Was Bronx Shooting Retaliation for Sally Daz's Dad, a Luchese Associate?

UPDATED
The Salvatore (Sally Daz) Zottola shooting may actually be the second attempted gangland hit caught on tape; the first, in March 1993, was the attempted murder of Joey Chang, then-34, early one morning in the coffee shop he owned, the Warfield Breakfast & Luncheon Express, in Philadelphia.

A person sitting in the passenger seat of the Nissan opened fire.
Shooter leaped out of car, ran up to Sally Daz and fired at point blank range.

The FBI had mounted a surveillance camera on the telephone pole across from the diner. Chang was shot during the Merlino-Stanfa war. Joey Chang was seriously wounded but he too survived, though partially paralyzed and with nerve damage that caused him to retire from Cosa Nostra.


NYPD officials have labeled the July 11 attempted murder of Salvatore (Sally Daz) Zottola as a botched gangland hit. He was shot around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday morning in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx.

In a surveillance clip, below, a red Nissan can be seen driving past Zottola's vehicle and pulling to a hault. Zottola was on the driver's side of the car, not facing the video, and was either besidethe car or in the driver's seat when a person sitting in the passenger seat of the Nissan opened fire.



Sally Daz can then be seen falling and rolling to the rear of his car, slipping out of the shooter's sight-line. It didn't work, as the shooter, wearing a low-slung baseball cap, exited the car, darted across the front of Zottola's vehicle, and started firing from that position. Zottola can be seen rolling backwards as the shooter charged him, firing point blank, before turning around and dashing back to the vehicle which then sped off.

Zottola was shot three times in the torso and hands; he also had one or more graze wounds to his head. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, but has since stabilized. He was home alone at the time of the attack; his wife and two children were reportedly at the Jersey Shore at the time

Zottola is not cooperating with investigators while he recovers in the hospital.



Wednesday’s attack happened outside Zottola’s home. His house is reportedly equipped with its own surveillance cameras, but police have not seen that extra footage.

Sources told the New York Post Zottola has refused to allow police or FBI investigators access to his system.

 red four-door Nissan sedan with yellow plates.
The shooter escaped in this red four-door Nissan sedan with yellow plates. (NYPD)

Investigators have also tried to interview him at the hospital. But Zottola is apparently keeping quiet about the attack. It’s believed he may have known the gunman.

As per the New York Daily News a member of the Zottola family, approached by reporters outside the hospital, said, “We want to thank everyone for their kind words, but you can go f— yourself.”





One neighbor told the Post: “It’s not a surprise. Look at what he does for a living. I can’t say any more. It’s not worth my life. It’s not worth my daughter’s life.”

But another neighbor described the younger Zottola as a good neighborhood guy.



“Almost every weekend he’d have the whole neighborhood over. It’s like an open house over there. He’s good to the neighborhood.”

Salvatore Zottola keeps a relatively low profile. He does not have an arrest record in the state of New York


Father Sylvester Zottola in Two Violent Incidents
The Daily News also reported that it has not been confirmed that this week's shooting was tied to a June 12 incident involving Zottola’s father, Sylvester, 71, who was arrested after firing several shots at a man who pulled a gun on him around 7:30 a.m. outside his Bronx residence. Sylvester Zottola was arrested for weapons possession, reckless endangerment and other charges, and did not have a permit for the gun.


The elder Zottola, identified in court papers as a Luchese associate, also survived a Dec. 27, 2017, stabbing, in the neck and back when he walked into his home to find three people burglarizing the place.

Sylvester is facing three felonies and one misdemeanor charge connected to the June incident. The top charge is criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. He was scheduled to appear in court when he got the news of his son’s shooting. Sylvester’s next court appearance is July 23.

The Zottola family owns three mansions in the Bronx
One of Sally Daz's Bronx homes; he was shot several times in the street in front...


Salvatore Zottola and his relatives apparently own three pricey four-story homes on the street overlooking the water on the eastern tip of the Bronx.

Both father and son were affiliated with former Bonanno family boss Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano until the gangster was jailed for life after a 2007 murder conviction. In 1999, Zottola apparently allowed Basciano’s girlfriend to live in one of his homes in the Bronx.

Basciano is currently serving life in prison after being convicted in two murders. A federal jury in Brooklyn spared him the death penalty in 2011.

In 2006, Basciano was convicted of Racketeering Conspiracy in connection to the gambling machines.The case document also shows that Basciano was accused of ordering an assault on a man identified as Frank Porco, because he had gotten into an argument with Sylvester Zottola.


UPDATE
Police released the surveillance video of the early morning Bronx shooting to solicit the public's help.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.









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