'We Took Joey's Body to Oceanport, N.J.': Man Accused of Murdering Connecticut Man (2024)

Criminal complaint reveals new details in the murder of 26-year-old Joey Comunale.

Posted Sun, Nov 20, 2016 at 11:01 am ET|Updated Mon, Nov 21, 2016 at 7:54 am ET

Two men, 25-year-old James Rackover — surrogate son of Jeffrey Rackover, the go-to jeweler of Oprah Winfrey and Donald Trump — and 28-year-old Lawrence Dilione were arraigned Thursday night and charged with everything short of murder, according to a criminal complaint from the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

"One or both of these people committed a murder," Assistant District Attorney Antoinette Carter said during the arraignment.

Rackover and Dilione have been charged with concealment of a human corpse, hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence, according to the DA's office. They are expected to be charged with second-degree murder, a police spokesman told Patch.

Dilione met Comunale, of Stamford, Connecticut, while out partying the night of Saturday, Nov. 12 and brought him and three women to a 4 a.m. party at Rackover's condo in the glitzy Grand Sutton tower on on East 59th Street near First Avenue.

Comunale's body was dug up Wednesday from a shallow grave in a remote, wooded area of Oceanport, New Jersey. His body had at least 15 stab wounds, a broken pelvis and burn marks, according to police and the DA's office.

The wounds suggested that Comunale was killed with a knife and that his body had been dropped from a high distance. A large duffel bag was discovered near the burial site, according to the DA's office.

The victim's father told reporters Thursday that his son Joey touched the hearts of everyone he met and that he didn't deserve to be killed.

"He was one of a kind. He didn't deserve this — he didn't go looking for trouble," Pat Comunale said.
"We're in denial," Comunale told reporters. "All I have left is his friends."

Dilione admitted to police that he and another man took Comunale's body to New Jersey. Dilione's LinkedIn profile lists him as the owner of Shore Point Roofing, a business located in the next town over from Oceanport.

"We took Joey's body to Oceanport, N.J. and we buried it in a vacant lot," Dilione allegedly told investigators.

Evidence unearthed by police suggests a 2015 Mercedes Benz licensed to Jeffrey Rackover was used to transport the body. James Rackover was seen loading a large duffel bag into the vehicle in the late evening of Sunday, Nov. 13, according to a criminal complaint.

The vehicle was seen traveling from the Upper East Side into New Jersey via the Holland Tunnel Sunday Night and then back through the Holland Tunnel at 3 a.m. Monday morning. Rackover was then seen exiting the vehicle at a 58th Street garage Monday, according to the DA's office.

A police dog later discovered signs of the presence of a human cadaver in the trunk of the vehicle.

The NYPD flashed the younger Rackover a search warrant Wednesday and entered his apartment, where they found evidence of foul play relating to Comunale's disappearance and death, an NYPD spokesman told Patch.
Rackover wasn't always sharing an apartment with jeweler-to-the-stars Jeffrey Rackover.

In fact, James Rackover is actually from Florida and was born James Beaudoin, the Daily Mail reported. While still living in Florida, Beaudoin was arrested multiple times for crimes such as burglary and drug possession, according to the report. In 2009 he pleaded guilty to burglary and was sentenced to six years in prison, although it is unknown exactly how much of that time he spent behind bars, the Daily Mail reported.

But when the troubled youth moved to New York City he found a way to turn his life around when he met Jeffrey Rackover, who took him in and treated him like a son, private investigator Bo Dietl told the Daily Mail.

"Jeffrey never had children, he developed a relationship with this young man and introduced him to his family," Dietl, who said he's been a friend of the older Rackover for 30 years, told the Daily Mail.

"They first met, I believe, at a health club about three-and-a-half years ago. Jimmy moved into the apartment about a year ago. Jimmy changed his name to James Rackover because Jeffrey liked this kid so much."

James Rackover and Lawrence Dilione are each being held on bail for $300,000 cash or $3 million bond, a spokesman from the DA's office told Patch. They are expected to appear in court again on Monday.

By Brendan Krisel

Image of the Grand Sutton via Google Maps