This New York Mobster HIRED BLOODS TO HIT HIS FATHER!

Family is everything in the game. It’s how La Cosa Nostra, the Mafia, stayed on top of the New York underworld for decades, ruling the streets. But in this world, family ain’t always enough when greed starts circling like vultures. The Zottola family knows this all too well. They’re tight, tighter than most, because they have to be. Sylvester, the father, and his sons Salvatore and Anthony walk the line between the criminal world and the one above, working both sides to stay ahead. Law enforcement’s got Sylvester tagged as an associate of the Bonanno and Lucchese families. And when you’re dealing with powerhouses like those, you need to roll deep, present a united front.
The Zottolas all live near each other, locked in a compound in Locust Point, The Bronx. Nestled next to the Locust Point Yacht Club, the spot’s known as “Zottola’s Court.” You’ll see two plaques on the homes: one reads, “Our foundation is built from love — our strength keeps us together,” while the other says, “Our walls are built thick — our love for each other is thicker.”
In short: if anyone thought they could roll up and take what’s theirs, they’d soon find out there’s a price to pay. The Zottolas weren’t just flexing for no reason. They had plenty worth holding onto. Sylvester was deep in illegal gambling, running those “Joker Poker” video games for the New York mob. These machines were set up in everything from social clubs to bodegas to coffee shops, raking in cash by the hundreds of thousands each week. Sylvester took that dirty money and flipped it into real estate, turning his hustle into a $45 million empire in the Bronx. Being an associate of the New York Mafia meant they had serious protection. Nobody could touch them without feeling the wrath of La Cosa Nostra. And Sylvester had more than just the usual Mafia shield—he was tight with Bonanno crime family boss Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano. This guy was known for his brains, his smooth talk, and the fact that he could have anyone knocked off without blinking. Having Basciano as a close associate? That wasn’t just protection—it was a damn fortress around the Zottola family. Imagine Sylvester Zottola’s shock when, out of nowhere, he’s blindsided by a crew of unknown attackers. The beatdown comes out of nowhere, and he’s left battered and bruised. But that’s just the start of the nightmare. On December 27, 2017, just days after Christmas, things escalate to a whole new level. Three men break into his home and go straight into beast mode. They smash him in the head with a gun, stab him repeatedly, and slash his throat wide open. They leave him bleeding out, thinking he’s a goner. But Sylvester? He survives. Call it a Christmas miracle, but ain’t no one laughing. His attackers are still ghosts, and the Zottola family has no clue who wants their patriarch six feet under or why. By the summer of 2018, though, Sylvester is back on his feet—more resilient than ever. On June 12, 2018, he’s posted up in front of one of his properties in the Bronx when he spots a suspicious figure across the street. The man’s too close for comfort, and before long, Sylvester sees the situation for what it is—a hit. The guy’s armed and clearly ready to pull the trigger. But Sylvester’s no rookie. He shouts, “Don’t come any closer!” and pulls his own gun, letting off several shots. The hitman tries to fight back but his weapon jams. It’s like something out of a movie. The would-be killer scrambles back to the car, where the getaway driver’s waiting, desperate to bail. Both men are arrested shortly after, and it turns out they’re Ron Cabey and Himen “Ace” Ross, gangsters with ties to the Bloods.The shocking answer came when investigators uncovered a series of text messages on Shelton’s phone. One of them was to the person who had ordered the hits. Shelton texted, “Can we party today or tomorrow?” The response came from the other end: “Tomorrow. It’s my little man’s bday. I’m taking him to his favorite place, McDonald’s. Then to a movie. LOL, like I eat that stuff.” When investigators saw who the texts were between, they were stunned. The person on the other end wasn’t some rival gang leader—it was Anthony Zottola, Sylvester’s own son. He had orchestrated his father’s murder. Anthony had also planned the shooting of his own brother, Salvatore.
Over 1,000 text messages between Shelton and Anthony Zottola were discovered. They discussed threats and attacks on Sylvester and Salvatore, planning the violence for more than a year before Sylvester was finally killed. After the murder of his father, Anthony even discussed payment for the hit. “I have the cases of water in a day or so,” he texted Shelton. The chilling photo later recovered from Shelton’s phone showed a cardboard box of bottled water—with over $200,000 in banded cash stacked alongside it. The truth hit harder than any bullet. Anthony Zottola wasn’t just a victim in the family feud—he was the mastermind behind it all.

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