Surrogate Son Of 'Jeweler To The Stars' Guilty Of Murder, DA Says

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An ex-con who became the surrogate son of "Jeweler to the stars" Jeffrey Rackover was found guilty of brutally murdering a man in his Upper East Side apartment and burying the body in New Jersey.

James Rackover, 27, was convicted Friday on charges of second-degree murder, concealment of a human corpse and hindering prosecutors, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., said. Verdicts against alleged conspirators Lawrence Dilione and Max Gemma have not been returned. Dilione is facing the same charges as Rackover, but Gemma is not charged with murder, prosecutors said.

Rackover killed 26-year-old Joseph Comunale on November 13, 2016 after meeting the Connecticut man while out partying, prosecutors said. Comunale accompanied Rackover and his friends to Rackover's apartment in the Grand Sutton apartment building on East 59th Street and First Avenue.

Comunale's body was dug up from a shallow grave in a remote, wooded area of Oceanport, New Jersey, on November 16, 2016. The Stamford native, reported missing days before he was found, suffered at least 15 stab wounds, a broken pelvis and evidence indicated that Rackover attempted to burn his body, according to police and the DA's office. A large duffel bag was discovered near the burial site, prosecutors said.

"Adored by his friends and family, Mr. Comunale had a promising future ahead of him when his life was so tragically cut short," Vance said in a statement. "He was murdered in cold blood in a crime of unconscionable violence, his body mutilated, thrown from a fourth-story window, and abandoned behind a florist’s shop in New Jersey."

The grisly murder captivated New York City's tabloids due to Rackover's connections with celebrity jeweler Jeffrey Rackover, whose clientele includes Oprah Winfrey and Donald and Melania Trump. Despite sharing a last name, the two aren't blood relatives. James Rackover's birth name is James Beaudoin, and he came to New York City after a troubled past life in Florida.

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.

Pat Comunale, the father of Joseph, has since sued Jeffrey Rackover in civil court for allegedly helping cover up his son's murder. The lawsuit claims that Jeffrey and James Rackover lived together for two years prior to 2015 and were engaged in a sexual, drug-fueled relationship. In 2015, Jeffrey allowed James to take the last name Rackover and arranged to rent James his own apartment in the posh Grand Sutton tower.

Rackover is expected to be sentenced on Dec. 5, prosecutors said.

Photo of James Rackover by Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press