2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. I had no idea, that years later, it would probably become the biggest story of my career, or that it would become a book. From the time he was a teenager, Ben Novack Jr. was obsessed with cops . 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. The AP said the report also references an incident in which Narcy Novack claimed she was taken to a plastic surgeon to repair her nose, which Ben Novack allegedly broke, and woke up with breast implants she hadn't requested. 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. The wealthy heir to the Fountainebleau Miami Beach Hotel is brutally murdered and the investigation focuses on the victim's wife, a former stripper. His mutilated body was discovered in a hotel room in Rye Brook in the early morning hours of July 12, 2009. A prenuptial agreement limited Narcy Novack to getting $65,000 from Ben if they divorced, the prosecution said. Love, money, death, strippers. When Bernice Novack was killed in April 2009, her estate, valued at about $2 million, went to Novack Jr., her only son. She said Novack told her he would leave his wife for her and get a divorce, adding that Bliss Narcy Novack called her several times, yelling at her. By Gerry W. Beyer. Narcy waived her right to appear in court when the guilty verdict was read. 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.. 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. I was also told she had funneled large amounts of cash from the estate and valuable Batman comics through him. Months later, detectives were able to tie Narcy and her older brother along with two hired hitmen to Ben Novack's killing. They also suspected she was involved in the death of Novack's mother, who took a fatal fall months before . (Courtesy of United States Attorney?s Office, Southern District of New York), Lies: Narcy being interviewed by detectives after the murders, 16:24 20 Apr 2013, updated 16:24 20 Apr 2013, Much of the stuff went missing but detectives followed the trail through to the rabbi and his network of orthodox associates. 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. 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. Set on a vast wall was a large oil painting of her son, Ben Novack Jr., painted when he was about 20 years old. Narcy Novack, his wife, was convicted of orchestrating the slaying in addition to killing his mother. Mother slaying: Narcy also arranged for Ben Jr's mother, Bernice, 86, to be bludgeoned to death in her fort Lauderdale mansion in 2009. Hilton, New York. Detectives soon found out Novack was involved in aheated affair with former sex worker and porn actress Rebecca Bliss. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The . 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. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Report Content | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. Fontainebleau is renowned for the large and scenic forest of Fontainebleau, a favourite weekend getaway for Parisians, as well as for the historic Chteau de Fontainebleau, which once belonged to the kings of France. In 2005, Fontainebleau Miami Beach closed its doors, kicking off a 2 year, $1.0 billion renovation and expansion, which was completed in Fall of 2008, and reopened with rave reviews and an A-list celebrity-attended grand opening bash featuring the Victoria Secret Fashion Show and performances by Usher, Mariah Carey . 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. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. June 11, 2012 / 11:27 PM 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. 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. Narcy Novack, left, and Ben Novack Jr. in an undated photo. The first thing I found was a clipping. He was bound with duct tape and his eyes were gouged out. Here she is pictured with Ben Snr. Items included in the Television News search service. Bliss said in July 2009, her bills were no longer being paid because Ben Novack had been killed in New York. was brutally killed at the Hilton Rye Town. 14 episodes. Gangster Sam Giancana's daughter's wedding. Prosecutors said Novack feared that her husband would divorce her and a prenuptial agreement would bar her from the multimillion-dollar family estate. to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really But as investigators would soon uncover, Ben Novack had an appetite for other women. Abad also told the Herald that after the murder Narcy Novack "flunked" a polygraph test in New York five times. Millionaires Row spans Collins Avenue in Miami Beach from 41st Street to 62nd Street. [9] Novack is currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee in Tallahassee, Florida. A few moments after the alleged assault, May is seen running out of the guest house -- clearly agitated. In addition to Novack's supposed affair, the couple were said to have engaged in some otherwise unorthodox marital activities. In 2009, Bernice Novack and her son, Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel heir Ben Novack Jr., were murdered three months apart. Asked by: Enola Dickens DDS. 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.". 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. 15:03 GMT 25 Apr 2012. 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. >> the kids who came to the birthday party were complete strangers to . / CBS Miami. Novack's eyes. When investigators discovered Novack on the morning of July 9, 2012, his limbs were bound with . 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. His head was covered in blood. 'We will probably never see the money. 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. 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 . [9] Prosecutors alleged that Narcy was afraid that her husband would leave her for his mistress, and that a prenuptial agreement would only leave her $65,000 instead of the bulk of her late husband's estate. The report, according to the AP, also included other bizarre details about the Novacks, including Ben Novack's supposed collection of pornography featuring amputees. [17][18], The story was also the basis for the 2015 made-for-television Lifetime movie Beautiful & Twisted, which starred Rob Lowe as Ben Novack Jr., Paz Vega as Narcy, and Candice Bergen as Bernice Novack.