New Jersey council member, who previously admitted to several murders, arrested for extortion
A New Jersey council member who previously admitted to multiple murders as a mob enforcer was arrested Friday on extortion and related charges.
John Alite, 63, a councilman in Englishtown, New Jersey, was charged with multiple counts of extortion, corporate misconduct, and other offenses, according to a statement from the New Jersey Attorney General. Prosecutors allege Alite issued loans above the legal maximum rate and then threatened borrowers with violence if they did not turn over money and property. They also say he used his company, Straightened-Out Entertainment, Inc., to carry out and promote the scheme.
Alite, an Albanian-American from Queens, has long been tied to organized crime, previously working as a top enforcer for the Gotti crime family and a member of the Gambino family. In a 2015 interview, he claimed he had committed 15 murders, shot 30 to 40 people, and beaten more than 100 others with pipes and baseball bats. Describing one killing, he said, “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,” later adding he went for a cheeseburger, fries, and a Coke.
He served more than 14 years in prison in the United States and Brazil. After his release, he distanced himself from the mob, launching the podcast “Catch Me On The Run” and appearing in books and documentaries.
Alite was appointed to the Englishtown council in May 2025 by Mayor Daniel Francisco. He told The Guardian he sought the role after his daughter died from a fentanyl overdose, saying at the time, “Plus, I’m not a criminal any more. I’m on a mission to do things the right way.”
