ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A deceased mob informant from New Jersey is being linked to the murder trial of O.J. Simpson in an extensive new investigation by The New York Times.
Simpson was accused of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. He was acquitted of criminal charges in 1995, but was later found liable for the deaths in a civil trial. The former NFL player and actor died in 2024.
The Times report takes a new look at the slayings, citing freshly unsealed records and interviews.
One of the new twists? Joseph "Joey" Ippolito – a police informant from Livingston who may have had crucial information about the case.
Ippolito, a convicted drug trafficker and mafia associate, moved from the Garden State to California in the 1980s, where he met Al Cowlings: the childhood friend of Simpson who drove the white Bronco during the infamous low-speed police chase that took place on June 17, 1994.
According to a letter from an assistant U.S. attorney, Ippolito also developed "close personal relationships" with O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson.
In 1994 – the year of the killings – Ippolito escaped from prison in Florida and made his way back to Los Angeles. After the Bronco chase, investigators found Ippolito's information in Cowlings' wallet, which eventually led to his arrest after a police search.
After the arrest, Ippolito became a federal informant, offering authorities details about alleged drug trafficking. He also offered them information about the murders of Brown and Goldman – including the possible location of the missing murder weapon, which was never found.
Ippolito didn't testify in the trial, which was almost over by the time of his arrest. He was released from prison in 1998, and died in 2006.
Ippolito's brother told the Times that he saw his sibling on the night of the murders with blood on his hands and carrying a bag with something heavy inside. His brother – who wanted payment from the Times for the information – later retracted his claims.
The Times found that police and prosecutors explored Ippolito's potential links to the case early in the murder investigation. The lead detective in the case, Tom Lange, said he didn't consider him a serious suspect. Marcia Clark, the lead prosecutor, said she was not aware of Ippolito.
"If anyone had spoken to him and found him to have relevant and credible information, I surely would have been informed," Clark told the Times.
No one has been criminally convicted for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. The criminal case remains unsolved.
Read the full Times report here.
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