Times investigation adds more intrigue to infamous OJ Simpson case | OJ Simpson

An in-depth investigation by The New York Times raises further questions about the high-profile OJ Simpson case, in which the former football player was charged in the 1990s with the murder of his ex-wife — and whether a shady gangster-turned-informant might have been involved in covering up the murder.

The Times investigation found that California prosecutors were unable to fully investigate whether Simpson, charged but not convicted of killing his ex-wife, may have had an accomplice at the crime scene.

The extensive journalistic investigation, based on previously sealed court records and interviews, adds even more intrigue to the infamous Simpson case. No one has ever been criminally convicted for the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

That year, Nicole Brown Simpson and Goldman were found stabbed to death outside her Los Angeles home. American professional football player and actor OJ Simpson is suspected of the murder. Simpson’s trial attracted international attention and became a media spectacle, being considered the “trial of the century”.

Simpson was acquitted by a jury in 1995 after a lengthy trial. The Los Angeles police, who investigated the case, had a long history of racism. Simpson’s lawyers pointed to racist police practices and the department’s handling of key evidence, which helped them win the acquittal. Simpson was later held responsible for the death by a jury in a civil case.

But the New York Times revealed that a questionable informant began revealing information about Simpson’s case toward the end of the prosecution. The informant, a wealthy gangster named Joseph Ippolito, had become a snitch after spending years on the run from the federal government.

The information Ippolito had may have been critical to the trial, but it was far too late for the prosecution to include his testimony.

Ippolito, a longtime drug dealer in the United States known as Joey, came from the New Jersey underworld, where his father was a player in the DeCavalcante crime family, a major Italian-American criminal organization. After a stint in prison for drug trafficking on the East Coast, he moved to California in the late 1980s and ran an Italian restaurant.

There he was able to integrate into the inner circles of Los Angeles’ elite. Ippolito befriended Al Cowlings, a former football star and close friend of OJ Simpson. But while he spent time with Los Angeles celebrities, Ippolito continued to sell and deal drugs.

In 1992, he was arrested again by authorities in a sting operation. But in May 1994, eight months after his conviction, Ippolito escaped from his Florida prison. His brother helped him return to Los Angeles, where he remained in hiding as a wanted fugitive.

That year, the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Goldman took place in Los Angeles. When authorities tried to arrest OJ Simpson, he fled. His friend Cowlings, the former footballer, led police on a high-profile chase through Los Angeles with Simpson in the car.

After Simpson’s arrest, authorities found Ippolito’s information in Cowlings’ wallet, leading them to urgently search for the gangster on the loose. Eventually, they found Ippolito and arrested him. But he decided to turn around and become a US government informant.

As an informant, Ippolito revealed information on various drug deals across the country and helped federal agencies set up undercover operations. But Ippolito also allegedly shared information with the government about the Los Angeles killings.

The New York Times has three distinct theories about Ippolito’s involvement in the Simpson case, which he was apparently willing to share with authorities:

1) In one version, Ippolito told federal prosecutors that he got information from Cowlings about the murders, including the supposed location of the missing gun.

2) In another version, Ippolito’s brother told a Times reporter that Ippolito might have been at the scene of the murders. The brother said Ippolito literally had blood on his hands.

3) And in a third version, Ippolito was ready to help Simpson escape during the crazy police chase through Los Angeles.

“Taken together, these elements point in different directions but deviate significantly from the official narrative presented by police and prosecutors,” reports the New York Times. “With many key players dead, the truth may never be known.”

Ippolito’s brother, who told the Times he saw his brother’s hands with blood on them, later demanded money from the publication, then retracted his statement to the publication. According to the report, the brother said he was “offered a ton of money” to share his story elsewhere, possibly on a television show.

The extent of Ippolito’s involvement is not fully known. Authorities interviewed by the Times expressed doubts about Ippolito’s involvement and the value of his information in the case.