Private eye Bo Dietl’s long-shot mayoral bid got even longer when he emerged as a key figure in a suit accusing celebrity jeweler Jeffrey Rackover of trying to help cover up a grisly slaying, political experts said Monday.
“Murder scene, decomposing body, mayoral candidate. It’s not a pretty picture,” Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf said.
Dietl served as a spokesman for Rackover following the Nov. 13 stabbing death of Joey Comunale, for which Rackover’s surrogate son, James Rackover, and pal Lawrence Dilione currently face murder charges.
A civil suit filed by the victim’s dad noted how Dietl publicly admitted that Jeffrey visited James’ apartment while, according to the suit, Comunale’s body was still there, but claimed he hadn’t noticed anything wrong.
A source close to the case was mystified why Jeffrey trotted out Dietl to defend him, rather than rely on a lawyer or public-relations specialist.
“In his time of crisis, he has Bo Dietl basically incriminating him,” the source said.
Dietl — who’s challenging Mayor de Blasio as an independent because he botched an attempt to register as a Democrat and was rejected by the Republican Party — backtracked late Monday on his claim about Jeffrey Rackover vising the scene of the crime.
“He picked up the dog at the front door. He never went into the apartment,” Dietl maintained, adding, “My heart goes out to that young man and his family.”