There are few things that reporters live for except the kind of story that grabs hold of you and never lets go. Hotel heir Ben Novack Jr. was found bludgeoned in a New York hotel room. The home of the aging was played by a multimillion-dollar estate on Key Biscayne, on 485 Matheson Drive, as well as the Atlantis Condo in the Brickell neighborhood (featured in the opening credits of another 80s classic, Miami Vice. They married in June 1979, receiving gifts from Frank Sinatra and Ann-Margret before . Novack implicated his wife in planning the home invasion and working with unknown men to disable the alarm system, according to the warrant. 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. Her husband Ben Novack Sr., who built the hotel and owned it until 1977, had died in 1985. [2] Her death was initially ruled to be the result of an accidental fall while trying to get out of her car in . 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. was always close with Frank Sinatra (left). Based . Ben grew up amid heads of state and movie stars. Ben Novack was found dead and handcuffed in the Rye Town Hilton in New York. The warrant indicates that computers and hard drives were also taken from an office in the unattached building. Police investigating the death of Ben Novack Jr. gather clues at the crime scene and consider multiple potential suspects. Mary Jane Fine. 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. She was a former New York fashion model and wife of the late Ben Novack, hotel magnate who built and owned the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. I had no idea, that years later, it would probably become the biggest story of my career, or that it would become a book. 02:26 GMT 25 Apr 2012 Detectives soon found out Novack was involved in aheated affair with former sex worker and porn actress Rebecca Bliss. the Murderpedia project stay alive. Bernice . Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. [9] Novack is currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee in Tallahassee, Florida. Terence Wilson, a detective with Rye Brook, New York, police. A prenuptial agreement limited Narcy Novack to getting $65,000 from Ben if they divorced, the prosecution said. The Strokes - The Modern Age (Rough Trade Version) The Strokes - Last Nite (Rough Trade Version) The Strokes - Hard To Explain (Official HD Video) New York City Cops. "She called me, screaming at me. 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. As an adult he built his own lucrative company, Convention . Terry Wilson and Det. >> ben jr., don't call him benji, would be trotted out to shake hands with the likes of jft and then back up to the hotel room. MIAMI (CBS4) - From the start, the Narcy Novack murder trial has been a family affair. January 25, 2013 / 10:01 PM The victim, 53-year-old Ben Novack Jr., was a multi-millionaire Florida businessman. When reached by ABCNews.com in Florida, Abad said she was no longer speaking about the entire saga. He appeared to be hit over the head with some sort of an object. Garcia then enlisted an employee at the car wash Joel Gonzales to help him murder Ben Novack at the Rye Town Hilton. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! On July 10, Mr. Gonzalez and a co-conspirator scouted out the hotel in preparation for the attack, prosecutors say. Jr. was savagely * The Prince of Paradise by John Glatt is published by St. Martins Press on Tuesday April 16. to order a copy. His hands, according to the warrant, which was for Novack's Fort Lauderdale home and was executed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, were taped behind his back and his legs were bound just below the knees. In Oxygen's " Dying to Belong ," investigators and reporters recounted the brutal murder of 53-year-old Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel heir Ben Novack Jr., who was found blugeonded to death in a New York hotel room. Though several expensive pieces of jewelry remained in the hotel room, a gold bracelet with the letters "B-E-N" spelled out in diamonds seemed to be missing, according to the Rye Brook police. Novack's husband was Ben Novack Jr., son of the man who built the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach. She said Novack moved her out of Miami and put her up at a hotel for a couple of weeks in June 2008. But nowhere has the family drama been greater than in the dynamic between Narcy and her daughter, May Abad. 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 was a very jealous woman," a family friend said. However, when something happened to him in a hotel in New York, an in. 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. 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. By Annette Witheridge 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. He had his own suite at the hotel. EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie. Now May . 