Anthony Zuitco, Jr

Anthony Zuitco, Jr.
Born	Anthony Bono Zuitco, Jr. (1960-02-03)February 3, 1960 Queens, NY
Occupation	Hitman, Bodyguard
Associates	Vincenzo Sporteino (boss)
Family	Anthony Zuitco, Sr. (father) Francesca Zuitco (mother)

Anthony Zuitco, Jr. is a businessman, hitman, and longtime bodyguard of Vincenzo Sporteino.

Early Days

Anthony was born in Queens, New York to a grocer and a stage and screen actress turned grocer. Despite his mother's temporary time in the spotlight, they lived modestly in an apartment above his family's grocery store.

When Anthony was 9, he witnessed the death of his parents by the assassin James Anderton as he opened fire at them while they stood out front of the grocery store. Anderton fled, leaving Anthony kneeling beside his dying parents, unsure of what had just happened. After his parents' death, Anthony was sent to a foster home, but the act of watching his parents die caused him to lash out uncontrollably. He ran away from his new foster parents, deciding he'd rather live on the streets than with someone he didn't know.

In 1972, after spending three years unemployed and alone, he met Sonny Bellini, who, noticing his size and muscles, asked if Anthony wanted a job with his organization. Anthony agreed and went with him to meet Vincenzo Sporteino, who initially declined to hire him due to his age. After some persuasion from Sonny, Anthony was hired and became part of The Family, which was run by Sporteino and had criminal connections.

A few days later, during a shopping trip, an assassin tried to kill Sporteino. Anthony instinctively stepped in front of him, taking the bullets himself. Though shot, Anthony chased the attacker, subdued him, and almost beat him to death. Others from Sporteino's organization pulled Anthony away and rushed him to the hospital for treatment. While there, Sporteino expressed that his opinion had changed and he wanted Anthony to become his full-time bodyguard. Anthony agreed, remaining in this role until Sporteino's death in 1995.

Fleeing to New Prairie

In 1973, Vinnie Sporteino's headquarters was raided by the police, and he, Anthony, and Sonny Bellini were all arrested and taken to jail. On the way to the jail, Anthony managed to break free of his restraints and take control of the vehicle. Using it, he knocked the other vehicle with Sporteino and Bellini in it off the road and freed them. The trio decided to leave everything behind and make for a new home. After traveling to the Midwest, the three found themselves in Milwaukee, WI. There, through some business contacts Sporteino had made over the years, they were recommended the city of New Prairie, WI, which at the time was far enough from the big cities, but offered the chance to expand and grow, which was exactly what Sporteino had wanted. The trio traveled north and settled in their new city. Anthony helped Sporteino rebuild his organization by recruiting new men and helpers with a vigorous procedure that ensured they would never turn against them.

His Parents' Murderer

Over the years, Anthony never forgot the day his parents were murdered in front of him and wished he knew more about that day. With Sporteino's help, Anthony finally got information regarding who killed his parents, unaware that it was Sporteino who had hired the gunman. Anthony took some time off and drove out to Seattle, Washington, to have a confrontation with the killer, James Anderton. Reaching his house, Anthony proceeded to beat Anderton up from the rage that had built up over the last decade. After two hours, Anthony pulled out his gun and fired a shot into each of Anderton's appendages, causing Anderton to confess that it was Sporteino who had hired him for the job, and he was only following orders.

Anthony, refusing to believe him, went to his car, grabbed the can of gasoline from his trunk and proceeded to light Anderton's house on fire with him still inside. He stood and watched as the flames engulfed the home, and Anderton's scream for help and mercy slowly succumbed to the roar of the fire. Leaving Seattle, Anthony made his way back to New Prairie, with Anderton's words still in his head. Keeping it to himself, he continued on with his life, feeling content that he avenged his parents' murder and that he could find closure.

Revelation and Confrontation

In December of 1995, while attempting to confront Sonny Bellini and Jerry Burr, a delivery guy Sporteino hired for a drug operation that went awry, Anthony was told by Bellini that Sporteino did, in fact, hire James Anderton to kill his parents. Bellini said the reason it took Anthony so long to find out who murdered his parents was that Sporteino was constantly working behind the scenes, preventing him from finding out. Now hearing it from two different sources, Anthony turned on Sporteino and attempted to kill him, but was taken down by a shot from Sporteino, point-blank in the chest. The shot in the chest left Anthony wounded but didn’t kill him.

