A council member from New Jersey, who previously confessed to multiple murders as a mob enforcer, was arrested on charges of extortion and other related offenses. John Alite, 63, serving as a councilman in Englishtown, NJ, faces multiple counts of extortion, corporate misconduct, and other allegations, according to a statement from the New Jersey Attorney General.
The authorities claim Alite orchestrated loans surpassing the legal maximum rate. He is accused of threatening debtors with violent acts if they failed to comply with demands for money and property. Additionally, prosecutors assert Alite employed his business, Straightened-Out Entertainment, Inc., to advance these illicit activities.
These arrests are the result of rigorous investigative work and the strong cooperation between the Division of Criminal Justice and New Jersey State Police. Our office is fully committed to ensuring all businesses operate lawfully. The behavior alleged in this case strays far from that standard, and we will endeavor to hold accountable those who cheat and steal,stated Attorney General Jennifer Davenport.
Alite, an Albanian-American from Queens, has long-standing connections to organized crime, notably serving as a top enforcer for the Gotti crime family and as a member of the Gambino family. During a 2015 interview with CBS News, he detailed his departure from the mob, confessing to 15 murders, shooting 30 to 40 individuals, and attacking over a hundred others with weapons such as pipes and bats.
In a chilling recount, he described an organized hit, saying, “While we were in the conversation, I shot him two or three times in the head, then spit on him. It was nothing, like going to a baseball game, I went out afterward for a cheeseburger, double cheese, Coke, and fries.” Alite served more than 14 years in prison across the United States and Brazil, later renouncing his mob affiliations upon release.
Post-incarceration, Alite launched a well-known podcast, “Catch Me On The Run,” sharing insights from his mob years and experiences evading law enforcement. He contributed to various written works and documentaries. Alite secured his council appointment from Mayor Daniel Francisco in May 2025, motivated by a personal tragedy—his daughter’s death from a fentanyl overdose. Expressing his intent to reform, he remarked to the Guardian, “Plus, I’m not a criminal anymore. I’m on a mission to do things the right way.”
Englishtown’s council appointment process, scrutinized for its alignment with ethical governance, now faces public examination following these charges.
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