[19][20]. The guard then goes to the main house and alerts Narcy that May is on the property. I met at least three times with Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper. It worked. was always close with Frank Sinatra (left). Garcia, 35, a Nicaraguan immigrant, faces deportation after his sentence is served. They both slept with loaded guns under their pillows. He was a playboy always juggling girlfriends until Narcy came along. of beating, killing and gouging out Ben The bloodied bathroom in Bernice Novack's home in Fort With Bliss waiting in the wings, the question was whether Ben Novack was about to leave his wife. ", 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.". Drama. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. 'She let them into their suite and stood by watching as they beat Ben to a pulp. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Jr. was savagely 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. 'She openly boasted about their relationship. It was a horrible murder, as Bernice did not go quietly. States Attorney?s Office, Southern District of New York), Garcia used a monkey wrench like this one Detectives never interviewed Bernice's next-door neighbor, one of them a former Miami Dolphins linebacker who would have told them that strange men had been prowling outside Bernice's home in the weeks and months before her death. Had he known she had been murdered, he may have hired a bodyguard or, at the very least, been more vigilant about his safety. 'The Novak family is Miami Beach royalty. 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 . 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. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. 'Bens murder was even more gruesome. 'Then she calmly went downstairs for breakfast before returning to the room and raising the alarm. Beautiful & Twisted marks Rob Lowe's third Lifetime movie, but the first in which he plays the victim. death. 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 . It included names of suspects and details that no one else would have known so early in the case. Hotel heir Ben Novack Jr. was found bludgeoned in a New York hotel room. As May leaves, Narcy and her niece go back into the guest house and begin hauling May's belongings out. 'She was born poor in Ecuador but moved to America to make her fortune. She arranged for two hitmen, who ultimately gave evidence for the prosecution, to be at a hotel where they were staying for a business conference. 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. The blood-stained bed in Ben Novack's room at the Rye Town Fort Lauderdale Police Sgt. Now Ben Jr.'s . "and did the same, with blunt instruments and sharp instruments, to Mr. 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. westchester. Her brother was also found guilty of arranging the murders and is serving life in jail. Ben Novack Jr. Rye Brook Police Department, via Associated Press. I took my piles of binders, a copy of her will, and the photographs to three seasoned police detectives to review. 'But the marriage was always volatile and towards the end it had become downright dangerous. Rye Brook Police Det. / CBS News. She met Ben at the strip club where she worked and moved in with him soon afterwards. iTunes has an . In 2009, Ben Novack Jr. was brutally killed at the Hilton Rye Town. A former model for Coca-Cola and Salvador Dali, Bernice was once married to Ben Novack Sr., builder of the fabled Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach. Wicked Games On July 12, 2009, Florida millionaire Ben Novack, Jr., was found bludgeoned to death at the Hilton Rye Town. Bliss, of Grand Rapids, Michelin, said she went to Miami in 2002 or 2003 looking for work as a tattoo artist. Where was the pool scene in Scarface filmed? Terence Wilson, a detective with Rye Brook, New York, police. 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. 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. 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. 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. The victims . "It was a horrific scene, very gruesome, very bloody. In accordance with the slayer rule, Narcy Novack is ineligible to inherit her husband's estate. 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. Please enter valid email address to continue. / CBS New York. It was just very hard to describe the scene. Yet she converted to Judaism when it suited her purposes.'. In her later years, Bernice lived a life of relative obscurity in a soberly upscale community where few neighbors knew about her storybook past. Bernice . of Fort Lauderdale-based Convention Concepts Unlimited, was found dead in his hotel room in Rye Brook, New York, on Sunday morning. Soffer owns 72% of the hotel and a sizeable chunk of Aventura Mall, plus stakes in the familys other hotel, office and residential properties in Florida; FORBES estimates his net worth at $1 billion. The search warrant also noted that hotel officials had determined that no keys were used to enter the hotel room between the time Narcy Novack left for breakfast and the time she returned. 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. The room she goes into with May however doesn't have any cameras. 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. 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. 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. new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help Terry Wilson and Det. need your help for this. His trial testimony last year helped put away Narcy Novack and her brother, Cristobal Veliz, on charges they arranged the 2009 killings. 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. . 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. In some ways, his portrayal of Ben Novack Jr., the real-life . 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. Now May Abad, Narcys daughter, stands to inherit $150,000, and the rest of the fortune stands to go to her two sons. stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Novack implicated his wife in planning the home invasion and working with unknown men to disable the alarm system, according to the warrant. turns his attention to the story of a rich playboy's gruesome murder. 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says. 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. 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. 