Taunting twit
Cop tells of Rackover’s big mouth
The party boy on trial for the barbaric 2016 murder of a Connecticut man taunted an NYPD detective during the hunt for evidence at the suspect’s Upper East Side building, witnesses testified Monday.
James Rackover harassed NYPD Detective Yeoman Castro during the hours the cop spent scouring surveillance video and examining trash at the luxury building where prosecutors say Rackover and Lawrence Dilione beat and stabbed 26-year-old Joseph Comunale to death after a drug-fueled party, then dumped his body in a shallow grave in New Jersey, according to testimony.
Prosecutors have argued Rackover’s behavior toward investigators in the days after the crime is evidence of his guilt.
On Nov. 14, 2016, a day after the murder, Rackover walked by Castro in the lobby of the Grand Sutton on E. 59th St. near First Ave. as the cop was scouring surveillance video for any sign of Comunale, who was still missing at that point.
“Good luck getting that video,” Rackover sneered, Castro testified in Manhattan Supreme Court.
At another point during the frantic early part of the probe, Rackover, 27, again came into the lobby of the building and tried to mislead Castro. He leaned against a ledge and babbled about having an alibi, the detective told jurors.
“Good thing I spoke to my girlfriend last night,” Castro recalled the accused killer saying. “She says I was in the apartment all night.”
When Castro called Rackover to ask him about his appearing on video leaving the building, Rackover lost his cool, the cop said.
“It’s none of your f--king business where I’m going,” Rackover snapped, according to Castro’s account. “I come and go as I please.”
Rackover called back Castro’s cell phone a short time after he calmed down, Castro said.
“Hey, Detective,” he allegedly said. “I don’t know why you’re calling me so much and asking me about this kid. I already told you he’s a stranger.”
Earlier in the day, a concierge for Grand Sutton also testified about Rackover’s behavior.
Eduardo Souza said Rackover called him to inquire about the length of time the building saved surveillance video.
“He said, ‘Hey buddy, do you know how long the security cameras record for?’”
Souza said he “asked him why he was asking because I thought that to be a strange question.”
Rackover claimed he “got into an argument with his girlfriend and he wanted to see if any of it was captured,” Souza said.
He told Rackover it was a day, possibly a week, and that he’d find out and get back to him.
Police got to the tapes long before they were wiped and Castro said the building was fully compliant with their request to view the evidence.
Rackover’s lawyers point to Dilione, 30, as the lone killer. Dilione — who will be tried separately in January — blames Rackover for the deadly deed. He admits to knocking Comunale out but says Rackover continued beating him while he was unconscious and then stabbed him in a murderous rage.
Both men are charged with beating and stabbing Comunale at the building where Rackover’s “surrogate father,” jeweler Jeffrey Rackover, lives, then concealing the corpse in a quilt and packing it in the older Rackover’s Mercedes Benz.
Prosecutors say they drove to Oceanport, N.J., where they doused it in gasoline and burned it, leaving it in a shallow grave behind a florist shop.