Joey was first beaten unconscious after a night of cocaine and boozing, then viciously pummeled and kicked while helpless, according to a statement by suspected co-conspirator Lawrence Dilione.
The suspect admitted to the initial attack on Comunale, but blamed the murder on James Rackover.
“I didn’t kill Joe, it was James," Dilione allegedly told cops. "All I did was punch him, then James said he didn't want to go to jail and then James stabbed him."
“Dilione admitted assaulting Mr. Comunale to the point of unconsciousness after an argument over cigarettes," said Gemma, citing Dilione's recorded admissions.
"Rackover then viciously kicked and beat the defenseless Mr. Comunale," the lawyer claimed, and declared that "we have to kill him.”
Rackover allegedly choked Comunale and stabbed him in the head with a knife. The victim was dragged to a bathtub "where Rackover unsuccessfully attempted to dismember him with a serrated blade,” said Gemma.
Dilione pointed police to the m shallow grave in Oceanport, N.J. He and Rackover allegedly dumped the remains after attempting to clean the scene of the crime — Rackover's E. 59th St. apartment.
While driving down from the East Side to the Jersey shore, Dilione answered a phone call from a police officer and casually denied any role in the killing.
“The last time I saw (Comunale) was when we walked the girls out around 7 a.m.,” Delione reportedly said. “We put them in an Uber ... Joey said he was going to to get cigarettes and I never saw him again.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...g-started-cigarette-suspect-article-1.2948479