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. Greene said Novack's wife and her lawyer "said not to do anything with the body.". To find out more about how Narcy was finally caught, watch "Dying to Belong" on Oxygen. The owner of a successful convention planning business, Novack had the hotel booked solid that weekend. Investigative reporter and true-crime vet Glatt (Love Her to Death, 2012, etc.) Why Do Cross Country Runners Have Skinny Legs? In this undated image provided by the Rye Brook Police Dept., Ben Novack Jr. is seen. That's when we'll find out who jurors believed -- the mother or the daughter. But Karas said it was also important "to acknowledge Mr. Garcia's heinous criminal conduct. But the Miami Herald reported that Abad has since challenged Novack's will, which left everything to Narcy Novack. The Welcome Home Elvis Show. "A writer who gets in bed with Miami Beach's historical characters ought to end up breathless.''. He had his own suite at the hotel. MIAMI (CBS4) - From the start, the Narcy Novack murder trial has been a family affair. 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. 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 . The interior of Bernice Novack's car, found bloodied outside her 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. 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. shares 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. States Attorney?s Office, [8], Narcy Novack and Cristbal Vliz were tried together in a federal courtroom in White Plains, New York in 2012. Virginia Caudill is housed on death row at the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women in Pewee Valley. 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. 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. JPMorgan equity research analysts predict that the airline industry alone will need many years to recover to 2019 levels. Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below First published on January 25, 2013 / 10:01 PM. By Annette Witheridge [10] They claimed she was motivated by "hatred, greed, and vengeance."[9]. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Each episode cohosts Kareem Tabsch and Joey Daoud narrate the facts of the case, with details, anecdotes and general color offered by an interview guest with a . Julie K. Brown - The Miami Herald. Although she was in the condo for about a year, and spoke with Novack several times a day, she said she saw him only a few times and had sex with him maybe twice. 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says. There are few things that reporters live for except the kind of story that grabs hold of you and never lets go. Ben Novack Jr., president and C.E.O. RYE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- There are disturbing new details in a murder mystery that unfolded at the elegant Rye Town Hilton, where a hotel heir was found tortured to death in his room. [5] At the time of his death, he was having an affair with porn actress Rebecca Bliss. As police began their investigation, they soon learned their victim came from a fascinating background -- his parents once owned the famous Fontainebleau Hotel, once the hottest spot on Miami Beach in the swinging 1960s. After learning Novack was planning to divorce his wife and that she would have beenbarred from the Novack family's multimillion-dollar estate due to a prenuptial agreement police began investigating her possible involvement in the murder. 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. The Fontainebleau Miami Beach is featured in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, in the sweeping aerial shot that follows the opening credits and accompanies composer John Barrys big-band track Into Miami. "She called me, screaming at me. September 12, 2013 / 5:12 PM She told me there were a lot of other girls and I wasn't the only one., Bliss said Narcy Novack offered her $10,000 to break off the affair, which Bliss turned down. Colombia wants to deport "cocaine hippos" to stop them from multiplying, House where JonBent Ramsey was found dead on sale for nearly $7 million, Alex Murdaugh found guilty of murders of wife and son. It worked. Narcy Novack, his wife, was convicted of orchestrating the slaying in addition to killing his mother. 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. 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.". 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. * The Prince of Paradise by John Glatt is published by St. Martins Press on Tuesday April 16. to order a copy,click here. Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann 2017-04-18 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 . "He would tell me he loved me every day.". In the hours after the murder of Ben Novack, detectives were talking to as many people as they could. It was an obituary for Bernice Novack, the 86-year-old family matriarch. She was Ben Novack's 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. "I think she she knew she was gonna be replaced," Carpentier added. She charged Novack $600. 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. 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 . Please enter valid email address to continue. He also bought her a toy poodle, she said, and a new cellphone account so she could drop the escort number. Who had bound, gagged and bludgeoned to death, Ben Novak Jr., the scene. "He used to make me laugh,' Bliss said. This photograph will be According to the police report, Narcy had hired a security guard to keep May from getting in the guest house. in New York. Back in Florida, she said, she turned to prostitution. Ben Novack Sr. had very little to do with his adopted son after . Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! "It was like someone was trying to send a message, someone with a serious grudge," said reporter Shyann Malone. had never witnessed a crime scene as gruesome, emphatically denied involvement in the murder. CBS4 News obtained a video showing just how bad this mother-daughter relationship was in the days after the murder. Narcy Novack, left, and Ben Novack Jr. in an undated photo. 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. This photograph was taken backstage at a concert with his first wife, Jill. He was sitting on the beach, a scarf around his neck floating in the breeze. "He was sort of looking for a bad girl," Bliss said. 8. "It was a horrific scene," a detective told "Dying to Belong" about Ben Novack's murder. June. Mugshot of Crostobal Veliz, brother of Narcy Novack, implicated