2 arrested in Manhattan party murder

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James Rackover, 25, of Manhattan, and Lawrence Dilione, 28, of Jersey City, New Jersey have been  charged with hindering prosecution, tampering with evidence and concealment of a corpse in the death of Joseph Comuale, 26, of Connecticut.

Rackover and Dillione are reportedly being held on $3 million bond.

DailyMail.com has learned that Rackover had been previously arrested multiple times for burglary, armed robbery, and drug possession.

After serving a six-year sentence on a robbery conviction in 2009, Rackover-- whose real name is James Arthur Beaudoin-- reportedly met celebrity jeweler Jeffrey Rackover.

Rackover treated James as the son he never had and allowed him to formally use his name and live in one of his tony apartments in Manhattan, reported the Daily Mail.

It was in the apartment where Comunale was last seen on Sunday.

His body was found Wednesday morning buried in a shallow grave in a desolate area behind an Oceanport florist, sources told the NY Daily News.

A cadaver dog traced the scent to Comunale's body.

Surveillance footage showed Comunale entering the Grand Sutton building near the corner of East 59th Street and First Avenue around 7:30 a.m. Sunday.

The Hofstra University graduate hadn't been seen since and the New York Police Department said from the outset that there were signs of foul play. 

Comunale's friends said he wasn't the type to get into trouble.

"At this time the matter is still being investigated as a Missing Person case," said the NYPD in a statement. "Search warrants have been obtained for premises within the 17 Pct in connection with the investigation.‎ Certain potential evidence has been recovered at the scene."

Rackover reportedly called the front desk later that day to request a luggage cart, police sources told the NY Daily News.

Video surveillance captured a man wheeling out two pieces of luggage. A short time later, someone called 911 about a missing person.

Rackover- who was not cooperating with authorities, according to the DN- asked a building employee how long video surveillance was kept before it would be erased.

With the Associated Press