Yes, Former Gambino Associate John Alite Is A Councilman (In New Jersey) And A Former Gotti Family Spokesperson Confronted Him At A Town Hall
Englishtown, New Jersey, entered the pages of history in the 18th century when General George Washington briefly made it his headquarters following the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. The town got another dramatic, albeit much more recent, kick last month when the mayor appointed former Gambino associate John Alite to serve on the town council.
By now, many of you have already heard about—or read the big New York Post story on—John Alite’s latest gig serving as a councilman for Englishtown, a small town of around 2,300 residents in New Jersey's Monmouth County. (Fun fact: Vito Genovese purchased property there in 1935 and had the grounds redesigned to resemble Naples, Italy. The gardens of the estate—which include a fake volcano—can still be perused today.)
By now, many of you have already heard about—or read the big New York Post story on—John Alite’s latest gig serving as a councilman for Englishtown, a small town of around 2,300 residents in New Jersey's Monmouth County. (Fun fact: Vito Genovese purchased property there in 1935 and had the grounds redesigned to resemble Naples, Italy. The gardens of the estate—which include a fake volcano—can still be perused today.)
Alite’s move into politics doesn’t really surprise us—pretty much nothing does these days. This nation last November elected a twice-impeached convicted felon to the office of President of the United States. In fact, that's seemingly not unrelated to this story, or so we thought. John knowingly or not stepped into the political realm in 2022 when he (and Skinny Joey Merlino and god knows who else) began visiting Mar-a-Lago. But while Alite told us he campaigned for Trump, he said meeting the President has no connection to his move into politics. Rather, Englishtown Mayor Daniel Francisco appointed him to fill a vacancy (he will serve through 2025, then run for another term). John also has the support of other local leaders who said they were impressed by his civic work helping youths. He was sworn into office last month at an Englishtown Council meeting.
Helping youth stay off drugs and out of trouble has been John’s longtime crusade since departing prison in 2012 after serving 14 years. His criminal record didn’t prevent him from leaping into politics because in New Jersey, disqualification from public office is limited to crimes committed while the person in question is actually holding public office or public employment.
Reaction (mainly from people who don’t live in Englishtown) has been all over the board.
Mayor Francisco, however, has said he’s only interested in the reaction from Englishtown residents. And he has said, on record, that the town’s residents already know Alite and don't mind. "There's nothing to hide, everyone knows each other," Francisco said.
As for his relationship with Alite, Francisco said in a media interview that they have "known each other for a couple of years, but our understanding of each other is hanging out at local businesses, hanging out with our business owners and talking about the issues that our town faces, mostly around the prospect of trying to get development going."
Alite told us that Francisco doesn't care about his past criminal record. He said Francisco only wanted to know about his current work on the anti-drug front.
Alite said that while he initially faced some skeptics, including on the council, he eventually was able to win them over.
“I don’t run from my past,” he said.
Alite is one of two appointments made by the mayor, who had to fill vacancies created when two members of the Englishtown council resigned. Francisco said he asked for the resignations owing to a "local incident,” which he hasn’t gone into any detail about because it involves, he said, a "legal issue."
Alite’s longtime anti-drug crusade forms the basis of his political platform. (Since we first met him in 2014, John has been working to steer kids away from drugs and trouble—and we say this based on empirical evidence: he picked us up on a few blistering cold winter mornings so we—meaning me—could accompany him to some of his youth talks.) But there’s also a very personal reason—as personal as it gets—for John’s entry into local politics (as well as his move to Englishtown), one that readers of this blog are familiar with: his 30-year-old daughter Chelsea died in 2022 of a fentanyl overdose. Alite moved into a house in Englishtown that his family owned but had been renting out in search of a fresh start.
Entering politics—or even trying to—is an invitation to intense public and media scrutiny (such scrutiny that even John F. Kennedy, had he been born in our day, probably wouldn’t have entered politics, his son once said). So, yes, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for John Alite—or the Englishtown mayor, who has been described as “despotic” in local news accounts.
We weren’t there to witness the event, and when reached for comment, Chris wasn't exactly forthright with us, stalling us and claiming that what you read above from the Asbury Park Press and the New York Post (both stories!) was not accurate.
Yeah, right.
