Report: Alite turns on old pal Gotti

John Alite, who shared a 25-year friendship with John A. "Junior" Gotti, will be the government's key witness in its latest case against the former Gambino Crime Family boss, according to a story by John Marzulli and Tracy O'Connor of the New York Daily News.

The story indicates that Alite, after serving two prison terms, is hoping to avoid a third by testifying against his old friend.

Alite served three years in prison starting in 1995 when he was found to be in possession of a handgun. A previous conviction for aggravated assault made it illegal for him to carry a firearm. He was later sentenced to three months behind bars when he was found to be helping inmate Antonio Parlavecchio smuggle his semen out of prison in order to impregnate Parlavecchio's wife.

In 2004, criminal charges were lodged against Alite and other members of a Gambino crew based in the Tampa, Florida, area. Alite's trial was delayed. He was in Brazil and fought extradition to the U.S.

In 2006, he reportedly communicated with the St. Petersburg (FL) Times while held in a Rio de Janeiro lockup. The conversation should have been a clue to Gotti and associates that Alite was preparing to aid prosecutors: "I've lost everything," Alite lamented. "...Am I bitter? Yeah, I'm bitter. Who wouldn't be?... Was I friends with John Gotti? Yes. Am I friends with him now? No."

Gotti was arrested at his New York home yesterday on federal charges related to three murders and an alleged Florida drug trafficking operation. Three federal racketeering cases against Gotti in 2005 and 2006 ended in mistrials.