Did O.J. Simpson Have an Accomplice? All About Joey Ippolito

Convicted drug trafficker. Prison escapee. Federal informant. And now a purported accomplice of football legend-turned-murder suspect O.J. Simpson.  

Joseph “Joey” Ippolito might have played a crucial role in getting rid of the murder weapon used in the brutal 1994 slayings of Simpson’s ex, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, outside her Los Angeles home, according to a brand-new report by The New York Times.  

Joey, a longtime criminal involved with drugs and ties to the mob, died in December 2006.  

He was 56.  

Citing newly unsealed court documents and claims his brother, Sam Ippolito, allegedly made to the Times earlier this year (but later recanted after the paper reportedly refused to pay him for the interview), a key question has reemerged in the decades-old case: Although Simpson was acquitted in the “trial of the century,” did Joey help him get away with murder? 

Joey was born into a family of nine brothers and sisters in New Jersey in 1950.  

His dad, Joseph Ippolito Sr., was a part of the infamous DeCavalcante crime family.  

At 27, Joey was a decorated powerboat racer who won the 1978 Bacardi Trophy Race in Miami while steering his vessel with a broken wrist, according to reports.  

But when he wasn’t racing, he was a drug runner who eventually got caught.  

He spent three years in prison for his part in helping smuggle 20 tons of marijuana along the East Coast.  

After serving time, Joey made the move to Los Angeles in the late 1980s, where he worked as a restaurant manager at the PCH Bar & Grill.  

He made several high-profile connections and served as a drug hookup to the stars, the Times reported. 

But after a 1992 federal drug sting, the law caught up with Joey, and he was once again sent to prison on narcotics charges—this time to a minimum-security facility in Florida.  

Despite being handed down a 10-year prison sentence, Joey escaped incarceration just eight months in and fled back to Los Angeles with the help of his brother, Sam, in May 1994.  

The two took refuge in an apartment belonging to Joey’s Hollywood-stylist friend, Julie Mijares, according to reports.  

The PCH Bar & Grill was a hot spot among the rich and famous.  

Amid the celebrity clientele was Simpson’s close friend and former Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Al Cowlings.  

Joey and Cowlings hit it off and developed a solid friendship.  

The ex-NFL player even praised Joey for helping him overcome his drug addiction, per the Times.  

It was through Cowlings that Joey became familiar with Simpson and his ex-wife, Brown Simpson.  

Cowlings would go on to be the getaway driver behind the wheel of Simpson’s white Ford Bronco in the 1994 now-infamous slow-speed police chase down the highways of Southern California.  

According to his brother Sam, Joey was integral in helping Simpson allegedly get away with the fatal stabbings of Brown Simpson and Goldman.  

While it is believed that Joey was never directly involved in the murderous acts, Sam alleged his brother returned to Mijares’ apartment bloodied the night of the killings and instructed him to dispose of a bulky item concealed in a bag.  

Before handing off the bag, he said Joey also shoved his clothes inside and ordered him to get rid of it while he showered.  

Prior to following the orders, Sam alleged that he overheard Joey’s phone conversation with Cowlings during which he admitted he was “helping” Simpson that night, the paper reported.  

Sam claimed he discarded the bag in a dumpster, never having looked inside it. 

The weapon used in Brown Simpson and Goldman’s murders was never recovered.  

Newly unsealed court records—coupled with Sam’s damning allegations made against his late brother earlier this year—purportedly indicate Simpson failed to carry out the slayings entirely alone.  

Sam alleged he was confident Joey was with Simpson at the scene of the crime the night of June 12, 1994, and that his convicted felon brother ordered him to get rid of the murder weapon.  

As part of court records from 1996, recently made public, federal prosecutor David Kelley penned a letter to Judge Kimba Wood, proposing a merciful sentence for Joey’s previous prison escape because the convicted drug trafficker transitioned into a cooperative and valuable informant, especially as part of the Simpson murder case. 

“Through his close personal relationships with Al Cowlings, Simpson’s confidant, and others involved in the case, including O.J. and Nicole Simpson, Ippolito (Joey) had become privy to many facts relevant to the case, including Simpson’s alleged domestic violence, the Simpsons’ narcotics usage, Simpson’s attempted flight from justice, and his disposal of the murder weapon,” the letter read.  

According to the letter, Joey provided this intel to Los Angeles authorities, but he was not called to testify during trial because he only began to cooperate after prosecutors had rested their case. 

Former Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark denied having any knowledge of Joey’s purported involvement, the Times reported. 

The letter also described Joey as a “tremendous resource” in narcotics investigations, a reliable prison witness who reported on criminalistic activities committed by fellow inmates, and an integral aid in providing the locations of federal fugitives.  

Because of his level of cooperation, Kelley said Joey put himself and his family in danger.  

Simpson was acquitted of the murders of Brown Simpson and Goldman in October 1995 but found liable for their wrongful deaths in a separate civil trial in 1997.  

He was ordered to pay more than $30 million to the victims’ families.  

Simpson died from prostate cancer in 2024. He was 76.