Verdict sets off new free-for-all for Novack’s millions

Verdict sets off new free-for-all for Novack’s millions


BY JULIE K. BROWN The Miami Herald

One day after Narcy Novack’s conviction, attention turned to the estate of her slain husband, and who collects those millions.


The jail mugshot of Narcy Novack. Anonymous / Associated PressFullsize Buy Photoprevious
nextImage 1 of 3The Novack family from left: Narcy Novack; Ben Novack Jr. and his stepdaughter May Abad. Fullsize Buy Photoprevious
nextImage 2 of 3

Maxine Fiel, the aunt of slain Florida businessman Ben Novack Jr., talks to media after the funeral at Mount Lebanon Cemetery Sept. 2, 2009 in Glendale, Queens. Tania Savayan / StaffFullsize Buy Photoprevious
nextImage 3 of 3Photos BY JULIE K. BROWN

jbrown@MiamiHerald.com

As Narcy Novack peels potatoes in a federal prison, she could be cooking up another plan to get her hands on her slain husband’s millions.

Novack, who went from lap dancing in strip clubs to jet-setting with high rollers, on Wednesday was convicted, along with her brother, Cristobal Veliz, of engineering the grisly 2009 murders of her husband, Ben Novack, Jr., and his 86-year-old mother, Bernice Novack.

The denouement capped one chapter in the dizzying family saga, but opened another: a feud over who is entitled to the Novack family estate, estimated at about $10 million, not counting cash stashed in oversees bank accounts.

No one is wasting any time. Just hours after the verdict, Ben Novack’s adopted brother, Ronnie Marc Novack, filed suit contesting his will. His attorney, Harvey Morse, said Novack is in hiding because he believes that Narcy Novack may put a contract out on him from prison.

Also lining up their legal guns are Maxine Fiel, Bernice Novack’s sister; Fiel’s two daughters; three Novack cousins; Narcy’s daughter, May Abad; and Abad’s two sons.

And Narcy Novack, who was convicted on all counts except the felony murder of her husband, could also stake a claim, arguing that she is exempt from Florida’s Slayer Statute — which bars people from collecting an inheritance from those they kill — because she was technically acquitted of killing him. She was found guilty of plotting the death but not of carrying it out.

Ironically, it was the murder that no one originally believed was a murder that that the siblings were convicted of: the brutal beating of Ben Novack’s mother, who was married to Ben Novack Sr., builder of the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach. They were also convicted on more than a dozen other counts of racketeering, including aiding and abetting both crimes.

Ronnie Novack, the adopted son of Ben Novack Sr., for years wandered the streets as a homeless man after being cut out of his father’s will. But in 2008, he inherited a $7 million bounty from his late mother, Bella Novack — Ben Sr.’s first wife.

Morse, an international genealogist who is assisting lawyers representing various Novack family members, said now that the verdict is in, the real battle over the Novack millions will begin.

“Everyone waited for the verdict, and now the gates are open,” said Morse. “It’s like this big pot and everyone is trying to get their hands in.’’

Narcy’s criminal lawyer, Howard Tanner, declined to speculate on her chances of getting a share of the money, saying that’s between her and whatever civil attorney she chooses to hire.

Legal experts, however, suggested the widow, 55, will face an uphill battle if she decides to try to claim her husband’s fortune. Under his will, Novack left the bulk of his estate to her, but by law, she cannot collect a dime if it’s proven she had anything to do with his murder.

Frank Hollander, a Miami probate lawyer, said the burden of proof under the slayer statute is much lower than in a criminal case where conviction must be beyond a reasonable doubt.

“Even if she is guilty of participating in the murder, she would be excluded from the will,” Hollander said. Under the statute, it would be the legal equivalent of having predeceased her husband. In that event, Ben Novack Sr. bequeathed his estate to Patrick and Marchelo Gaffney, Abad’s sons.

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