Flanked by five relatives, John Alite stood in a shiny navy suit and red tie last Wednesday preparing to be sworn in as a councilman in a New Jersey borough.
The oath he repeated moments later is one few might expect from a former mafia enforcer whose ties to organized crime landed him briefly in prison.
But, the mobster turned witness is a week into his new job after local Republicans in Englishtown in Monmouth County appointed him to fill a vacant council seat. Prior to being appointed, Alite, 62, frequently took on volunteer opportunities in the borough.
Alite said he wants to become an example for anyone, including young adults, whose life has been entangled in crime. He’s also not opposed to calls from Trenton or Washington to run for a higher office.
“It’s not about me,” Alite told NJ Advance Media. “I would say to them, you’re going to teach every kid that did something wrong that you’re never given another opportunity, and you’re going to lose all these kids to the streets – to crime – to the belief that they won’t have another chance after they screw up once.”
An opportunity to join the council emerged in February after a short-lived council tenure by Kyle Jewusiak, who only served for about a month after winning the seat in the November. It was one of two council seats that needed to be filled. Both Alite and Patsy Fierro took the oaths last Wednesday.
Englishtown Mayor Daniel Francisco nominated Alite because of his interest in the community. Alite, the mayor said, developed relationships with local officials by frequently attending council meetings and being a proactive resident.
“We know John just like a normal, everyday guy who does a lot of outreach work,” Francisco said. “For us, we know John as a neighbor.”
New Jersey law doesn’t bar those convicted of crimes from holding office, unless the offenses are tied to their positions in public service, according to the Restoration of Rights Project of the Collateral Consequences Resource Center, which analyzes state level laws regarding those released from prison.
The son of Albanian immigrants, Alite was an associate of the Gambino crime family, a prolific organization in the mafia, whose crimes extend past New York City. He was drawn to organized crime by John A. Gotti Jr., the former mob boss, who led the family after his father, John Gotti Sr., notoriously known as the “Teflon Don,” was incarcerated.
The family’s mob activities, which span as far back as the mid-1980s, include crimes in New Jersey, New York and Florida, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in 2007, when Alite’s associates, Ronald J. Trucchio and Steven Catalano, were sentenced to prison.
Gotti’s mafia life was profiled in a 2018 film starring John Travolta.
Alite has admitted to roles in several homicides and upward of 40 shootings.
In 2008, he pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges. Three years later, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison but was released early for cooperating with investigators.
Since then, he’s become a motivational speaker, addressing youths across New Jersey and other states. He also hosts a podcast, using the platform to talk about politics and being a former criminal.
A parent’s worst fear drove him further into politics, he said.
“I lost my daughter to drugs and fentanyl almost three years ago, and I wanted to make a difference,” Alite said. His daughter died at 30.
Alite frequently emphasizes backing the people who arrested and prosecuted him for being a mafioso.
“I understand how hard the job is to be a police officer and the safety value that the community doesn’t understand about them,” Alite said, adding that some of his first public talks involved support for law enforcement.