Awaking a short time later, he found the warehouse was on fire and among the flames he spotted three bodies, one of which was Sporteino's. Wanting to see the body himself, he was stopped by the raging fire and instead decided to leave the building. Knowing Sporteino was gone, he made his way to Sporteino's compound to collect his things and patch himself up. Grabbing some money and few items from the same, he left the building and stayed at the Nickel Motel where he would recoup. Gathering his belongings, he decided to leave New Prairie for good, vowing never to return to the city.

New Life on the West Coast

After calling a business friend in California, Anthony made his way to the West Coast, where he helped set up numerous businesses (shipping, industry, technology) and eventually took ownership. Soon, he had a new stream of income as he became the head operator of those businesses. However, to prevent anyone working for the businesses from finding out exactly who he was or potentially hurting him, he would never meet anyone in person. All business was done over the phone or with a select few ‘business partners’ who would do his talking and bidding for him. The idea helped build a persona for him, making those who worked for him afraid to try anything and those he dealt with feel intimidated and too cowardly to refuse whatever he wanted. Over the years, he would simply be known as The Big B, for his constant acquisition of warehouses, shipping, and other such enterprises.

During this time, Anthony discovered a hidden bank account that his mother had set up in the early 40s. The account held the money she had earned from her acting days and was intended for a retirement trip around the world that she and Anthony's father would take. Having earned interest over the last 50 years, the account left Anthony with a substantial inheritance, which he used to open Z Industries’ Manufacturing, a company that would go on to prove very successful for him and his future.

Back to New Prairie

In 1998, one of his science-driven corporations obtained a new chemical and found a way to create high explosives when mixed with a dry powder they developed. Needing to acquire more of the chemical in order to sell the newly created explosives, Anthony found the source was from Hazdon Industries back in New Prairie. Initially, he was reluctant to go back to the city, but eventually did so, realizing that a shipment of goods containing the chemical would be leaving the city, at which point he and a few of his friends would hijack the vehicle and take it back to the coast.

Upon arriving, Anthony and his men were ambushed by another group, who killed all but him, though he was left seriously wounded. Catching a glimpse of the vehicle they arrived in, Anthony later tracked the car to a “business” in Chicago, which just so happened to be owned by Fanucci Enterprises, which had been taken over by a former enemy of Vincenzo Sporteino Michael Fanucci's unknown son, Taylor Fanucci. Pretending to be a future high-stakes businessman, Anthony, using a fake name, talked to Taylor in his office building and created a diversion to get a few moments alone in his office. In there, he found a logbook that stated 2 shipments were leaving that evening, and they contained highly valuable and dangerous goods. Going to the track yard to hijack the car and train, Anthony was knocked cold by a waiting Fanucci goon.

Anthony awoke tied to a chair inside an empty train car moving along the tracks. Fanucci was there, revealing that he had known Anthony's identity from the beginning. He had intentionally let Anthony see the logbook to trap and kill him for his father Michael's murder. Before Anthony could react, the train car door opened, revealing them crossing a bridge over a river. Fanucci shot Anthony three times in the chest, then kicked him out of the open door while he was still tied to the chair. Anthony fell into the water below but managed to break free when the chair shattered against the rocks. He swam to the shoreline, relieved to discover he had been wearing his bulletproof vest all along and that Fanucci was too stupid to check if he was wearing one.

Anthony made his way to a bus station, where he hopped a ride to Cincinnati. Arriving at one of his owned business hubs, he got a change of clothes and called up Dusty Thompson, an employee of his working on the West Coast. He asked where the trains departing Chicago yesterday were going and discovered that the one carrying chemicals was heading to Reno, NV. Anthony thanked him, hung up the phone, and made his way to Nevada, knowing he was going to get the train car and end this.

At this point, it's unclear what happened and where Anthony is now, though The Big B still communicates with his staff at facilities across the country.

Appearances

Short Stories

• To Tom Cortini: From Jerry
• To Tom Cortini: From Vinnie
• From Tom Cortini
• The Old Days

Films

• To Tom Cortini (2002) (First Appearance)
• To Tom Cortini 2: Return to Sender (2003)
• To Tom Cortini 3: Damaged Goods (2003)
• Left for Dead (2005)