John alite
Encyclopedia
John Edward Alite a.k.a. "Johnny Alletto" (born September 30, 1962) is a New York City mobster. A former member of the Gambino crime family
he was a friend and crew leader for John A. Gotti in the 1980s and 1990s. Following extradition from Brazil in 2006, he was convicted in Tampa, FL
of several counts of murder conspiracy, racketeering
and other charges stemming from allegedly heading a unit of the Gambino organization in Florida and was sentenced in 2011 to 10 years in prison (of which he had already served six). He was a prosecution witness against former associates, including Gotti and Charles Carneglia, in wide-ranging racketeering trials. While a part of the Gambino organization, because his family is Albanian, not Italian, Alite could not become a made
member of the organization.
and was accompanied by a made man
in the Gambino crime family
. Alite grew up in Woodhaven, Queens
and says he 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 by a justice of the peace
. The witness to his wedding was John Gotti Jr. He divorced his wife several years later. He is the father of four children, two from an ex-wife, Carol, and two from a common-law wife. 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.
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.
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 strongly 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.
Soon afterwards, Alite and Trucchio became involved in A&A, a valet company in Tampa, FL which later changed its name to Prestige Valet. Beginning in 1995, Prestige had contracts with St. Joseph's Hospital and the shops in Channelside, and parked cars at restaurants and nude clubs. Authorities said Alite used his alleged mob ties to threaten in and intimidate others in the Tampa valet business. Prosecutors, and Alite, also say that he also arranged for the purchase of Mirage, a Tampa nightclub.
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 three years later, 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.
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 there 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.
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. 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.
On April 26, 2011, Alite was sentenced to 10 years in prison by Judge Susan Bucklew. Having served six years since his extradition, he could be eligible for release in 2015.
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
he was a friend and crew leader for John A. Gotti in the 1980s and 1990s. Following extradition from Brazil in 2006, he was convicted in Tampa, FL
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida serves the residents of thirty-five counties from eight courthouses....
of several counts of murder conspiracy, racketeering
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
and other charges stemming from allegedly heading a unit of the Gambino organization in Florida and was sentenced in 2011 to 10 years in prison (of which he had already served six). He was a prosecution witness against former associates, including Gotti and Charles Carneglia, in wide-ranging racketeering trials. While a part of the Gambino organization, because his family is Albanian, not Italian, Alite could not become a made
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
member of the organization.
Early life
He testified in court that he was introduced to organized crime when an uncle of his took him to a gambling den in The BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
and was accompanied by a made man
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
in the Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
. Alite grew up in Woodhaven, Queens
Woodhaven, Queens
Woodhaven is a middle-class neighborhood located in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States.Woodhaven is bordered on the north by a public park, Forest Park, and Park Lane South. Woodhaven also borders Richmond Hill to the east, and Ozone Park to the south at Atlantic Avenue...
and says he briefly attended the University of Tampa
University of Tampa
The University of Tampa , is a private, co-educational university in Downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 2006, the University celebrated its 75th anniversary...
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 by a justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
. The witness to his wedding was John Gotti Jr. He divorced his wife several years later. He is the father of four children, two from an ex-wife, Carol, and two from a common-law wife. 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.
Working for Gotti
Alite and Gotti met in their teens and moved quickly into criminal enterprises, according to federal prosecutors. Alite has testified that he and Gotti ran a cocaine trafficking ring in the Forest HillsForest Hills, Queens
Forest Hills is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States.-Neighborhood:The neighborhood is home to upper-middle class residents, of whom the wealthier residents often live in the neighborhood's Forest Hills Gardens area...
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.
According to Alite, his relationship with Gotti and the Gambino leadership soured in 1994 when he confronted an associate, Carmine Agnello
Carmine Agnello
Carmine Agnello is a New York mobster from the Gambino crime family who was in scrap metal. In 1984, he married Victoria Gotti, daughter of mob boss John Gotti and had three sons, Carmine Agnello, John Agnello, and Frank Agnello, and also a stillborn daughter, Justine.In 2000, Agnello was arrested...
. Alite claims that he had been having an affair with Agnello’s wife Victoria Gotti
Victoria Gotti
Victoria Gotti is a writer, reality television participant and daughter of the Gambino crime family Mafia boss, John Gotti.-Early life:...
, and grew angry when he believed that Agnello was beating her. Victoria Gotti strongly 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
Ronnie Trucchio
Ronald Joseph Trucchio also known as "One Armed Ronnie", is a New York mobster with the Gambino crime family who ran the The Ozone Park Boys crew during the 1990s.-Biography:...
and ran a crew for the Gambino family.
Soon afterwards, Alite and Trucchio became involved in A&A, a valet company in Tampa, FL which later changed its name to Prestige Valet. Beginning in 1995, Prestige had contracts with St. Joseph's Hospital and the shops in Channelside, and parked cars at restaurants and nude clubs. Authorities said Alite used his alleged mob ties to threaten in and intimidate others in the Tampa valet business. Prosecutors, and Alite, also say that he also arranged for the purchase of Mirage, a Tampa nightclub.
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 three years later, 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.
As federal racketeering indictments were handed down for his group's activities in the Tampa area, Alite fled to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
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 there 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.
Government Informant
In January 2008, Alite secretly pled 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. 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. 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.
On April 26, 2011, Alite was sentenced to 10 years in prison by Judge Susan Bucklew. Having served six years since his extradition, he could be eligible for release in 2015.