A convicted drug trafficker with alleged mafia ties may have helped O.J. Simpson conceal evidence after the 1994 killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, according to a New York Times investigation based on previously secret federal records and disputed claims that the man returned from the crime scene with blood on his hands.
Joseph “Joey” Ippolito, an associate of Simpson and his longtime friend Al Cowlings, allegedly arrived at a Los Angeles apartment around midnight on June 12, 1994, carrying a bag that contained a heavy object, his brother Sam Ippolito told The Times. The account has prompted new questions but also faces significant challenges to its credibility.
The newspaper also found previously sealed federal court records showing that Ippolito gave authorities information about Simpson’s alleged efforts to dispose of the murder weapon, which was never found.
O. J. Simpson sits in Superior Court in Los Angeles in 1994 during an open court session. (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Sam Ippolito said his brother appeared to have blood on his hands after leaving the apartment earlier that night to help a friend. Joey allegedly placed his clothing inside the bag and told Sam to get rid of it while he took a shower.
Sam Ippolito told The Times that he threw the bag into a dumpster near a construction site on Doheny Drive in Los Angeles.
He further claimed that he overheard Joey tell Cowlings by phone that he had been “helping” Simpson that night.
Ippolito, a convicted drug trafficker who escaped from a Florida prison in May 1994, became a federal informant after his arrest in August 1995, as Simpson’s highly publicized murder trial was approaching its conclusion.
A federal prosecution memorandum dated December 1996 and recently unsealed at The Times’ request described Ippolito as a valuable source. The document said he had information about Simpson’s alleged disposal of the murder weapon and his attempted escape from authorities.
Johnnie Cochran, Robert Kardashian, Barry Scheck, F. Lee Bailey, Shapiro and Alan Dershowitz comprised OJ Simpson’s dream team. (Sam Mircovich/AFP)
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David Kelley, then a federal prosecutor, called Ippolito a “remarkable source of information” in the memorandum and said his cooperation had assisted investigators. However, in a recent interview with The Times, Kelley said he did not believe Ippolito had taken part in the killings.
The records indicate that information supplied by Ippolito was shared with Los Angeles prosecutors during Simpson’s murder trial, although he was never put on the witness stand.
Former prosecutor Marcia Clark told The Times that she had never heard of Ippolito. She said she would have expected to be notified if he had offered evidence that was credible and relevant to the case.
Nicole Brown Simpson and O.J. Simpson married on Feb. 2, 1985. (Gary Leonard/Corbis via Getty Images)
The allegations from Joey Ippolito’s brother have drawn considerable scrutiny.
After repeating his claims for months, Sam Ippolito reportedly sought payment from The Times and later tried to withdraw his statements. He said he could no longer tell which parts of his account were true.
Friends and relatives of Joey Ippolito, who died in 2006, have also rejected suggestions that he played a role in the murders.
Cowlings had not responded to The Times’ request for comment when the newspaper published its investigation.
The newly revealed records and allegations have renewed debate over whether Simpson received assistance on the night Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were fatally stabbed outside her Los Angeles home.
Simpson was acquitted in the criminal case in 1995 but was later found liable for the deaths in a civil trial. He died in April 2024 at the age of 76.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to the Times that the decades-old double-murder case remains an open investigation.
