Overview

"Since his first incarceration at age 17, John Alite has been known as a mobster. Now, he's attempting to change that perception people have of him and hopefully save a few teens from making the same mistakes he did. A former enforcer for the Gambino crime family and close confidante to the John Gotti family, John has been in and out of jail (mostly in) for a large portion of his adult life. He hit a turning point though which has now led him down a path of which he can be proud...and alive. ""When you get in deep enough and are caught in their web, you realize there's no way out."" In his former world, where respect is earned by doing the most heinous crimes, Alite's new world revolves around his family, his private spiritual life, and his mission to deter anyone from a no-win life situation. ""I can't change the past, but I can help other people's futures...and by that I feel good about myself."" ""One of my main messages in the talks I give is even if you think it's your nature to get revenge on someone who's bullied, harmed, or threatened to harm you or someone you care about, is that it takes a bigger man to walk away. I can at least say I've never killed a woman."" After witnessing supposedly loyal, tough-guy mafiosa ratting each other out and knowing they'd do the same thing to him in a heartbeat to save their own skin, John eventually said to himself, ""Enough."" Finding a good mentor was something that helped John stay the course. He admits to not being overly religious but converted and was baptized into Catholicism during his journey and credits a couple of good priests and others to help him be accountable and stay the course to do good in the world a legacy he much prefers since becoming a grandfather. ""My kids missed out on my being there most of the years they were growing up. I never intended for that to happen."" When Alite isn't speaking to youth, parents, and with the law enforcement who ironically used to track his every move, he likes to spend time working out, playing handball, experiencing cultural events, traveling, relaxing on the beach, playing with his dogs, and of course, spending time with his real family. ""I really enjoy life and don't take it for granted anymore like I used to. I do not make excuses for my past, nor do I blame anyone (especially my parents) for the path I took. A message I try to get across to troubled youth is that their past does not have to define them. Be positive. Stay positive. I murdered, robbed, beat up, sold drugs...you name it...but look at me now."" John Alite - A re-made man"

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9781944906351

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MidWest Book Review- Few books chart the journey into the crime world as powerfully John Alite's Mafia International. Perhaps this is because of Alite's high-level involvement in the Mafia. He was also known as Johnny Alletto, an Albanian-American former Gambino crime family associate who made the decision to testify against his 'family' after being charged with murders, international drug dealing, and having learned he had been betrayed by the Gottis and the leadership of captains while Alite was in Brazilian jails, having been captured while on the run. As an Albanian, they thought they could all point at him. Once released, he publicly denounced organized crime and became a motivational speaker on the subject of how to avoid crime. As Alite confesses in the opening paragraphs of his book: I immersed myself further and further into the matrix of the mafia and beyond. I extended my relationships with other mafia factions across the United States and constructed my own international drug connections. I had associations with drug cartels in over ten countries and a vast network of buyers and sellers across the globe. It was unheard of for one man in the criminal underworld to garner such a complex network, but I did it. And I loved it. How he become connected to this world in the first place and found himself digging ever deeper into the quagmire of organized crime makes for a riveting memoir and true crime story that should be on the shelves of any collection strong in Mafia exposes. This is no quick overview of this world, as are many books written by journalists and other outsiders on the subject. Author Louis Romano, who chronicled numerous in-person interviews, does an excellent job guiding us through a day in the life of a cold-blooded killer. Alite's intimate relationship to not just criminals but the economic and political extent of their activities traces the building blocks of his criminal involvements in explicit detail: By the early nineties, this very drug ring I established and ran would earn the Gambino family almost a million dollars a month and sometimes more. This type of generated income allowed me not only move in and among higher circles, but I became privy to so much. The fact that I grew up and was friends with many sons whose fathers held high positions within the mafia worked to my advantage as well. From his considerations of power plays and deceit that operated both above-board and underlay many of these relationships to his crime partners, friendships, and the perceptions of Mafia members who ran in these circles, his story embraces different people, circumstances, and experiences: There was a fine line between bravery and stupidity and I knew what side of the line Gene (Gotti) was thinking from. He thought he was untouchable because of his name, but he would be wrong. Alite's clashes, realizations, and moves from the crime world to international operations and then prison is especially intriguing because he operates in no singular circle, and holds the ability to not just move into Mafia operations and murder, but to ultimately use his experiences as growth opportunities to change, even as the Mafia embraces overseas operations. Those who believe there is no future beyond organized crime once one assumes a high-level Mafia position will find many surprises in a gripping story that reads like a blend of novel, with interpersonal clashes and action, and memoir, which offers insights not to be found in other Mafia and organized crime stories. Any collection strong in true crime reads must add Mafia International to their holdings. It is a standout in the literature. Diamond Publishing- Corruption at unimaginable levels!

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