John Alite

John Edward Alite a.k.a. "Johnny Alletto" (born September 30, 1962) is a mobster and hitman of Albanian origin. An associate of the Gambino crime family and John A. Gotti in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, he fled in 2003 after learning he had been targeted for murder. He traveled to twenty countries in Europe and South America. While living in Brazil, he was served with an Interpol arrest warrant. He spent two years in Brazilian prisons and was extradited to the US in 2006. He was convicted on several counts of murder conspiracy and racketeering and was sentenced in 2011 to 10 years in prison. He was a prosecution witness against former associates, Gotti and Charles Carneglia.

Early life

He testified in court that he was introduced to organized crime when an uncle took him to a gambling den in The Bronx and was accompanied by a made man in the Gambino crime family. Alite grew up in Woodhaven, Queens and briefly attended the University of Tampa on a baseball scholarship and played on the university team, The Spartans but left after one semester following an injury. He married his wife Carol on February 14, 1989 in Hawaii. The witness to his wedding was John Gotti Jr. He divorced his wife several years later. In 2009 Carol complained while testifying in court that her ex-husband John owed her more than $30,000 in child support. This would end up not being true.[1]

Working for Gotti

Alite and Gotti met in their teens and began engaging in criminal enterprises, according to federal prosecutors. Alite has testified that he and Gotti ran a cocaine trafficking ring in the Forest Hills section of Queens and extracted a tax from other dealers. By the 1990s, Alite says that the ring was earning $1 million a month. On February 14, 1988, Gotti was best man at Alite's wedding in Queens. The date was selected not because it was Valentine's Day, but as a sign of respect for Gotti because it was his birthday.[2]

According to Alite, his relationship with Gotti and the Gambino leadership soured in 1994 when he confronted an associate, Carmine Agnello. Alite claims that he had been having an affair with Agnello’s wife Victoria Gotti, and grew angry when he believed that Agnello was beating her. Victoria Gotti denied the affair. After a tense reconciliation meeting with Gotti, Alite received the family's permission to move to Tampa, FL, where he had an interest in a valet business run by a friend, Ronnie "One Arm" Trucchio and ran a crew for the Gambino family.[3][4]

Soon afterwards, Alite and Trucchio became involved in a valet company in Tampa, FL., which parked cars at local businesses. Authorities said Alite used his alleged mob ties to threaten and intimidate others in the Tampa valet business.[5] Prosecutors, and Alite, also say that he also arranged for the purchase of Mirage, a Tampa nightclub.[6]

In 1995, Alite was arrested for illegal possession of a firearm in violation of a parole agreement and spent three years in prison. After his release, Alite earned an additional three months back in prison for smuggling sperm donation kits for a fellow inmate who was trying to impregnate his wife.[7][8]

As federal racketeering indictments were handed down for his group's activities in the Tampa area, Alite fled to Rio de Janeiro in January 2004 and lived and worked in the Copacabana neighborhood, according to the Brazilian Federal Police. He lived there for 10 months before authorities arrested him. He served two years in prison in Brazil while fighting extradition, but was eventually handed over to federal authorities in Tampa, FL, for trial in 2006.[9]

Government informant

In January 2008, Alite secretly pleaded guilty to two murders, four murder conspiracies, at least eight shootings and two attempted shootings as well as armed home invasions and armed robberies in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida, although he confessed to have murdered up to 15 people and shoot approximately 37 people.[1] The maximum penalty for the charges is life in prison. Alite agreed to testify in the trial of Gambino family enforcer Charles "Charlie Canig" Carneglia, who was found guilty of four murders and is now serving a life sentence.

After the successful trial against Carneglia, federal prosecutors have made him a witness in their unsuccessful racketeering trial against Gotti. Prosecutors charged that Gotti ordered the murders of George Grosso and Bruce Gotterup, who prosecutors said were part of the drug ring he and Alite operated in Queens.[10] After 11 days of deliberations, the jury sent word that they were deadlocked and Judge P. Kevin Castel declared a mistrial. Interviewed after the trial, jurors said that they had not trusted prosecution witnesses, particularly Alite.[11] [12]

On April 26, 2011, Alite was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Having served six years since his extradition, he was released in 2013. He is known for saying that "those who know me know why I did what I did, and those who don’t should mind their own business" when asked about his decision to cooperate and testify. According to his official website [13] he is currently on the speaking circuit as a motivational speaker and addressing anti-bullying, at risk youth and domestic violence.

References

  1. 1 2 Graham, Kevin (December 11, 2008), Gotti friend with Tampa ties admits role in killings, feds say, St. Petersburg Times, retrieved 2009-10-21
  2. ↑ Marzulli, John (February 24, 2009). "Former Gotti crony John Alite claims affair with Victoria Gotti, Junior Gotti's sister". New York Daily News. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  3. ↑ Gendar, Alison (October 6, 2009), A kiss-off from mob turncoat John Alite to Junior Gotti, NY Daily News, retrieved February 28, 2011
  4. ↑ Weimar, Carrie (October 16, 2006), Throwback: Tampa Mob Trial, St. Petersburgh Times, retrieved February 28, 2011
  5. ↑ Weimar, Carrie (November 7, 2006), Witness says valet firm's rivals were scared off, St. Petersburgh Times, retrieved February 28, 2011
  6. ↑ Silvestrini, Elaine (October 10, 2008), Former Club Mirage Manager Seeks Release On Bail, Tampa Bay Online, retrieved February 28, 2011
  7. ↑ John Marzulli, and Tracy Connor (August 5, 2008), 'Old pal' ties Junior Gotti to 3 mob hits, NY Daily News, retrieved February 28, 2011
  8. ↑ Americanmafia.com, '"Spermgate Case" Closed' April 29, 2002 http://www.americanmafia.com/Mob_Report/4-29-02_Mob_Report.html
  9. ↑ Report, Staff (December 23, 2006), Brazil hands over mob case fugitive, St. Petersburg Times, retrieved 2009-10-21
  10. ↑ Alison Gendar, AND Corky Siemaszko (October 1, 2009), Mob turncoat John Alite testifies he got nails done with John Gotti Jr. after drug dealer's murder, NY Daily News, retrieved 2009-11-02
  11. ↑ Kenny Porpora, AND Larry Mcshane (December 2, 2009), Prosecution case against Junior Gotti wasn't credible, juror says, New York Daily News, retrieved Feb 28, 2011
  12. ↑ Feuer, Alan (December 1, 2009), A 4th Mistrial in Federal Prosecution of John A. Gotti, New York Times, retrieved Feb 28, 2011
  13. ↑ http://www.johnalite.com
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