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. The interior of Bernice Novack's car. July 12, 2009, just before 7 am: Narcy Novack lets Garcia and Gonzalez into Room 453, where they beat Ben . On cross-examination, Narcy Novack's attorney, Howard Tanner, asked Bliss if her primary motivation was financial, which she denied, insisting that she loved him. Investigative reporter and true-crime vet Glatt (Love Her to Death, 2012, etc.) Ben Novack Jr., whose father founded the lavish Miami Beach landmark frequented by President John F. Kennedy and Frank Sinatra, was found beaten to death in a suburban New York hotel in July. A year later, the alleged murder of Novack Jr.'s mother was thrown into the mix. I moved forward with a story about the botched police case, and later learned that Fort Lauderdale police were finally beginning to realize they had made a huge mistake. was found beaten to death in July 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. They had been sent an anonymous letter claiming that Bernice had indeed been murdered. Southern District of His eyes had both been cut out," Carpentier said. But even three months later, the autopsy wasn't complete, and when I began to question police, my gut told me something just wasn't right. On: July 7, 2022. Updated January 20, 2012 7:04 AM. Ben Novack Sr. had very little to do with his adopted son . That's when we'll find out who jurors believed -- the mother or the daughter. Beautiful & Twisted marks Rob Lowe's third Lifetime movie, but the first in which he plays the victim. Narsi . Prosecutors alleged that Narcy was afraid that Ben would leave her for Bliss, who testified at Narcy's trial; their prenuptial agreement would only leave her $65,000 in a divorce. was brutally killed at the Hilton Rye Town. MIAMI (CBS4) - From the start, the Narcy Novack murder trial has been a family affair. 14 episodes. We found $390,000 in cash in the Florida house and they kept safe deposit boxes everywhere. She met Ben at the strip club where she worked and moved in with him soon afterwards. shares Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife and son, Biden had cancerous skin lesion removed last month, doctor says, White supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes kicked out of CPAC, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Biden team readies new advisory panel ahead of expected reelection bid, House Democrats unhappy with White House handling of D.C.'s new criminal code, Vast majority of U.S. homes are unaffordable to the average buyer. 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. Their hotel was the biggest celebrity haunt of the 1960s and 70s. Julie Knipe Brown is areporter for the Miami Herald, and is a CBS consultant. Watchlist. Did the Fontainebleau have a stairway to nowhere? She also indicated that her husband had enemies. The victims . Her husband Ben Novack Sr., who built the hotel and owned it until 1977, had died in 1985. Guests of the hotel can check out the staircase to this day as it has been preserved and refurbished. There was a disagreement, according to the warrant, and "Narcy told investigators that she retrieved a 'bag' of cash and provided the money to her husband who in turn gave it to the unknown comic book collector who left the house with the cash. "Narcy always suspected Ben of cheating. 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. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. According to a search warrant, his wife, Narcy Novack, 52, told police that she had left the hotel room they shared around 7 a.m. July 12, but returned 40 minutes later after eating breakfast to find her husband face down, covered in blood, his hands and legs bound by duct tape. Ben Novack, Jr. was born into a hotel empire, Miami's lavish Fontainbleau. The search warrant, signed by a Broward County judge July 16 and executed the same day by an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, was for not only the main residence on the Novacks' property, but the cottage in which Abad was known to stay. The real story of how Narcy and Ben Novack, Jr. fought over his hotel inheritance and ultimately were both denied would be enough for a Lifetime movie even if it had never turned violent and deadly. "A writer who gets in bed with Miami Beach's historical characters ought to end up breathless.''. new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help His head was covered in blood. Yet detectives never took fingerprints or DNA samples. But May and a friend went in anyway to pick up some of May's belongings. Bernice and Ben Novack Sr. owned the famous Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. The police investigation into the murder causes a rift between his wife and step-daughter. They also look at robbery and other motives for . She claimed his fetish was becoming dangerous she had gone under anesthesia to fix a broken nose and woke up with enormous breast implants. Incidentally, the kids helped the investigation by volunteering that the gunshots took place before the glass-breaking Bosley did to fake the intruder scenario. A few moments after the alleged assault, May is seen running out of the guest house -- clearly agitated. Fort Lauderdale home. She said she took it only to protect herself. '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. Now Ben Jr.'s . Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Novack, 55, and Veliz, 59, were convicted in June of the brutal death of Ben Novack Jr., son of the founder of the famed Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. To report information about the murder of Robert Novack Jr., CLICK HERE. His mutilated body was discovered in a hotel room in Rye Brook in the early morning hours of July 12, 2009. Prosecutors said she feared losing access to the familys multi-million-dollar estate if Ben divorced her. They both slept with loaded guns under their pillows. Millionaires Row spans Collins Avenue in Miami Beach from 41st Street to 62nd Street. When Bernice Novack was killed in April 2009, her estate, valued at about $2 million, went to Novack Jr., her only son. May showed up at the guest house a little after six. While the search warrant doesn't go that far, it noted that Narcy Novack was given a polygraph test by New York State Police the day after her husband's murder and the results "showed indications of deception when questioned pertaining to her knowledge of this homicide.". 