Englishtown, NJ – Former mob enforcer John Alite estimates that he shot 30 to 40 people, beat about 100 with a baseball bat, and murdered seven.
In a strange turn of events that can only happen in New Jersey, John Alite, a former Gambino crime family enforcer with a notorious past, won the Republican primary for Englishtown Borough Council, receiving 118 votes in an uncontested race.
Alite, along with fellow candidates Janet Leonardis and Patsy Fierro, will run unopposed in the November general election, potentially making him the first convicted mafia killer elected to public office in New Jersey history.
Mayor Daniel Francisco appointed Alite, 62, to the council in March to fill the vacancy left by Kyle Jewusiak’s resignation.
The appointment sparked heated debate in the small Monmouth County borough of 2,300 residents, with some hailing Alite’s transformation into a motivational speaker and anti-crime advocate, while others questioned the optics of elevating a man previously linked to murder, extortion, and racketeering.
“This is a new chapter,” Alite told supporters outside the Englishtown Borough Hall. “I’ve paid for my past, and now I’m here to serve this community, keep kids off the streets, and make our town better.”
Alite, who spent 14 years in prison before cooperating with federal agents in the 2008 racketeering trial of John “Junior” Gotti, has relied heavily on his redemption story.
His campaign focused on local issues such as infrastructure improvement, law enforcement support, and combating the fentanyl crisis, which is a personal cause for Alite, who lost his daughter to drug addiction.
The uncontested primary, with low voter turnout, reflects Alite and Fierro’s lack of challengers within the Republican Party, which controls local politics in Englishtown.
With no Democratic opponents fielded, their victory in November appears all but guaranteed, barring any write-in campaigns or unexpected independent challenges.
Mayor Francisco, who pushed for Alite’s appointment, described the primary results as a vote of confidence in second chances. “John’s a neighbor, a father, and a guy who’s shown he’s committed to this town,” Francisco told me. “He’s not the man he was 20 years ago.”
Critics, however, are uneasy. At a council meeting in March, some residents expressed concern about Alite’s criminal record, with one anonymous attendee calling it “a step too far” for Englishtown’s reputation.
Alite, undeterred, has embraced the scrutiny, framing his past as a cautionary tale to keep young people away from crime.
As Alite prepares for the general election, his candidacy raises broader issues concerning redemption, politics, and the limits of public trust.
If elected, he plans to beautify Englishtown with cobblestone sidewalks and new businesses, drawing comparisons to nearby Princeton. However, for many, the image of a former mob enforcer debating potholes and zoning laws is unsettling.
For the time being, Alite’s path to the council appears clear; however, whether Englishtown fully embraces its unconventional councilman remains to be seen.
The November election will decide whether this small borough is ready to write a new chapter in its history, led, surprisingly, by a man once known as “the Calculator” in the Gambino crime family.
