A Gambino family associate was sentenced to 40 years in prison for fatally shooting his longtime loan shark friend after he refused to return the $750,000 he was ‘keeping’.
Anthony Pandrella, 63, learned his fate in Brooklyn federal court Wednesday for the 2018 execution-style murder of 77-year-old Vincent Zito, Department of Justice announced.
The sordid saga began when Zito, who had been running an illegal loan sharking business, was warned by Pandrella that he was ‘hot’, meaning he was under investigation by law enforcement.
So Zito, who had connections to the Lucchese crime family, gave Pandrella $750,000 from the company for safekeeping. But when Zito later tried to retrieve the money from his friend of 30 years, he said it had mysteriously disappeared.
A few weeks before the murder, an enraged Zito was heard threatening to kill Pandrella, who by then had returned part of the money.
On October 26, 2018, Pandrella told Zito he was ready to pay and showed up at his home in Brooklyn. But instead of handing over the cash, Pandrella put a bullet in the back of his friend’s head.
Pandrella was convicted of the charges following a trial in June 2022.
Anthony Pandrella, 63, of Brooklyn, (pictured) was sentenced to 40 years in prison for killing his friend Vincent Zito, 77, after Pandrella refused to return the $750,000 he ‘kept’
Zito (pictured) allegedly became angry at Pandrella’s claim that the money had gone missing and was overheard at a restaurant threatening to kill him. He had loaned Pandrella the money after he told him he was ‘hot’, meaning the police were potentially in on his shady business
Joseph and Samantha Zito, daughter and son of the victim, speak exclusively to the Daily Mail after Anthony Pandrella was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the murder of Vincent Zito
In June, the jury deliberated for just an hour and a half before convicting Pandrella of all three counts, robbery, murder and unlawful use of a firearm.
Pandrella, who is affiliated with the Gambino organized crime family, was sentenced Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court to 40 years in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Margo K. Brodie for Zito’s murder, Hobbs Act robbery and unlawful use of a firearm.
“Out of greed, the defendant ruthlessly executed his longtime friend after being welcomed into his home,” United States Attorney Peace stated. ‘Pandrella’s cold-blooded crime has cost him dearly with the loss of his freedom for decades.’
Zito’s family gathered outside the courthouse in Brooklyn on Wednesday, where they got the news that their loved one’s killer would spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Samantha Zito, Zito’s daughter spoke exclusively to the Daily Mail after Anthony Pandrella was sentenced to 40 years in prison for Zito’s murder
Joseph Zito, son of Zito, was seen outside court in Brooklyn on Wednesday after Anthony Pandrella was sentenced to 40 years in prison
Zito’s body was found by his grandson, 11, when he returned home from school, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said earlier.
The firearm was found next to Zito, who was lying face up, and it is believed Pandrella set it up to look like a suicide.
The murder weapon found at the scene was covered in Pandrella’s DNA, the Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
The two men were friends for 30 years before the tragedy unfolded.
Two witnesses testified during the three-week trial that Zito was furious with the Brooklynite over the money he had not returned and had threatened to kill him, the New York Daily News reported.
‘I gave him $750,000 and he said it was gone. That fat f**k stole my money,’ a witness testified when he heard Zito say at a restaurant.
Pandrella had told Zito that the money had disappeared from his basement. However, he ended up giving Zito $300,000 after selling property, the NYDN reported.
Vincent Zito was killed inside his home (pictured) in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn on October 26, 2018, and was found by his 11-year-old grandson when he came home from school
The morning after the murder, Pandrella had told Zito that he was paying off his debt. But instead he showed up at Zito’s Sheepshead Bay home and shot him in the head at ‘close range’.
Pandrella was seen leaving the property on grainy surveillance footage at the time of the murder. When he arrived at his own home, security footage showed the mobster changing clothes and removing the passenger side floor mat from his car ‘so it could be cleaned’.
Pandrella also stole ‘luxury watches’ from Zito’s ‘loan sharking business’, which he apparently held as ‘collateral’ for a client’s loan, officials said.