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Narcy Novack (ne Narcisa Vliz Pacheco; born 1956), Ben's estranged wife, was convicted of orchestrating the murders and after a highly publicized trial, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. An 18-page police report filed days after the incident detailed a marriage with a history of alleged violence and steamy secrets, according to The Associated Press. Love, money, death, strippers. NY Daily News: Confessed killers of hotel heir and his mother expected to testify that the millionaire victims wife paid them to commit the double murder. July 12, 2009, 6:54 am: Ben Novack Jr. speaks briefly by cell phone with a hotel manager. Trivia (1) Her boyfriend, Ben Novack Jr., was bludgeoned to death in 2009 by men hired by Novack's wife, Narcy Novack, and her brother, Cristobal Veliz. New York), Police found the mutilated body of Ben Novack Jr. lying bound and gagged on the floor of his suite at The story of Ben Novack, the heir to famed Fontainebleau hotel who was brutally murdered by his wife, Narcy Novack, has received widespread media coverage and resulted in multiple and protracted litigations. First published on June 11, 2012 / 11:27 PM. Back in Florida, she said, she turned to prostitution. By Correspondent Troy Roberts of "48 Hours" talked to police about the twisted trail of evidence. 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. Dateline examines the murder of Ben Novack Jr. the wealthy heir to Miami's famous Fontainebleau Hotel. The bloodied bathroom in Bernice Novack's home in Fort Yonkers Mayor Spano shares story of surviving sexual abuse as a kid. He was bound with duct tape and his eyes were gouged out. The agent said that as far as he knew, no investigation was mounted. As I delved into her death, I uncovered a series of tawdry family secrets involving kinky sex, adultery, amputee porn, voodoo and a strange 2002 home invasion in which Ben Jr. accused his wife of tying him up, beating him with a gun and threatening to kill him. 15:03 GMT 25 Apr 2012. The luxurious Estate Coral Gables in Miami, where Tony starts to live after becoming a kingpin, was recreated at the El Fureidis, a Mediterranean Villa located at 631 Para Grande Lane. 'Narcy showed police her husbands sick photo collection of naked amputees. Bernice was discovered bludgeoned to death inside her Fort Lauderdale mansion in 2009. 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Narcy Novack, his wife, was convicted of orchestrating the slaying in addition to killing his mother. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The first thing I found was a clipping. And what was worse, because police had not collected evidence as if it was a suspicious death, there seemed to be little chance that the killer would ever be convicted, at least not in Florida. I said, yes, I did. ", 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, the security guard and Narcy's niece go down to the guest house to confront May. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. The interior of Bernice Novack's car, found bloodied outside her Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Later it would be learned that his killers had cut out his eyes. trial of Narcy Novack, which started April 23, 2012. In the police report, Bernice Novack told detectives that she believed that Narcy Novack had also tried to poison her. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? 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 . She told the Herald that the fight on July 14 involved her and a niece getting into a slap fight and Narcy Novack hitting her with a crowbar. An argument ensued and according to the police report, May claimed Narcy attacked her, swinging the crowbar at May's head -- but May said she blocked it with her right arm. 'She was born poor in Ecuador but moved to America to make her fortune. September 2009 Ben Novack Jr. was finally be laid to rest in his family's mausoleum in Queens, NY., in the Novack-Spier mausoleum at Mount Lebanon Cemetery. Three days after Ben was killed in Rye Brook, New York, Narcy and her daughter flew back to Fort Lauderdale on separate flights. Advertisement. 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. They married in June 1979, receiving gifts from Frank Sinatra and Ann-Margret before divorcing in March 1981. 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. ", Karas acknowledged that Garcia's cooperation was important. [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. Ben Novack Sr. was having an affair with a model, Bernice, whom he later married, and together they had a son, Ben Novack Jr., in 1959. Set on a vast wall was a large oil painting of her son, Ben Novack Jr., painted when he was about 20 years old. The report detailed how the alleged home invasion was part of a sex game. 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. States Attorney?s Office, Mother slaying: Narcy also arranged for Ben Jr's mother, Bernice, 86, to be bludgeoned to death in her fort Lauderdale mansion in 2009. 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. 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 the heir to the mighty Fontainebleau fortune. 