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He was bound with duct tape and his eyes were gouged out. Most troubling however, was that after Bernice was found dead, no one - not Fort Lauderdale police, the medical examiner or even my own editor at the time - believed that it was possible that Bernice may have been murdered. Novack grew up in the hotel, which was a celebrity playpen in the 1950s and `60s and appeared . Now May Abad, Narcy's daughter, stands to inherit $150,000, and the rest of the fortune stands to go to her two sons. In 2009, Narcy Novack, the estranged wife of Ben Novack Jr., the owner of Miami's famed Fountainbleau hotel, was found guilty of orchestrating the murder of her husband and his elderly mother . Fort Lauderdale police were forced to reopen the investigation into the family matriarch's death. At the time, I didn't know that they were also stonewalling investigators in Rye Brook, N.Y., probing Ben's murder. in murder of Ben Novack. Novack Jr. MIAMI (CBS4) - From the start, the Narcy Novack murder trial has been a family affair. In her later years, Bernice lived a life of relative obscurity in a soberly upscale community where few neighbors knew about her storybook past. Her husband Ben Novack Sr., who built the hotel and owned it until 1977, had died in 1985. WATCH: 48 Hours: Crazy Love: The story of Benji Novack's murder. He wanted a divorce. She was sentenced in 2012 to life for orchestrating the savage 2009 beatings of her hotel-heir husband, Ben Novack Jr., in a suburban New York hotel room, as well as his mother, Bernice Novack, at . And in return, Narcy has made the cornerstone of her defense the accusation that it was Abad who actually killed Ben and then framed her. Joel Gonzalez, accused of killing Ben Novack Jr. Novack's husband was Ben Novack Jr., son of the man who built the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach. She was a very jealous woman," a family friend said. His wife, Narcy Novack, a former exotic dancer, told police that she had found her bloodied, 53-year-old husband's bodyhis eyes gouged out, his head caved inin their hotel room after returning from having breakfast alone. Narcy Novack's lawyer Howard Tanner did not return voicemail or e-mail messages seeking comment but has said previously that his client was not involved in her husband's murder and that she has been cooperative with police. 'Bens murder was even more gruesome. The security camera inside the guest house picks up Narcy walking in -- still carrying the crowbar. On: July 7, 2022. Rye Brook Police Det. The interior of Bernice Novack's car, found bloodied outside her Greene said Novack's wife and her lawyer "said not to do anything with the body.". Sgt. Novack Jr. is seen. He asked me not to work anymore, not to continue to escort, Bliss told prosecutor Andrew Dember. But nowhere has the family drama been greater than in the dynamic between Narcy and her daughter, May Abad. Novack, 53, who owned Convention Concepts Unlimited of Fort Lauderdale, a planning company, was the son of the hotelier behind Miami Beach's posh Fontainebleau Resorts Hotel. His body had been pummeled with dumbbells, his eyes slit with a knife. Narcy, 56, was convicted last year of arranging the murders after discovering her husband of 28 years was having an affair with porn star Rebecca Bliss. was always close with Frank Sinatra (left). Wicked Games On July 12, 2009, Florida millionaire Ben Novack, Jr., was found bludgeoned to death at the Hilton Rye Town. new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help This photograph will be was found beaten to death in July Ben Novack Sr. had very little to do with his adopted son . Security guards separate May from Narcy. Mary Jane Fine. 02:26 GMT 25 Apr 2012 14 episodes. I took my piles of binders, a copy of her will, and the photographs to three seasoned police detectives to review. "He was sort of looking for a bad girl," Bliss said. She had previously been into Santeria South American black magic and in every storage facility we went to we found rabbits feet and voodoo things. "She admits being a prostitute, [acting in] pornographic movies," Carpentier said. Julie Knipe Brown is areporter for the Miami Herald, and is a CBS consultant. Narcy Novack, his wife, was convicted of orchestrating the slaying in addition to killing his mother. CBS4 News obtained a video showing just how bad this mother-daughter relationship was in the days after the murder. