Greater Long Island coverage is funded in part by Toresco & Simonelli, a boutique injury and family law firm in West Islip. They fight for their clients. Click here to get in touch.
The Lindenhurst man accused of fatally stabbing a CVS employee on Christmas night told police he attacked the 23-year-old because of his own financial debts, prosecutors said Saturday during the defendant’s arraignment.
John Pilaccio, 43, faces a second-degree murder charge in connection with the death of Edeedson “Eddy” Ciné Jr., who was working behind the counter at the store on East Montauk Highway when he was stabbed just before 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Prosecutors said Pilaccio demanded money from Ciné, and when the employee refused, he stabbed him, News 12 Long Island reported. They said further that the self-acclaimed restaurant general manager admitted to the killing and voluntarily left with police on Friday when they showed up to arrest him at his Palm Street home, located less than a half-mile from the CVS.
On the night of the attack, police officers found Ciné in the CVS store with a stab wound to his chest. The 2020 North Babylon High School graduate was rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, where he was pronounced dead.
Pilaccio pleaded not guilty at Suffolk First District Court in Central Islip and is being held without bail. He is scheduled to return to court on Wednesday.
Who is John Pilaccio?
According to an online profile, Pilaccio has spent more than two decades in business operations, sales, and management across several industries. Most recently, he has worked as a restaurant general manager for Chaac Foods Restaurants in Brentwood since 2020, overseeing day-to-day operations, staffing, scheduling, and customer service, he says on his LinkedIn page.
Earlier in his career, Pilaccio reports that he held management and sales roles in the food, building materials and chemical sales sectors.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in business and managerial economics from Binghamton University in 2004. Earlier, he graduated from St. John the Baptist High School in West Islip, where he was involved in athletics and martial arts, including taekwondo.
Relatives of Ciné said he was called into to work at the last-minute on Christmas, after the CVS co-worker who was scheduled to work called out. Ciné, whose father Edeedson Ciné Sr. is the director of revenue management at a local orthopedic medical group and works as a professor at Hunter Business School, has been described describes as a devoted family member with “a fierce heart for service.”
Pilaccio has posted frequently on social media over the years.
Top: John Pilaccio (Instagram/@jmpizzle) and Eddy Cine (Instagram/@jon.cinee)
