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O.J. accomplice claims

True crime · Heat 3.0 / 10 · 5 shows · 33m airtime

The New York Times reported in October 2026 on previously sealed federal records involving Joseph "Joey" Ippolito, a convicted drug trafficker identified as the "Charlie" of If I Did It. The records show Ippolito escaped a Florida prison in May 1994 and was a fugitive when the murders happened, and include a December 4, 1996 letter to Judge Kimba Wood crediting him with substantial assistance against drug traffickers and La Cosa Nostra, which Wood called one of the strongest she had ever received. A marshal found a phone number for Ippolito's prison mess hall in Cowlings' wallet, and Fat Joe said on a podcast that Ippolito waited at an airport with a private jet to fly Simpson out. Sam Ippolito…

How 5 podcasts covered it

  1. The Dan Le Batard Show, 2026-10-19 (10:14 to 11:23)
    Reports the Times naming Charlie
    Amin's weekend observations open with the New York Times identifying the 'Charlie' from O.J. Simpson's If I Did It as Joey Ippolito, a mafia associate and convicted drug runner who has died. He reads the book's description of Charlie watching and helping dispose of the weapon and clothes, then jokes that Ippolito and Simpson can't be questioned.
    New angle: The New York Times identified the 'Charlie' of If I Did It as Joey Ippolito, a dead mafia associate and convicted drug runner.
  2. Surviving the Survivor, 2026-10-20 (0:00 to 1:27)
    Previews the sealed records review
    Opens the episode by previewing a New York Times review of sealed federal records involving a mob-connected drug trafficker, framing it as new questions about whether O.J. Simpson had help in the 1994 murders.
    New angle: Previously sealed federal records tie a mob-connected drug trafficker to questions of an accomplice in the Simpson murders.
  3. Surviving the Survivor, 2026-10-20 (1:27 to 2:38)
    Recaps the sealed records report
    Opens the episode by recapping the New York Times report on the sealed federal records: Ippolito's drug conviction, his ties to Simpson and Cowlings, and the brother's claim about blood on his hands. It stays inside the reporting already on the record.
  4. Surviving the Survivor, 2026-10-20 (2:38 to 3:53)
    Recaps the case timeline before the records story
    Recaps the case timeline - the June 1994 Brentwood murders, the 1995 acquittal under Judge Lance Ito, the 1997 civil liability verdict - before naming the October 2026 New York Times records story. Background that stays inside the week's coverage.
  5. Surviving the Survivor, 2026-10-20 (5:02 to 8:44)
    Walks through the Times records in detail
    Walks through the Times records in detail: the December 1996 David Kelly memo calling Ippolito a valuable and reliable informant, the information passed to LA prosecutors that never reached jurors, and Sam Ippolito's later attempt to retract. Notes the LAPD calls the case open and that no weapon, physical evidence or charges exist.
    New angle: A December 1996 memo by federal prosecutor David Kelly called Ippolito a valuable and reliable informant.
  6. Surviving the Survivor, 2026-10-20 (8:52 to 11:35)
    Profiles Ippolito and his fugitive years
    Profiles Joey Ippolito: New Jersey roots, a father tied to the DeCavalcante family, a Santa Monica restaurant, a friendship with Al Cowlings, a May 1994 Florida prison escape that left him a fugitive during the murders, an August 1995 arrest and later cooperation, and death in 2006.
    New angle: Ippolito escaped a Florida prison in May 1994 and was a fugitive when the murders happened.
  7. Law&Crime Sidebar, 2026-10-21 (0:00 to 3:16)
    Opens with the Times report and unsealed documents
    Opens the episode by walking through the New York Times report and the unsealed documents behind it, including the December 4, 1996 government letter to Judge Kimba Wood praising Ippolito's cooperation against narcotics traffickers and La Cosa Nostra.
    New angle: The unsealed December 4, 1996 letter to Judge Kimba Wood credits Ippolito with substantial assistance against drug traffickers and La Cosa Nostra.
  8. Law&Crime Sidebar, 2026-10-21 (4:47 to 8:45)
    Reads the 1996 letter and Wood's praise
    Reads the 1996 letter verbatim, adding its account that Ippolito's information reached Los Angeles authorities during the murder trial and that Judge Wood called it one of the strongest letters she had ever received. Also relays Sam Ippolito's bloody-hands account and the Times' caution that no forensic evidence backs it.
    New angle: Judge Wood called the Ippolito letter one of the strongest she had ever received, possibly the strongest.
  9. Law&Crime Sidebar, 2026-10-21 (8:45 to 12:31)
    Walks through the Times' follow-on findings
    Walks through the Times' follow-on findings: Ippolito's contact number in Cowlings' wallet, a girlfriend's photo in the Bronco, Kelly's account of a hidden knife, and Marcia Clark's denial. Also relays the defense investigator's alternative-suspect look and the credibility conflicts.
    New angle: A marshal found a phone number for Ippolito's prison mess hall in Cowlings' wallet, and a girlfriend's photo and number in the Bronco.
  10. Law&Crime Sidebar, 2026-10-21 (12:27 to 15:45)
    Adds the Fat Joe airport and private jet claim
    Adds the Fat Joe podcast claim that Ippolito, as 'Joe Bentley,' waited at an airport with a private jet for Simpson and Cowlings, and ties the book's 'Charlie' to Charlie Ehrlich, who says Simpson told him he would use his name.
    New angle: Fat Joe said on a podcast that Ippolito waited at an airport with a private jet to fly Simpson out.
  11. Law&Crime Sidebar, 2026-10-21 (15:45 to 16:53)
    Reads the LAPD statement and adds a David anecdote
    Reads the LAPD's statement that the case remains open and quotes retired detective Tom Lang on evidence over supposition, then adds Larry David's biography claim that he saw Simpson at the Riviera Country Club the morning of the killings. Mostly reaction and a side anecdote inside the week's coverage.
  12. Real Crime Profile, 2026-10-22 (0:44 to 2:25)
    Interviews Kaelin on never hearing Ippolito's name
    Interviews Kato Kaelin, who lived in Simpson's guest house, about the Ippolito claims. He says he never heard the name until the stories broke and never saw Ippolito at the property, though he knew Cowlings well - a first-hand denial from a trial witness.
    New angle: Kato Kaelin says he never heard of Joey Ippolito until the recent stories and never saw him at Simpson's property.
  13. Real Crime Profile, 2026-10-22 (2:25 to 4:05)
    Lays out the theory that Simpson had help
    Clemente lays out his long-held theory that Simpson had help: the angle of Goldman's leg wounds implies someone held him from behind, and Kato Kaelin told him Simpson tried to set up a false alibi. Argument and reconstruction, not a new record.
  14. Dateline NBC, 2026-10-22 (23:44 to 26:21)
    Adds the brother's on-the-record retraction
    Recaps the unsealed Ippolito records with a field producer, then adds the brother's on-the-record retraction: Sam Ippolito texted NBC News that there was no way Joey was involved. Also notes the LAPD still calls the case open.
    New angle: Sam Ippolito told NBC News in a text that there was no way his brother was involved.
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