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. She denied having anything to do with them. Garcia's attorney, Susanne Brody, asked Judge Kenneth Karas for a 15-year sentence, saying the information he provided investigators was "harrowing, extraordinary, frightening and detailed. Ben Novack Jr.'s first wife was a beautiful Las Vegas showgirl in her late twenties named Jill Campion. We found $390,000 in cash in the Florida house and they kept safe deposit boxes everywhere. States Attorney?s Office, Southern District of New York), Killer: Narcy, 56, (Pictured with Ben Jr.) was convicted last year of arranging the murders after discovering her husband of 28 years was having an affair with porn star Rebecca Bliss, The Woodlands plans and enthusiasm They married in June 1979, receiving gifts from Frank Sinatra and Ann-Margret before divorcing in March 1981. The photographs of the crime scene were almost embarrassingly inadequate. Police thought Novack murder was sex game gone wrong. Narcy Novack, left, and Ben Novack Jr. in an undated photo. mother. A kpek egyes esetekben eltrhetnek a valsgtl, ha krdse van rdekldjn munkatrsainktl e-mail-ben vagy telefonon. Novack's eyes. Back in Florida, she said, she turned to prostitution. Faced with the letter, Fort Lauderdale police scoffed, saying it wasn't credible because they didn't know who wrote it. Rebecca Bliss, 40, her arms and legs heavily tattooed, said she met Ben Novack Jr., whose father built the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach, through an online ad for sex. That's when we'll find out who jurors believed -- the mother or the daughter. The Herald reported that Abad said her stepfather was having an affair, even setting the younger woman up with a place to live, and that Narcy Novack was jealous of the other woman. But not on their own: Rye Brook police had obtained a confession from the killer who told them he had been hired to beat Bernice Novack with a monkey wrench. Prosecutors said Novack feared that her husband would divorce her and a prenuptial agreement would bar her from the multimillion-dollar family estate. There are secrets that have never been able to fit into the hundreds of stories that made it into print. 'I was told by numerous sources that Narcy, once a self-proclaimed voodoo priestess, had become involved with a very well-connected rabbi after her husbands death,' Glatt told MailOnline. 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says. trial of Narcy Novack, which started April 23, 2012. From the moment that Ben Novack Jr. was found bludgeoned to death in a Rye Brook, N.Y. hotel room on July 12th, it was evident that the Fontainebleau Hotel heir had some pretty dark stuff in his past. "I want her to . She left an ex-husband and daughter, now 15, in Michigan, and is currently facing charges there of drunken driving and failing to pay child support, she said. 'Yet, despite playing the hard-done-by spurned wife, Narcy herself quickly embarked on a relationship with the married rabbi. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Her husband Ben Novack Sr., who built the hotel and owned it until 1977, had died in 1985. Novack.". Yet no one was ever charged in the incident. A week before she was murdered Bernice Novack took Novack, 53, was bashed with dumbbells in his bed and had his eyes sliced with a knife. She is writing a book about the Novack case. Ben Novack had become very serious with one woman in particular. Narcy Novack and her brother, Cristobal Veliz, were sentenced to life in prison Monday for plotting the grisly 2009 slayings of Novack's millionaire husband and his mother. On July 10, Mr. Gonzalez and a co-conspirator scouted out the hotel in preparation for the attack, prosecutors say. 'Once Ben called police accusing Narcy of pistol-whipping him and holding him hostage for 28 hours while she ransacked the house looking for cash,' he said. 'At first police believed Bernices death was an accidental fall but after Bens murder three months later they dug deeper and discovered her head had been smashed in with a monkey wrench. As May leaves, Narcy and her niece go back into the guest house and begin hauling May's belongings out. , updated No one has ever written a history of the Fontainebleau, arguably, the most famous hotel in the world, or its unusual cast of characters and its stubborn builder, Ben Novack Sr. My book is about an extraordinary family: brilliant, wildly foolish, eccentric and dysfunctional, whose lives all ended either tragically, violently or forgotten to history. Personal Photo via CBS (CBS/AP) WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - A hit man was sentenced Thursday to more than 17 years behind bars for killing Ben . This private estate served as a great backdrop for Scarface filming. The author isn't content simply recounting the tempestuous relationship between Ben Novack Jr. and his wife, Narcy, and how it ultimately led to his death. At the time, even Ben Jr. felt something wasn't right, telling detectives that the glass of white wine on the table was suspect: his mother didn't drink white wine. Later it would be learned that his killers had cut out his eyes. She was Ben Novack's ", Karas acknowledged that Garcia's cooperation was important. "I have nothing to do with my husband's death," she said on interrogation recordings. By * The Prince of Paradise by John Glatt is published by St. Martins Press on Tuesday April 16. to order a copy,click here. Garcia admitted that he had helped kill Novack's husband, Ben Novack Jr., in a suburban New York hotel where his travel company was managing an Amway convention. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. A seasoned homicide detective once told me that there is no such thing as coincidences. 