Son accused of ordering murder of his mobster dad seeks release due to coronavirus
The man accused of paying $200,000 to have his allegedly mobbed-up father whacked in the drive-thru of a Bronx McDonalds — while the wiseguy was ordering a coffee — wants to get out of jail to avoid catching coronavirus.
Attorneys for Anthony Zottola Sr. said in papers filed late on Friday that he is willing to put up a $5 million bond to get sprung from Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center and stay under house arrest while he awaits trial.
Zottola Sr. is accused of plotting with his nine codefendants to murder Sylvester “Sally Daz” Zottola. They all could face life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
Anthony Zotolla Sr.’s attorneys said that keeping their client in MCC also affects their ability to work with him to protect him from the “harshest of penalties available in the federal system.”
As of Friday, two inmates at the roughly 700-prisoner MCC in Lower Manhattan have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the US Bureau of Prisons.
In filing the request, Zottola joins a long list of high-profile prisoners who have asked to be released as COVID-19 tears through jails across the New York City area.
Many inmates have provided specific health reasons — such as age and medical conditions — to justify their release.
On Thursday, for example, disgraced R&B legend R. Kelly, 53, said that both his age and the fact that he recently underwent hernia surgery warrant his release.
But the 41-year-old Zottola doesn’t provide any similar excuse — arguing just that MCC presents a “gratuitous risk” to his health.
The feds allege that Zottola plotted his father’s murder so he could take control of Salvatore Zottola’s illegal gambling ring — and offered to pay $200,000 to get the job done.
The feds say that when Anthony Zottola Sr. would text with codefendant Bushawn “Shelz” Shelton to plot the hit, the two men used morbid film analogies as code for how it would play out — the gunman would be the “director” and Sally Daz “the actor” to be shot for the “final scene,” court papers state.
This isn’t the first time that Zottola has asked to be able to enjoy the comforts of home while his case proceeds.
Zottola previously offered to put up a $5 million bond for his release but Brooklyn Federal Judge Raymond Dearie shot down the request, saying the charges against him were too “serious and disturbing” to allow him to wait it out at home.
https://nypost.com/2020/03/28/son-accused-of-ordering-hit-on-mobster-dad-at-mcdonalds-wants-out-of-jail-over-coronavirus/
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