’s car, allowing Ross to track him to the McDonald’s restaurant where he was ultimately killed.

Following a six-week trial in October 2022, a federal jury found Anthony Zottola Sr. and Himen Ross guilty of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and firearms offenses. The defendants were sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment plus 112 years by United States District Judge Hector Gonzalez.

The additional years represent 41 years for Salvatore Zottola’s age when he was shot and 71 years for Sylvester Zottola’s age when he was killed. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, praised the investigative work of the FBI and NYPD in solving the cold-blooded crime.

Sylvester Zottola controlled a residential real estate portfolio consisting of multi-family rental properties valued at tens of millions of dollars at the time of his death. Defendant Anthony Zottola Sr. helped manage his father’s real estate business by maintaining the properties, collecting rent, and helping to run A&S Maintenance, a company jointly owned by Anthony and his brother Salvatore Zottola.

Anthony Zottola Sr. plotted to kill his father and brother so that he could take control of the family business. As proven at trial, Anthony Zottola Sr. hired co-conspirator Bushawn Shelton to kill his father and brother, Salvatore. Shelton recruited others to commit the murders, and together they engaged in a year-long conspiracy to carry out a series of violent attacks against Sylvester and Salvatore Zottola.

Among other attempts, on November 26, 2017, Sylvester Zottola was menaced at gunpoint by a masked individual. Ross and Shelton exchanged texts immediately after the hit, and then Shelton and Anthony Zottola Sr. exchanged texts, in which Anthony was informed that his father had just been murdered. Shelton texted Anthony Zottola Sr.: ‘Can we party today or tomorrow?’ Anthony Zottola Sr. assured Shelton that he would have Shelton’s payment for carrying out the murder ready soon: ‘I have the cases of water in a day or so.’

Defendant:

Anthony Zottola Sr.

Criminal Charges:

Murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and firearms offenses.

City and State:

Brooklyn, New York.

Exact Date:

October 4, 2018.

Sentence or Outcome:

Mandatory life imprisonment plus 112 years.

Dollar Amounts:

Tens of millions of dollars (value of Sylvester Zottola’s real estate portfolio).

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