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. It was just a complete mess,"said Sgt. Ben Novack Jr. Rye Brook Police Department, via Associated Press. Ben Novack Jr.'s estate, valued at $4.2 million, is expected to go to Novack's daughter, May Abad, and Abad's two sons. I loved my husband. wife watched from Alexandro Guitierez-Garcia, 33, a Nicaraguan national who lived They also suspected she was involved in the death of Novack's mother, who took a fatal fall months before . 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Her beating death, authorities later announced, was part of a wider plot orchestrated by Narcy, who allegedly enlisted her brother and a contingent of other unsavory people to kill her husband and mother-in-law so that she could inherit the family fortune. However, over the length of time I became associated as the reporter on this story, more and more people came forward to share with me their stories about the Novack family. It was an obituary for Bernice Novack, the 86-year-old family matriarch. was brutally killed at the Hilton Rye Town. Narcy, now serving life in jail, used the rabbi to fence rare Batman memorabilia and hide tens of thousands of dollars in cash, according to Glatt in his new book Prince of Paradise. Bernice was discovered bludgeoned to death inside her Fort Lauderdale mansion in 2009. When investigators discovered Novack on the morning of July 9, 2012, his limbs were bound with . Set on a vast wall was a large oil painting of her son, Ben Novack Jr., painted when he was about 20 years old. Lifetime's latest movie Beautiful & Twisted tells the ripped from the headlines story of Narcy Novack, a murderous housewife from Florida who married and killed hotel heir and Batman-phile, Ben . When detectives questioned her, Narcy denies hitting May with a crowbar. There are people were too afraid or didn't trust me enough to talk about what they knew when this case was still fresh and the culprits were still at large. Please enter valid email address to continue. shares She said Novack moved her out of Miami and put her up at a hotel for a couple of weeks in June 2008. The room she goes into with May however doesn't have any cameras. According to the search warrant, Fort Lauderdale police were called to the couple's home in June 2002 after Novack said he was the victim of a home invasion and robbery. And we are likely to have a verdict by the end of the week. Rebecca Bliss, 40, her arms and legs heavily tattooed, said she met Ben Novack Jr., whose father built the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach, through an online ad for sex. Fort Lauderdale home. "He would tell me he loved me every day.". But May and a friend went in anyway to pick up some of May's belongings. As soon as he married Narcy, their relationshipwas volatile from the start, according to Glatt. During the past four years covering this story, I have come across events and records that even escaped police. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. But as investigators would soon uncover, Ben Novack had an appetite for other women. I compiled binders full of evidence, photographs showing blood splattered all over home; the autopsy report that said she had massive head injuries, a broken jaw and finger. 'At one point every president visiting Miami stayed at the Fontainebleau. The duo's defense was to blame Narcy's only daughter from a previous marriage, May Abad, for having orchestrated the killings, stating that she was motivated to collect on Ben Novack Jr.'s estate, including a large collection of Batman memorabilia. [6], The Novack murders have been televised on several programs including Deadly Rich, My Dirty Little Secret (ID),[12] 48 Hours,[13] Dateline NBC,[10] Snapped,[14] True Crime with Aphrodite Jones[15][16] and Dying to Belong. The police investigation into the murder causes a rift between his wife and step-daughter. Did the Fontainebleau have a stairway to nowhere? On April 5, 2009, Ben's 87-year-old mother, Bernice (December 2, 1921 - April 4, 2009), was found dead in her Fort Lauderdale, Florida garage. Julie K. Brown - The Miami Herald. >> the kids who came to the birthday party were complete strangers to . In addition to allegedly participating in the July 2009 torture killing her husband Ben Novack Jr., the former Hialeah stripper is also accused of planning the monkey-wrench beating death of Ben's mother, Bernice, three months earlier. Her large walk-in closet was lined with hundreds of ball gowns and dresses, each covered in plastic and labeled with the date and event that she wore it: President Kennedy's inauguration. 