The murders stunned Florida society Bens father built the fabled Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach and family friends included Sinatras Rat Pack of Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Junior and Peter Lawford, as well as slain American president John F Kennedy. They also suspected she was involved in the death of Novack's mother, who took a fatal fall months before . 'Yet, despite playing the hard-done-by spurned wife, Narcy herself quickly embarked on a relationship with the married rabbi. That morning . According to the search warrant, Narcy Novack told police that her husband was "a hard person, a strong businessman and has a tendency to make people angry." 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. Ben Novack Sr. had very little to do with his adopted son . He was also the heir to a multimillion-dollar estate. Part of TV News Archive. Bliss said in July 2009, her bills were no longer being paid because Ben Novack had been killed in New York. Related ArticlesFrom a prison cell to driving Rolls-Royces and hanging out with movie stars: How the Wolves of Wall Street are on top of the world after being released from prison over $200million fraudMother 'watched as her boyfriend smothered their baby then they put limp infant back in playpen and had sex'Former high school librarian and prison chief arrested in plot to 'kidnap, cook and EAT women and children''If it can happen to my daughter it can happen to anyone': Mother of Audrie Pott who committed suicide after alleged sexual assault bravely speaks out for the first time about her death. 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 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. Southern District of 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. States Attorney?s Office, There was blood in her car and a trail of droplets through the house. It was just very hard to describe the scene. [6], Narcy Novack, from Fort Lauderdale,[7] was arrested for the murders of her husband and mother-in-law in July 2010, three days shy of a year after her husband's death. 15:03 GMT 25 Apr 2012. It was an obituary for Bernice Novack, the 86-year-old family matriarch. Bliss, 40, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., testified that they began . During the past four years covering this story, I have come across events and records that even escaped police. 8. Terry Wilson and Det. 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. Novack implicated his wife in planning the home invasion and working with unknown men to disable the alarm system, according to the warrant. The bloodied bathroom in Bernice Novack's home in Fort A week before she was murdered Bernice Novack took 'At one point every president visiting Miami stayed at the Fontainebleau. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. When investigators discovered Novack on the morning of July 9, 2012, his limbs were bound with duct tape, and his eyes were completely gouged out. Wicked Games On July 12, 2009, Florida millionaire Ben Novack, Jr., was found bludgeoned to death at the Hilton Rye Town. 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, about 35 minutes from Manhattan. "She admits being a prostitute, [acting in] pornographic movies," Carpentier said. To report information about the murder of Robert Novack Jr., CLICK HERE. She said she took it only to protect herself. The Welcome Home Elvis Show. 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. Narcy arrived at the family's Fort Lauderdale home around 4 pm. "He would tell me he loved me every day.". His eyes had both been cut out," Carpentier said. 'Nancy was becoming desperate, she was in her mid-50s, had lost her once beautiful looks and worse feared losing the familys Fontainebleau millions. 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. 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. But as investigators would soon uncover, Ben Novack had an appetite for other women. Mary Jane Fine. She said Novack moved her out of Miami and put her up at a hotel for a couple of weeks in June 2008. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. JPMorgan equity research analysts predict that the airline industry alone will need many years to recover to 2019 levels. 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. In the police report, Bernice Novack told detectives that she believed that Narcy Novack had also tried to poison her. 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. 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. Drama. 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. We have many 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. A seasoned homicide detective once told me that there is no such thing as coincidences. . It was overwhelming. "Only a monster can do this kind of evil thing," Narcy told investigators hours after the killing. 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. I was also the first to question the death of Bernice, who was found dead in her Fort Lauderdale home in April 2009. Ben Novack Jr.'s first wife was a beautiful Las Vegas showgirl in her late twenties named Jill Campion. '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. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. WATCH: 48 Hours: Crazy Love: The story of Benji Novack's murder. His head was covered in blood. 1 hr 23 mins. new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help 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.". , updated But Karas said it was also important "to acknowledge Mr. Garcia's heinous criminal conduct. Its a story thats crazier than fiction, even the fiction that Lifetime usually puts out. mother. Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below First published on January 25, 2013 / 10:01 PM. But nowhere has the family drama been greater than in the dynamic between Narcy and her daughter, May Abad. Alexandro Guitierez-Garcia, 33, a Nicaraguan national who lived In accordance with the slayer rule, Narcy Novack is ineligible to inherit her husband's estate. Detectives soon found out Novack was involved in aheated affair with former sex worker and porn actress Rebecca Bliss. We found $390,000 in cash in the Florida house and they kept safe deposit boxes everywhere. It worked. 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. An ex-stripper who arranged the murder of her playboy husband and his hotel heiress mother siphoned off a vast chunk of his $10 million estate through a rabbi she was allegedly having an affair with, according to a new book. Narcy Novack told police, according to the warrant, that her husband had recently agreed to buy a comic book for $43,000 and, about three weeks before his death, had gotten into an argument with a collector who then showed up at their house to negotiate the deal. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. "It was a brutal scene. The blood-stained bed in Ben Novack's room at the Rye Town Ben Novack Jr. was brutally beaten to death in his room at the Hilton Hotel in suburban Rye Brook, N.Y. Narcy Novack allegedly orchestrated the killings out of the fear that Ben Novack Jr. was . Yet detectives never took fingerprints or DNA samples. 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. When Bernice Novack was killed in April 2009, her estate, valued at about $2 million, went to Novack Jr., her only son. Incidentally, the kids helped the investigation by volunteering that the gunshots took place before the glass-breaking Bosley did to fake the intruder scenario. 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. 