Overview
- State law enforcement arrested John Alite and Stephen Locrotondo on June 19 after a coordinated probe by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, the Division of Criminal Justice and State Police.
- Alite faces counts of theft by extortion, corporate misconduct, usury and terroristic threats while Locrotondo is charged with usury and conspiracy, according to the attorney general’s news release.
- Court papers allege loans exceeded legal interest caps—reportedly over 50% annually—produced at least $75,000 in proceeds and forced at least one victim to transfer residential property.
- A search of Alite’s Englishtown home recovered numerous weapons and prosecutors say his company, Straightened‑Out Entertainment, was used in promoting the lending operation.
- Alite, who was appointed to the Englishtown council in May 2025 after serving time and cooperating with past prosecutions for Gambino‑family crimes, remains on the council as the case moves through pretrial stages and officials stress the presumption of innocence while promising continued investigation.