Elderly Man With Mob Ties Killed in Sheepshead Bay

SHEEPSHEAD BAY – An elderly man was shot in the head at his home in Sheepshead Bay on Friday, police said, in what is thought to be a mob-related hit.

Vincent Zito, 77, was found with a gunshot wound to the head on the afternoon of Friday, October 26, at his home on Emmons Avenue at Batchelder Street, police said.

A handgun was recovered at the scene.

While the death appeared to be a suicide at first, the shots to the back of the head revealed it to be a homicide, which some are calling an “execution.”

Vincent Zito had been previously arrested for loansharking and had ties to the Lucchese crime family, as did his older brother, 82-year-old Anthony Zito, who was imprisoned in 1971 for extortion, the Post reported.

The younger Zito was found dead on Friday by his school-age grandson and son, Joe Zito.

Police said there was no sign of forced entry at the home.

An investigation into the murder is underway, but police have made no arrests at this time.