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Narcy Novack and her brother are serving life sentences after being convicted last year of orchestrating the killings. Now May Abad, Narcys daughter, stands to inherit $150,000, and the rest of the fortune stands to go to her two sons. Jr. was savagely Narcy Novack was convicted in White Plains of hiring the men who killed Ben Novack Jr., a millionaire, in Rye Brook, N.Y., and Bernice Novack in Florida in 2009. What doesn't appear to be taken is evidence related to a possible motive Narcy Novack told New York police she suspected was behind the killing -- that her husband was murdered in the wake of a contentious comic book sale. Part of TV News Archive. Narcy Novack used her brother Cristobal Veliz to recruit Miami car wash owner Alejandro Garcia, who executed the Bernice Novack murder for a couple of thousand dollars. More than two months after his murder, Ben Novack Jr.'s body remained in the Westchester County morgue, prompting police to wonder why his widow was taking so long to have him buried. Her brother was also found guilty of arranging the murders and is serving life in jail. a fall outside a Fort Lauderdale bank. It's a site that collects all the most frequently asked questions and answers, so you don't have to spend hours on searching anywhere else. A few moments after the alleged assault, May is seen running out of the guest house -- clearly agitated. You can see Roberts' exclusive interview with Ben Novack's mistress, who police believe was part of the motive for murder, on Saturday night on "48 Hours" at 10 p.m. on CBS 2. Her brother, Cristobal Veliz, is a co-defendant. It was a horrible murder, as Bernice did not go quietly. She maintained her innocence from the start ,even claiming that her grown up daughter from a previous relationship was responsible. Aug. 19, 2009— -- The discovery of the body of a wealthy Florida businessman and hotel heir has turned out to be only the beginning of what has become a multi-state investigation involving reports of kinky sex, catfights and Batman comic books. Executives in South Florida's meeting business described Novack as one of the top event planners for Amway, a company with a reported $8 billion in sales. I had no idea, that years later, it would probably become the biggest story of my career, or that it would become a book. But his luxurious, celebrity-studded lifestyle would ironically end in another hotel roomwhere the police found him bound up in duct tape, beaten to death. It worked. She moved out of the condo and lived in an ex-boyfriend's garage for a while before saving up enough money for a bus ticket to California. The Sun-Sentinel reports that Novack had been attending the convention he planned for 1,200 Spanish-speaking people for Amway Global International. Police, according to the warrant, took several pieces of computer and digital-recording devices as well as paperwork left near the computer, a phone book and day planner, 8 mm video cassette tapes, a Beta tape and five rolls of duct tape found in the garage. Ben Novack, Jr. was born into a hotel empire, Miami's lavish Fontainbleau. Ben Novack Jr., the subject of the Lifetime TV movie Beautiful & Twisted, was the heir to the glitzy Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach. As police on both ends of the Eastern seaboard continue their investigation, the Rye Brook Police Department -- small, with just 28 officers -- has set up a Web site they hope will generate tips. June. Patrick Hart told ABCNews.com that a report was not filed and that he did not have any details on what sparked the fight, saying only that "it was a simple disturbance and the stepdaughter agreed to pack up her stuff and leave.". The Boys & Girls Club will host a blood drive Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the clubhouse, located at 26301 Garbani Road. They were spotted out together in numerous restaurants and even after her arrest he was driving around in her Mercedes sports car.'. In 2008, Ben Jr. answered an online ad placed by a porn actress named Rebecca Bliss, working at the time as a high-priced prostitute. Narcy Novack is facing charges in the death of her wealthy hotel heir husband 53-year-old Ben Novack Jr. and conspiring to kill her 87-year-old mother-in-law Bernice Novack. New York), Police found the mutilated body of Ben Novack Jr. lying bound and gagged on the floor of his suite at Please enter valid email address to continue. Ben Novack Jr. had doubts about how his mother died, but he was killed before he could demand a more thorough inquiry. At the conclusion of the trial, Narcy and Veliz were each convicted of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, domestic violence, stalking, money laundering, and witness tampering. So when I opened the paper on July 13, 2009 and saw a piece about the murder of the son of a famous Miami Beach hotelier, I thought this was a story that had legs. In the hours after the murder of Ben Novack, detectives were talking to as many people as they could. It included names of suspects and details that no one else would have known so early in the case. As an editor, writer and investigative reporter for 20 years, I have researched yellowed court documents, old wills, marriage and divorce records, police reports, property records and family ties. She met Ben at the strip club where she worked and moved in with him soon afterwards. From the outset, Abad publicly stated she believed her mother was responsible for Ben Novack's murder. Family Affair, Part 2. They are awaiting sentencing. They had been sent