Cosa Nostra News

The net has widened in the murder probe of Luchese associate Sylvester (Sally Daz) Zottola, with Larry McShane of the New York Daily News reporting that three more co-conspirators were arrested toda y. Salvatore Zotolla's shooting this past summer was caught on videotape. The trio was nabbed for the murder of Sally Daz, 71, at a Bronx McDonald's drive-thru, as well as the summertime shooting of Sally Daz's son outside the family's home in the Bronx.  The attempted hit on the son, according to a cooperating witness, was an effort to lure the father into the shooter's cross-hairs, McShane reported. Identified in a superseding federal indictment, McShane reported, were Arthur (Scary) Codner, Himen (Ace) Ross, and Kalik McFarlane. “The defendants, together with others, with malice aforethought, did unlawfully kill Sylvester Zottola willfully, deliberately, maliciously and with premeditation,” the indictment read, according to McShane. Assistan...

EXPANDED Okay, can someone tell us something we've been wondering about? What the hell happened to the mob? (We're being facetious; we know what happened: this guy, basically .) Mush was set to put the Colombos back together. Still, consider: Longtime Luchese associate Sylvester (Sally Daz) Zottola .... At 71 years old, he should've been slowing down. Instead, he was terrorized for a year -- clubbed, assaulted, and stabbed in the throat; his house had been robbed and his son targeted, nearly shot dead this past summer. Sally Daz supposedly was in good standing with the Luchese, and he was close to the Bonannos. (One source was baffled by what happened, telling us: "I don't get it. I just don't get it.") And let's not forget recent history. There's evidence of wiseguys hiring members of the Bloods and Crips street gangs to do hits for cash. (God help them if they ever ally with Mara Salvatrucha, aka MS-13.) Genovese associate  F...

NOTE ADDED AT END OF THIS STORY A man conspiring with others to kill someone has been plucked off the streets before a single shot could be fired. A Harlem murder plot was stopped in its tracks when the NYPD arrested the alleged trigger-man before he could pull the trigger, police sources recently told the Daily News. Francisco Colon, 41, was arrested for his role in a murder conspiracy after police raided his W.135th St. apartment near Amsterdam Avenue last Thursday. Drugs and several firearms were recovered from the scene. Investigators learned that Colon was conspiring with others to kill someone. And that's about all that's known. The identity of his intended victim was not immediately disclosed. “He’s a contract killer,” a police source told the News regarding Colon. Colon has been charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and drug and weapons possession. In May 2002, Colon was arrested for attempted murder for shooting someone. He wo...

The two mobsters who stabbed and threatened a doctor in Brooklyn in order to obtain oxycodone prescriptions were sentenced last week, on December 6, in Brooklyn federal court.  Anthony Grado, a member of the Luchese organized crime family, and Lawrence Tranese, an associate of the Colombo organized crime family, were sentenced by United States District Judge Carol B. Amon to 12 years and 40 months in prison respectively for conspiring to distribute oxycodone that they obtained through fraudulent prescriptions. Grado also must fork over $70,000 in forfeiture and Tranese $12,000. “Today’s sentence punishes the defendants for ruthlessly endangering our community through their organized crime-backed distribution of highly-addictive opioid drugs,” stated Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “This Office, working together with our law enforcement partners, will continue our relentless efforts against those responsible for the opioid...