A former Gambino crime family enforcer who served fourteen years in prison for at least six murders and later was appointed to a seat on the Englishtown Borough Council has been indicted on charges that he operated a loansharking and extortion scheme involving threats of violence against his victims.
John Alite was indicted by a state grand jury on multiple counts of second-degree theft by extortion, corporate misconduct, usury, and money laundering, along with third-degree charges of terroristic threats and conspiracy, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced today.
Alite’s son, John P. Alite, 35, of Manalapan, and Stephen Locrotondo, 68, of Bridgewater, were also indicted.
Prosecutors allege that the elder Alite made loans carrying illegally high interest rates and then threatened violence to collect money and property from his victims. He allegedly used two businesses, Straightened-Out Entertainment Inc. and Alite Consulting LLC, to further the scheme.
The New Jersey Globe previously reported that prosecutors accused Alite of threatening to strike a debtor with a baseball bat and demanding $250,000 on a $50,000 loan. State Police recovered six baseball bats, metal knuckles, and approximately two dozen knives during a search of his home.
Alite was serving on the Englishtown Borough Council when police arrested him on June 19. He was denied release following a June 24 hearing and has since been removed from office due to missing meetings.
He joined the council in 2025 after being appointed to fill a Republican vacancy and subsequently won election without opposition.
Locrotondo faces charges of usury, extortion, conspiracy, corporate misconduct, and money laundering. Prosecutors allege that he conspired with Alite to collect interest on loans at rates exceeding the legal maximum.
The younger Alite was charged with usury, conspiracy, and money laundering.
“These defendants allegedly used intimidation and threats of violence to prey on their victims and take what was not rightfully theirs,” Davenport said. “These crimes have no place in our communities, and we will pursue anyone who tries to profit through fear.”
Alite’s attorneys have maintained that he committed no crimes and that prosecutors took some of his statements out of context.