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. >> 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. A few moments after the alleged assault, May is seen running out of the guest house -- clearly agitated. Security guards separate May from Narcy. [5] At the time of his death, he was having an affair with porn actress Rebecca Bliss. Each time the story was the same: Bernice Novack had fallen and died from head trauma. He was giving me everything.. The hit men gave evidence against the siblings. From the outset, Abad publicly stated she believed her mother was responsible for Ben Novack's murder. Thank you very much in advance. "The only one else that had access to that room was Narcy," Carpentier said. I had no idea, that years later, it would probably become the biggest story of my career, or that it would become a book. He was a playboy always juggling girlfriends until Narcy came along. 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All Rights Reserved. [] He was face-down in a pool of blood. 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. Amy now resides in the venerable Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women in Pewee Valley but has a solid chance of exiting on two feet. 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 . 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. Her brother, Cristbal Vliz, was also accused of enlisting Alejandro Gutirrez-Garca, Joel Gonzlez, and Denis Ramrez to participate in both murders. She denied having anything to do with them. Videk. Police investigating the death of Ben Novack Jr. gather clues at the crime scene and consider multiple potential suspects. Narcy Novack, left, and Ben Novack Jr. in an undated photo. Morris Lapidus, the hotels famed architect, created his signature Staircase to Nowhere, which actually only led to a small coat room. Like everything else in Bernice's life, the painting told a story. Bernice and Ben Novack Sr. owned the famous Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. Family Affair: With May Abad, Preet Bharara, Rebecca Bliss, Andrea Canning. However, Narcy Novack emphatically denied involvement in the murder. Sgt. 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 . Novack stared straight ahead, not at Bliss, through most of the testimony. Based . 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. Did the Fontainebleau have a stairway to nowhere? "A writer who gets in bed with Miami Beach's historical characters ought to end up breathless.''. Violent: Glatt says the marriage was volatile from the start with Narcy accusing him of having a fetish for naked amputees and Ben once called police claiming she had pistol-whipped him, article-2249691-168F0ECC000005DC-173_306x423.jpg, article-2162339-13B529E1000005DC-909_306x423.jpg. Gangster Sam Giancana's daughter's wedding. / CBS New York. First published on June 11, 2012 / 11:27 PM. Abad also told the Herald that after the murder Narcy Novack "flunked" a polygraph test in New York five times. This photograph will be They are awaiting sentencing. She met Ben at the strip club where she worked and moved in with him soon afterwards. When investigators discovered Novack on the morning of July 9, 2012, his limbs were bound with . At one point, they called my editor to berate me for harassing them with too many questions. Allison Carpentier said they had never witnessed a crime scene as gruesome as the one they described. [8], Narcy Novack and Cristbal Vliz were tried together in a federal courtroom in White Plains, New York in 2012. 0 Suite, where Ben 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. His mutilated body was discovered in a hotel room in Rye Brook in the early morning hours of July 12, 2009. Three months later, Novack Jr. was found beaten to death in a hotel in Rye . 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. 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. A year later, the alleged murder of Novack Jr.'s mother was thrown into the mix. July 13, 2013 / 11:43 PM 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says. The wealthy heir to the Fountainebleau Miami Beach Hotel is brutally murdered and the investigation focuses on the victim's wife, a former stripper. He had his own suite at the hotel. They had been sent an anonymous letter claiming that Bernice had indeed been murdered. Mother slaying: Narcy also arranged for Ben Jr's mother, Bernice, 86, to be bludgeoned to death in her fort Lauderdale mansion in 2009. Yonkers Mayor Spano shares story of surviving sexual abuse as a kid. (Courtesy of United He was sitting on the beach, a scarf around his neck floating in the breeze. 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 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. She charged Novack $600. 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says. They each received the death sentence. Please enter valid email address to continue. "His eyes slid out like grapes it was a grotesque murder scene," reporter Tara Rosenblum told "Dying to Belong.". Bernice . 'She was a cold, calculating woman. 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. September 12, 2013 / 5:12 PM turns his attention to the story of a rich playboy's gruesome murder. Items included in the Television News search service. 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. 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. I was being patient, being his girlfriend, she said. to batter eighty-six-year-old Bernice to In this undated image provided by the Rye Brook Police Dept., Ben 'The Novak family is Miami Beach royalty. of Fort Lauderdale-based Convention Concepts Unlimited, was found dead in his hotel room in Rye Brook, New York, on Sunday morning. Lauderdale. 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. But due to the violent nature of the murder and the fact that nothing had been stolen from Novack's hotel room investigators believed the attack had been personal. The report, according to the AP, also included other bizarre details about the Novacks, including Ben Novack's supposed collection of pornography featuring amputees. A quick look at the top movies on iTunes will tell you that popular doesn't always equal good. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! 14 episodes. He wanted a divorce. The plot that led to the death of Ben Novack was a family affair when the trial got underway in federal court, Garcia, the hitman, testified an ice cold detail how he killed Ben Novak. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. 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. 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. Mother of foetus found on heathland is discovered safe and well after dog walker made grisly Rat pack: Ben Novack Jr. (right) grew up at the Fontainebleau and in New York. 'Then she calmly went downstairs for breakfast before returning to the room and raising the alarm. He appeared to be hit over the head with some sort of an object. But the Miami Herald reported that Abad has since challenged Novack's will, which left everything to Narcy Novack. Police thought Novack murder was sex game gone wrong. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! READ: How a reporter uncovered the murder of Miami matriarch Bernice Novack. States Attorney?s Office, Southern District of New York), Garcia used a monkey wrench like this one 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. Ben Novack had become very serious with one woman in particular. Her husband Ben Novack Sr., who built the hotel and owned it until 1977, had died in 1985.