an anonymous letter claiming that Bernice had indeed been murdered. Ben Novack Sr. was having an affair with a model, Bernice, whom he later married, and together, had a son, Ben Novack Jr., in 1959. Glatt discovered Narcy had waged a campaign against the porn star even telling the landlord of the love nest Ben had set her up in that he was dead and would not be paying any more rent. Initially, the brutal killing of Ben Novack Jr., heir to the founder of Miami Beach's famed Fontainebleau Hotel, looked like the sordid story of a wealthy couple's sexually charged marriage . Prosecutors said it led to six convictions in all and told the judge they supported a below-the-guidelines sentence. Abad's mother, Narcy Novack, was accused in federal court last summer of hiring people to kill her husband, Ben Novack Jr., 53, a wealthy Fort Lauderdale businessman whose family once owned Miami . After 30 Years the Fontainebleau Wont Be a Hilton; New Owner Turnberry Associates Plans on Running the 1,400-room Resort Itself / February 2005. Alejandro Garcia's 210-month prison term was well under federal sentencing guidelines because he had cooperated with prosecutors almost from the moment of his arrest. 2022 - 2023 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved On July 12, 2009, three months after Bernice's death, Ben Novack Jr., 53, Bernice's only child, and heir to the hotel fortune, was slain execution-style at the Rye Town Hilton hotel in Rye Brook . Blood stains inside the kitchen of Bernice Novack's home in Fort Mother slaying: Narcy also arranged for Ben Jr's mother, Bernice, 86, to be bludgeoned to death in her fort Lauderdale mansion in 2009. Two days after Novack's murder, Fort Lauderdale police were called to the Novack's posh Fort Lauderdale home after an altercation between Narcy Novack and her daughter, May Abad, who was living in the house's unattached cottage. Paradise Lost: Crime in Miami is a conversation between friends, both South Florida natives, about the notorious true crime cases that have occurred in their home state. murdered as his He was also the heir to a multimillion-dollar estate. Garcia and Gonzalez have pleaded guilty to the killings, the New York Daily News reported. Donna Greene, communications director for Westchester County, said Novack has been kept "on ice, literally and figuratively" since his death, with both Narcy Novack and Abad laying claim to the body. After that, she said, We got a lot closer, and we talked almost every day.. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 'Sinatra became a close family friend he was an uncle to Ben as he grew up and flew the family on his private jet to President Kennedys inauguration in 1960. ", Among the items listed as potential evidence in the warrant, but apparently not seized, were "any miscellaneous business records of Ben H. Novack Jr. related to 'collectibles' including but not limited to comic books and/or Batman memorabilia.". Narcy Novack, his wife, was convicted of orchestrating the slaying in addition to killing his mother. Ben Novack Jr. was found bludgeoned to death last month in Room 453 of the Hilton Rye Brook Hotel in Rye Brook, N.Y., where he had organized a weekend convention for Amway, the direct-selling company. To find out more about how Narcy was finally caught, watch "Dying to Belong" on Oxygen. Three days after Ben was killed in Rye Brook, New York, Narcy and her daughter flew back to Fort Lauderdale on separate flights. Her son, Ben Novack Jr., at the time filed a lawsuit against Bank of America claiming a fall at a branch's parking lot led to her death.Then Ben turned up dead three months later. Prosecutors displayed hotel and spa bills of over $3,900, paid by Ben Novack. He was sitting on the beach, a scarf around his neck floating in the breeze. More than 1,000 employees from Amway Global International, his most prestigious client, squeezed into the 455-room hotel -- and all of them were potential suspects, including his wife, a former stripper he had been married to for almost 19 years. Where was the pool scene in Scarface filmed? Given Novack's financial status, his wife 53-year-old former stripper Narcy Novack told detectives the slaying might have been the result of a robbery gone wrong. The victim, 53-year-old Ben Novack Jr., was a multi-millionaire Florida businessman. Complete coverage of the Novack murders on Crimesider, First published on September 12, 2013 / 5:12 PM. westchester. But Karas said it was also important "to acknowledge Mr. Garcia's heinous criminal conduct. What we give you here is a list of the best new movies on iTunes (2018 or newer). Ben Novack Jr was the heir to the mighty Fontainebleau fortune. Had he known she had been murdered, he may have hired a bodyguard or, at the very least, been more vigilant about his safety. "His eyes slid out like grapes it was a grotesque murder scene," reporter Tara Rosenblum told "Dying to Belong.". 2009 in a suburban New York Hotel room. Mugshot of Crostobal Veliz, brother of Narcy Novack, implicated Photos taken by police show a large bruise where May claims she was hit with the crowbar.