Helping youth stay off drugs and out of trouble has been John’s longtime crusade since departing prison in 2012 after serving 14 years. His criminal record didn’t prevent him from leaping into politics because in New Jersey, disqualification from public office is limited to crimes committed while the person in question is actually holding public office or public employment.
Reaction (mainly from people who don’t live in Englishtown) has been all over the board.
Mayor Francisco, however, has said he’s only interested in the reaction from Englishtown residents. And he has said, on record, that the town’s residents already know Alite and don't mind. "There's nothing to hide, everyone knows each other," Francisco said.
As for his relationship with Alite, Francisco said in a media interview that they have "known each other for a couple of years, but our understanding of each other is hanging out at local businesses, hanging out with our business owners and talking about the issues that our town faces, mostly around the prospect of trying to get development going."
Alite told us that Francisco doesn't care about his past criminal record. He said Francisco only wanted to know about his current work on the anti-drug front.
Alite said that while he initially faced some skeptics, including on the council, he eventually was able to win them over.
“I don’t run from my past,” he said.
Alite is one of two appointments made by the mayor, who had to fill vacancies created when two members of the Englishtown council resigned. Francisco said he asked for the resignations owing to a "local incident,” which he hasn’t gone into any detail about because it involves, he said, a "legal issue."
Alite’s longtime anti-drug crusade forms the basis of his political platform. (Since we first met him in 2014, John has been working to steer kids away from drugs and trouble—and we say this based on empirical evidence: he picked us up on a few blistering cold winter mornings so we—meaning me—could accompany him to some of his youth talks.) But there’s also a very personal reason—as personal as it gets—for John’s entry into local politics (as well as his move to Englishtown), one that readers of this blog are familiar with: his 30-year-old daughter Chelsea died in 2022 of a fentanyl overdose. Alite moved into a house in Englishtown that his family owned but had been renting out in search of a fresh start.
Entering politics—or even trying to—is an invitation to intense public and media scrutiny (such scrutiny that even John F. Kennedy, had he been born in our day, probably wouldn’t have entered politics, his son once said). So, yes, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for John Alite—or the Englishtown mayor, who has been described as “despotic” in local news accounts.
During a recent town hall meeting, John faced down a longtime nemesis: former Gotti family spokesman Chris "Kasparoza," who showed up at the meeting.
He asked Mayor Francisco: "Are you aware that he's committed welfare fraud?"
As per the Asbury Park Press, which didn’t identify Chris by name—but did say that the critic “admitted to working for Alite's former boss John Gotti Jr.,”—it got a bit heated, with residents shouting: "(Alite) started a new life!" and “We don't want to hear any of this!" and "Go! Go! Go!"
“The support for Alite was palpable.”
The New York Post (MFers beat us to the punch on this story) presented a similar version of the story, identifying Chris by a different surname:
"John Alite, a former Gambino crime family enforcer-turned-mob turncoat now serving as a councilman in the sleepy New Jersey borough of Englishtown, was heckled during his first town hall meeting by a former underling of John Gotti Jr.
However, Alite didn’t have to lay a finger on his critic — 39-year-old Christopher George of Huntington, LI — as dozens of townspeople shouted him down. ...
“The support for Alite was palpable.”
The New York Post (MFers beat us to the punch on this story) presented a similar version of the story, identifying Chris by a different surname:
"John Alite, a former Gambino crime family enforcer-turned-mob turncoat now serving as a councilman in the sleepy New Jersey borough of Englishtown, was heckled during his first town hall meeting by a former underling of John Gotti Jr.
However, Alite didn’t have to lay a finger on his critic — 39-year-old Christopher George of Huntington, LI — as dozens of townspeople shouted him down. ...
“Stop harassing this guy! He did what he had to do. He did his time. That’s it! Go! You don’t belong here!” one resident shouted.
“Do me a favor! Step the f–k out of here!” raged another man gesturing toward the door. “Who the f–k is this dude?”
Another told George if residents are unhappy with Alite’s March appointment they’ll have a chance to vote him out of office later this year, adding “I don’t need to listen to you badger somebody at this meeting.”
Others shouted in unison, “Go! Go! Go!” and demanded cops escort George out before he exited Borough Hall on his own.
We weren’t there to witness the event, and when reached for comment, Chris wasn't exactly forthright with us, stalling us and claiming that what you read above from the Asbury Park Press and the New York Post (both stories!) was not accurate.
Yeah, right.
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