He’s gone from lawbreaker to lawmaker.
John Alite, a former Gambino crime household enforcer-turned-mob turncoat, was sworn in Wednesday as a councilman representing the sleepy New Jersey borough of Englishtown.
“ what? I can actually do some good. I already had a foul previous, and I’m right here to redeem my complete life, and I want to exit doing every little thing in a optimistic approach,” Alite, 62, informed The Publish.
His work within the Eighties and Nineties as a high “earner” for the “Teflon Don,” Gambino boss John Gotti, and son John “Junior” Gotti, will serve him effectively in politics, he defined.
“I perceive the Machiavelli stuff, the treachery,” mentioned Alite.
“I imply each side of the road is like the federal government, so I perceive the maneuvering these candidates are doing, so I really feel I’ll be capable of carry my data and previous historical past into politics.”
Alite mentioned he spent 14 years in jail on convictions that embody six murders, no less than 37 shootings and numerous beatdowns whereas working as a Gambino henchman.
However he didn’t need to put any rivals in cement boots to attain his council seat.
He was appointed to fill a emptiness by way of the tip of the 12 months after being recruited by Englishtown Mayor Daniel Francisco and different native leaders impressed by his civic work serving to youths.
At first there have been skeptics – together with some members of the Council — however Alite finally satisfied them he was somebody they couldn’t refuse.
“Yeah, there have been individuals who opposed it — however I don’t run from my previous in any respect,” he mentioned. “I take advantage of it as a approach to transfer ahead, to affect children and get them off the road, to show a adverse right into a optimistic.”
The ex-mobster will maintain the seat for a further two years by way of 2027 — until somebody dares file paperwork by March 21 to problem him in an election.
“I’ve been informed I gained’t be challenged as a result of there’s different seats held by folks much less common than me, and clearly I’m within the public eye and do a number of media and [motivational] talks round [Monmouth] County,” he mentioned. “All people is aware of me, so I’d be exhausting to beat in a race.”
The previous wiseguy mentioned he’s extra certified than any lefty Democrat at present holding larger workplace.
“You hear a few of these folks like [Texas Democratic Rep.] Jasmine Crockett speak, and so they don’t sound educated,” added Alite, who graduated Franklin Ok. Lane Excessive College in Brooklyn and went to College of Tampa on a baseball scholarship solely to drop out a number of years later after blowing out his arm.
And he’s already his subsequent transfer.
“I used to be requested — I can’t discuss names, however I used to be already requested to go for the next place,” mentioned Alite, who confided he’s eyeing sometime working for Congress, and goals to mannequin himself after President Trump, whom he’s campaigned for since 2016 and personally met 5 instances.
“He’s not your typical politician; he will get the job carried out; he’s a workaholic. I imply he’s acquired so many good qualities,” mentioned Alite, who information present has donated $6,501 to Trump and different Republican candidates since 2020.
The Queens-born goodfella reinvented himself since changing into a free man in 2012 — 4 years after changing into the star authorities witness in a 2008 racketeering case in opposition to his one-time greatest good friend Junior Gotti. The trial resulted in a hung jury.
Alite mentioned he desires to fix fences with Junior, however he’s not holding his breath.
Gotti in 2016 informed the Publish he’s a “forgiving man” — however not in terms of Alite. “He is without doubt one of the most shameless human beings that God has created . . . He makes use of the Gotti theme to boost his profession,” Gotti mentioned.
Alite co-authored 5 books about mob life, is a prolific podcaster and in addition earns a paycheck as a touring motivational speaker who tackles subjects like home violence, bullying and the nation’s drug epidemic.
He makes a adequate residing that he waived the modest $3,500-a-year borough council wage, however admitted it’s a far cry from the “tens of millions of {dollars}” he earned “throughout a very good 12 months” within the mob, when his portfolio included proudly owning 4 NYC nightclubs and a dozen houses alongside the East Coast.
On the high of Alite’s political platform is talking out in opposition to the hazards of unlawful medication. His 30-year-old daughter Chelsea died three years in the past of a fentanyl overdose. The tragedy led him transfer to Englishtown.
Alite — who might by no means rise to being a made man within the Italian mob as a result of he’s 100% Albanian — mentioned he desires to ensure there are sufficient after-school applications to maintain “children off the road” and away from medication.
“The drug affect on this county is horrible,” mentioned Alite, whose one-time employer was infamous for trafficking cocaine. “As a child I used to be a part of that, and now I’ve an opportunity to alter that.”
Alite, who’s divorced and has 4 sons, was surrounded by his mom and different members of the family when he was sworn in Wednesday at Englishtown Borough Corridor. Afterwards, he participated in his first Council assembly.
On the agenda for the tiny Central Jersey neighborhood with slightly over 2,300 residents: filling potholes, Christmas lights, eyesore fencing, and appointing an appearing police chief.
Francisco, Englishtown’s mayor, mentioned Alite deserves an opportunity.
“I can solely decide him on what I do know,” he mentioned. “John is a man that’s fast to being open and pleasant. He has huge expertise and connections within the political and enterprise world.”
“I do know he does plenty of outreach work,” the mayor added. “He shares a imaginative and prescient for growth in our native downtown, and I feel he’s going to be instrumental to this effort to redefine our neighborhood’s panorama.”
