Key evidence including the victims body should be tossed from the murder case against a defendant in a grisly Upper East Side stabbing because detectives questioned him without his lawyer present, according to court papers filed Wednesday. <\/p>\n
Lawrence Dilione also claims he wasnt read his Miranda rights before giving detectives directions to where he and co-defendant James Rackover allegedly buried Joey Comunale. <\/p>\n
The alleged misconduct which may have included prosecutors means Diliones statements should be ruled inadmissible against him, according to his Manhattan Supreme Court filing. <\/p>\n
In addition, any evidence gained from the illegally obtained statements would constitute the fruits of the poisonous tree including Comunales remains, defense lawyer Michael Pappa said. <\/p>\n
Dilione is charged along with James Rackover the surrogate son and accused lover of jeweler to the stars Jeffrey Rackover in Comunales Nov. 13 slaying. <\/p>\n
Following the killing, Rackover and Dilione allegedly drove Comunales mutilated body to Oceanport, NJ, set it on fire with gasoline and buried the remainsin a shallow grave. <\/p>\n
A civil suit filed by Comunales dad, Pat and revealed exclusively by The Post Monday accuses Jeffrey Rackover of trying to cover up the crime, in part by letting James use his black 2015 Mercedes-Benz to move the body. <\/p>\n
Wednesdays court papers say Dilione made a clear and unequivocal assertion of his Fifth Amendment privilege while detectives drove him to the 13th Precinct station house at 10:45 p.m. on Nov. 15. <\/p>\n
During the ride, Dilione spoke by phone with lawyer Joseph Evans, and told the detectives he wouldnt answer any questions without speaking to Evans, court papers say. <\/p>\n
At 11:05 p.m., Evans also sent Dilione a text message that said he was hopping a cab to the precinct house, but Dilione never got it because detectives allegedly seized his phone. <\/p>\n
But when Evans arrived at the precinct house, he was given the runaround by four different police officers, the papers state. <\/p>\n
Eventually, a detective emerged and said Dilione had told them where Comunale was buried. <\/p>\n
Evans told the detective that Dilione shouldnt be questioned further, but he allegedly made two more statements without a lawyer present the next day, including one to Manhattan Chief of Detectives William Aubry, court papers say. <\/p>\n
The circumstances surrounding the clear and perhaps even intentional violations of [Diliones] Miranda rights.allow us to in good faith suggest that NYPD detectives either acted along or in concert with the Office of the District Attorney, Pappa wrote. <\/p>\n
A spokeswoman for Manhattan DA Cy Vance said prosecutors will respond to this motion appropriately in court. Those papers are due Aug. 1. <\/p>\n
The NYPD didnt return a request for comment. <\/p>\n
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Defendant in 'jeweler to the stars' case was improperly interrogated: lawyer - New York Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Key evidence including the victims body should be tossed from the murder case against a defendant in a grisly Upper East Side stabbing because detectives questioned him without his lawyer present, according to court papers filed Wednesday. Lawrence Dilione also claims he wasnt read his Miranda rights before giving detectives directions to where he and co-defendant James Rackover allegedly buried Joey Comunale Continue reading