joey comunale

Joseph Comunale murder: 3rd man charged receives 6 months in jail

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Friday, April 12, 2019

3rd man sentenced in Upper East Side party killing

A third man convicted in the murder of Joseph Comunale at a Manhattan party was sentenced to six months in jail

UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- A third man convicted in the murder of Joseph Comunale at a Manhattan party was sentenced to six months in jail Friday.

Max Gemma pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence after Comunale was murdered inside an Upper East Side apartment in 2016.

After Gemma's sentencing, Comunale's father delivered the victim impact statement and acknowledged that he was glad this process was over. Gemma apologized to the family for his role in the death.

Comunale, a Hofstra graduate, attended a party at James Rackover's apartment, where police said he was stabbed 15 times in the chest during an argument. His body was found in a wooded area down the Jersey Shore in Oceanport two days later.

Lawrence Dilione, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter and Rackover, 27, was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to over 28 years in prison last year.

During Rackover's sentencing, the victim's father told the court that his son was everything and all three of the suspects in his death are cowards who have shown no remorse.

Photos: NYPD investigates UES apartment in search for missing man