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Novack then installed her in a condo near his home and paid all her bills, including $1,225 a month in rent, more than $9,000 in furniture, and about $10,000 in musical equipment to help her learn to be a DJ. In July 2010, almost a year to the day Ben was murdered, the FBI arrested Narcy, her brother and several accomplices in connection with her husband's murder. I met at least three times with Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper. 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. Prosecutors displayed hotel and spa bills of over $3,900, paid by Ben Novack. 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. Narcy Novack and her brother are serving life sentences after being convicted last year of orchestrating the killings. Narcy Novack, left, and Ben Novack Jr. in an undated photo. "He used to make me laugh,' Bliss said. Yes, Fontainebleau is definitely worth visiting, its a beautiful charming city that embodies nature, outdoor living and has a rich history. States Attorney?s Office, Southern District of New York), Garcia used a monkey wrench like this one Why Do Cross Country Runners Have Skinny Legs? JPMorgan equity research analysts predict that the airline industry alone will need many years to recover to 2019 levels. Blood stains inside the kitchen of Bernice Novack's home in Fort Her brother, Cristbal Vliz, was also accused of enlisting Alejandro Gutirrez-Garca, Joel Gonzlez, and Denis Ramrez to participate in both murders. Joel Gonzalez, accused of killing Ben Novack Jr. At the time, I didn't know that they were also stonewalling investigators in Rye Brook, N.Y., probing Ben's murder. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Prosecutors claim greed and jealousy drove Narcy Novack, an ex-stripper from Ecuador, and her brother to hire two hitmen - Alejandro Garcia and Joel Gonzalez - to commit the murder. This video answers the question: Can I analyze the case of Ben Novack Jr.?Support Dr. Grande on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/drgrandeSubscribe to the Bel. After that, she said, We got a lot closer, and we talked almost every day.. He had been hog-tied, blinded in both eyes and beaten with gym dumbells. They are awaiting sentencing. Garcia and Gonzalez have pleaded guilty to the killings, the New York Daily News reported. The report also included police officers' doubts about the Novacks' credibility. Virginia Caudill is housed on death row at the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women in Pewee Valley. Over the past five weeks, jurors in the Narcy Novack murder trial have heard from a one-eyed killer, a tattooed porn star and a hotel guest who snapped pictures of Ben Novack Jr.'s bloody corpse . They remained skeptical. But as investigators would soon uncover, Ben Novack had an appetite for other women. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. His mutilated body was discovered in a hotel room in Rye Brook in the early morning hours of July 12, 2009. murdered as his Bliss, 40, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., testified that they began . of Fort Lauderdale-based Convention Concepts Unlimited, was found dead in his hotel room in Rye Brook, New York, on Sunday morning. "She admits being a prostitute, [acting in] pornographic movies," Carpentier said. It was just very hard to describe the scene. The Spanish actress Paz Vega plays his wife, Narcy, who was sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating the murder. What followed was not only an investigation that detailed possible deception by Narcy Novack during polygraph tests, but reports of an unorthodox family life. Ben Novack Jr., president and C.E.O. Fontainebleau Hotel heir Ben Novack, Jr., tracing his gilded childhood at the sides of famous celebrities, his multi-million-dollar business deals and the savage killing that many, including Novack's daughter, believe was arranged by his wife. Narcy claimed . "The only one else that had access to that room was Narcy," Carpentier said. need your help for this. 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. His body had been pummeled with dumbbells, his eyes slit with a knife. "His eyes slid out like grapes it was a grotesque murder scene," reporter Tara Rosenblum told "Dying to Belong.". 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. She denied having anything to do with them. In her later years, Bernice lived a life of relative obscurity in a soberly upscale community where few neighbors knew about her storybook past. [11] Gutirrez-Garca, Gonzlez, and Ramrez all pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Johnathan Goforth is housed on death row at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville, Kentucky. That morning . The two confessed killers of hotel heir Ben Novack Jr. and his mother are expected to testify that the millionaire victim's wife paid them to commit the double murder.. Narcy Novack, 54, and her . Bliss said in July 2009, her bills were no longer being paid because Ben Novack had been killed in New York. They were spotted out together in numerous restaurants and even after her arrest he was driving around in her Mercedes sports car.'. mother. In fact, she was busy raiding his valuable Batman collection, stashing cash from his company coffers and sneaking into his safe deposit boxes by fooling bank tellers into believing her husband, alive and well at home, would return with a permission slip. '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. She demanded they slash out his eyes whilst he was still alive before ordering them to finish him off. 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. I was also told she had funneled large amounts of cash from the estate and valuable Batman comics through him.