Party-boy surrogate 'son' of celeb jeweler and accomplice 'who stabbed to death man who rejected their sexual advances in swanky NYC apartment' appear in court charged with murder

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The 25-year-old party boy surrogate son of celebrity jeweler and his accomplice have appeared in court where they were charged with murdering a man who allegedly rejected their sexual advances.

James Rackover is accused of killing 26-year-old Joseph Comunale over the weekend in his apartment in Manhattan. Lawrence Dilione, 28, of Jersey City, New Jersey, has also been charged with murder.

Both men appeared in a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday evening where a judge set their bond at $3million each.

They were both charged with second-degree murder, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence they allegedly stabbed Comunale 15 times and then tried to burn his body with gasoline on Sunday.

Dilione is also facing an additional charge for hindering prosecution.

The motive for the horrific attack is still under investigation, but sources told the New York Daily News that the killing happened after Comunale rejected the sexual advances of one of the men inside the swanky Manhattan apartment.   

The walls in Rackover's apartment were splattered with blood according to police, who also found bleach that appeared to have been used to clean the scene.  

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Charged: James Rackover (pictured above in court) is accused of killing 26-year-old Joseph Comunale. He was arraigned on Thursday in criminal court where a judge set his bond at $3million

Accomplice?: Lawrence Dilione (pictured above in court), 28, of Jersey City, New Jersey, has also been charged with murder in the case. A judge also set his bond at $3million on Thursday in court

 Rackover, 25, (pictured center) is accused of killing Comunale over the weekend in his swanky Manhattan apartment. He is pictured being led out in a suit at New York's 13th Precinct

Rackover has a lengthy criminal history beginning back in August 2007, when he was charged with armed robbery, attempted robbery and drug possession

Rackover was charged with second-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and concealment of a human corpse after he and Dilione allegedly stabbed Comunale 15 times

Suspect two: Lawrence Dilione, 28, is escorted from the 13th precinct in Manhattan to face charges that include second degree murder

Dilione, 28, is also facing an additional charge for hindering prosecution

Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said they recovered about 32 pieces of evidence from the apartment, which is located at 418 East 59th Street in Midtown East. 

'We have blood on clothing - substantial, we also have what appears to be bleach on that clothing as well in order to cover up the blood,' he said.

'There is blood splatter in the apartment as well, not a lot, but there is some. It's quite noticeable, it's visible.' 

He added that Comunale's bloodied clothing, sheets and towels were found in plastic bags that had been thrown down the apartment block's garbage chute. 

DailyMail.com has learned that James Rackover was born James Arthur Beaudoin in Florida, and was arrested multiple times for burglary, armed robbery, and drug possession.

Missing: Joseph Comunale (pictured), who goes by the name Joey, was reported missing at 8am on Tuesday by his father and his body was discovered on Wednesday

Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said police recovered about 32 pieces of evidence from Rackover's apartment, located in Midtown East, Manhattan

A 2009 burglary led to his arrest and a plea deal in which he was sentenced to six years behind bars. It is unclear when he was released from prison and how much time he served for the offense.

At some point after his release, Beaudoin met Jeffrey Rackover, moved into his New York City apartment building, and changed his name to James Rackover.

Then, on Sunday, police suspect that James may have been with Joseph Comunale before he was murdered.

James' criminal history begins in August of 2007, when he was charged with armed robbery, attempted robbery and possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis in Broward County. 

Prison stripes? Dapper Rackover appeared to pair black and white striped socks with his brown shoes and blue suit

Dilione who is also charged with Comunale's murder is walked into Manhattan Central booking

The body of Comunale, who goes by the name Joey, was discovered in a wooded stretch on the Jersey shore early Wednesday. The area is just minutes from Dilione's office. Dilione is pictured above on Thursday

Rackover, 25, has been charged along with Lawrence Dilione, 28, (pictured together left and Dilione right) with the murder of Comunale; Dilione is also facing an additional charge for hindering prosecution

Then, in January of 2009 he was charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, again in Broward County. 

For that arrest he was also charged with violating his probation.

