Overview
- State authorities arrested John Alite and associate Stephen Locrotondo on multiple charges after a probe led by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and State Police.
- Prosecutors charged Alite with theft by extortion, corporate misconduct, usury and terroristic threats and charged Locrotondo with usury and conspiracy.
- Court papers and reporting say the alleged scheme made loans with rates above 50 percent annual interest and generated at least $75,000 in proceeds.
- Evidence filed by investigators reportedly includes threats to use a baseball bat against a debtor and a search of Alite’s home that turned up bats, knives, an expandable baton and metal knuckles.
- Alite, a onetime Gambino associate who joined the Englishtown council in 2025, has been released pending further court action and the case has renewed questions about municipal vetting and consumer‑protection enforcement.