He left Broward County and his criminal past behind however to travel north to New York, where he found a new home in Jeffrey Rackover's multimillion dollar apartment.

James was later given his own apartment in the same building, which is where police believe the grizzly murder of Comunale occurred this weekend.

Jeffrey treated James as the son he never had and allowed him to formally use his name.

The men are charged with second-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and concealment of a human corpse  (James above with Jeffrey Rackover)

The man being held by police after the arrest of Joseph Comunale was born James Beaudoin in Florida (2009 mugshot above)

James has been arrested multiple times for burglary, armed robbery, and drug possession (2007 mugshot left, 2010 mugshot right) 

'Jeffrey never had children, he developed a relationship with this young man and introduced him to his family,' private detective Bo Dietl, a friend of 30 years, told DailyMail.com

'Jimmy was a troubled young man and Jeffrey hoped to get him back on his feet.'

Jeffrey even got James a job at Willis Towers Watson insurance company along with his own apartment.

'Jeffrey was on the 32nd floor and James on the fourth floor,' said Dietl.

'They first met, I believe, at a health club about three-and-a-half years ago. Jimmy moved into the apartment about a year ago. Jimmy changed his name to James Rackover because Jeffrey liked this kid so much.' 

Neighbors in the swanky building, which is next door to president-elect Donald Trump's son Donald Jr, said they assumed the younger Rackover was Jeffrey's gay lover.

'I have seen them working out together in the gym and there is no way they were father and son,' one told the DailyMail.com.

'Another friend saw them at a wedding and that was definitely not an appropriate father son relationship. '

The body of Comunale, who goes by the name Joey, was discovered in a wooded stretch on the Jersey shore early Wednesday. 

The area is just minutes from Dilione's office. His LinkedIn profile lists him as the owner operator of Shore Point Roofing.

His partially-burned remains were found inside a suitcase that had been buried behind Foggia's Florist in the town of Oceanport. There were multiple stab wounds on the victim's body while he also suffered a broken pelvis.

Comunale was reported missing at 8am on Tuesday by his father after he never returned home from his weekend trip to New York City. 

He reportedly met two men, including James, at a club on West 14th Street on Saturday night and that at the end of the evening they headed back to James' apartment on 59th Street with three women.

The three women then left early that morning, and Comunale was seen reentering the building around 7:30am.

It is not known why he left the building or what for at that hour.

'Jeffrey never had children, he developed a relationship with this young man and introduced him to his family,' said private detective Bo Dietl (Jeffrey above with supermodel Isabeli Fontana)

Jeffrey (left with Miami Housewives star Lisa Hochstein, right with Lorraine Bracco) even got James a job at Willis Towers Watson insurance company along with his own apartment

Comunale reportedly did not know the host of the party, and had only met him that night

Some time after he returned the men reportedly got into a fight and Comunale was stabbed multiple times.

Then at some point a person inside called the front desk to request a luggage cart.

Not long after that, a man was recorded on surveillance video using the cart to transport two pieces of luggage out of the building.

A building employee was also reportedly asked by an individual in the building how long video surveillance was kept before it gets erased.

On Tuesday, authorities found a pair of pants that are believed to belong to Comunale, and bloody sheets inside of a garbage bag near the apartment building on East 59th Street and First Avenue.

Police were later seen shining flashlights outside the building onto the ground below 

On Wednesday evening the search around the building continued, with one DailyMail.com reporter discovering police officers combing the bushes outside with flashlights

On Wednesday evening the search around the posh apartment building continued 

The NYPD K-9 team also found blood evidence on one of the luggage carts used by a resident in the swanky building.

On Wednesday evening the search around the building continued, with one DailyMail.com reporter discovering police officers combing the bushes outside with flashlights.

They were also spotted leaning out of the apartment building's windows shining flashlights below and on the side of the building.

Police are said to have found blood evidence in both the apartment and car, despite attempts to clean both.

Also on Sunday night, the NYPD received an unrelated 911 call about a man dragging a suspicious trash bag out of the co-op building.