The Prince of Paradise (18 page)

*   *   *

In January 2002, Miami Beach’s prestigious
Ocean Drive
magazine carried a lavish fifteen-page salute to the glory days of the Fontainebleau hotel.
Entitled “Swinging at the Fontainebleau—The Rat Pack, the Mob, and Dazzling Dames,” the article had the full cooperation of Bernice Novack, who had even made available select photographs from her private collection.

Among the colorful photos was one of Ben Novack Sr.
with Jerry Lewis, one of him with Irving Berlin, and one of a glamorous Bernice at a Fontainebleau grand ball with Joan Crawford.
In another treasured shot, the Novacks share a joke with Frank Sinatra and Walter Winchell.
On a more sinister note, one photo shows Ben Sr.
and Bernice posing with powerful Chicago Mob boss Sam Giancana at his daughter Antoinette’s wedding.

The seventy-nine-year-old former First Lady of the Fontainebleau was interviewed for the article, still insisting that Morris Lapidus, who had died a year earlier, had had nothing to do with designing the Fontainebleau.

“Ben designed the Fontainebleau while sitting on the toilet,” she said defiantly.

When the article was published, Bernice was so delighted that she handed out signed copies to her closest friends.
She also visited the Fontainebleau for the first time in many years.

“She went in, and everybody remembered her,” said Estelle Fernandez, who accompanied her that day.
“And she said hello to everyone.
‘Oh, you’re still working.
I’m glad.’
They all still loved her.”

T
WENTY-
F
IVE

“I CAN HAVE YOU KILLED ANYTIME I WANT”

On Saturday, June 8, 2002, Ben and Narcy Novack went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then went home and retired to bed.
At 1:00
A.M
.
on Sunday, three armed men suddenly burst into their bedroom.
As Ben went for the Smith & Wesson handgun he always kept by the bed, he heard Narcy shout out, “Look out!
He has a gun on his nightstand.”

He was then pinned to the bed by one of the men, while another put a pillow over his face, trying to asphyxiate him.
The third snatched his gun, hitting him hard across his head with it.
His arms were then shackled in front of him with his own police handcuffs and he was blindfolded with a surgical eye patch.

As Narcy left to disable their elaborate house alarm system, Ben was tied to the heavy metal frame of a leather chair with thick ropes.
Narcy then threatened to cut off Ben’s penis and throw it in the canal behind their home.
She was referring to what Lorena Bobbitt (who had also been born in Equador) had done to her husband John.

The men then threatened to kill him if he spoke or even moved.
He was hit over the head again with his own gun, to make the point.

Over the next twenty-five hours, while Ben was held in the bedroom at gunpoint, Narcy Novack ransacked the house.
She seized $370,000 in cash kept in a safe under the stairs, as well as taking Novack family heirlooms, jewelry, antiques, firearms, important business documents, items of Batman memorabilia, and various firearms.
She also cleared her closets, packing up all her clothes and her hundreds of pairs of designer shoes, and gathered together her toiletries and perfumes.

Helplessly bound to a chair hour after hour, Ben Novack Jr.
was able to peer under his blindfold and see his attackers, who took turns guarding him.
During the attack, he heard Narcy make several phone calls to an ex-boyfriend from the Follies strip club named Leo, who had just gotten out of jail.
He also overheard one of the attackers mention the name of a well-known organized crime boss whom they appeared to be working for.

Periodically, he was allowed to relieve himself in a disposable urinal to the side of the chair.

At 7:00
P.M
.
on Sunday evening—eighteen hours into his ordeal—he heard Narcy call her yoga teacher, Rada Sevakananda, who also looked after their neighbors’ pet dogs.
She asked her to come straight over to help pack up some boxes, which she was taking to a warehouse.

Soon afterward, Novack heard the woman arrive and the sound of boxes being packed and sealed with a tape gun.
Sometime later he heard the men loading boxes into a diesel truck parked outside.

Finally, as Narcy removed Ben’s blindfold, he pleaded with her to release him.
She said she would call a neighbor in a few minutes to do so.

Then she looked her husband straight in the face and told him, “If I can’t have you, then no one will have you.
The men that helped me … will come back and finish the job.
I can have you killed anytime I want … you’re not dead now because I stopped them.”

*   *   *

At around 2:30
A.M
.
Monday morning, Prince Mongo, who was in Memphis, Tennessee, received a frantic call from Rada.
After calming down, she said Narcy had called an hour earlier asking her to return to the Novack house to move some furniture out of the second-floor hallway, so the maid wouldn’t throw it away.

When Rada pointed out that it was the middle of the night, Narcy insisted it must be done immediately.

“So Rada went over,” said Mongo, “and when she went upstairs, the bedroom door was open.
Ben was tied up by the door with duct tape, looking at Rada.
She went ballistic.
She didn’t know what to do.
And Ben was shaking his head and his eyes were bulging.”

After Rada pulled the tape off his mouth, Novack told her to cut the rope tying him to the chair.
Once he was free, he telephoned his mother, asking her to drive over immediately.
He then begged Rada not to call the police, saying the men would come back and kill him if she did.

Rada waited until Bernice Novack arrived before fleeing the house and calling Mongo.

*   *   *

The first person Ben Novack Jr.
called after being set free was his eighty-year-old mother.
Then he called Charlie Seraydar.

“He tells me that he’s just been robbed in a home invasion robbery,” remembered Seraydar.
“And he is scared out of his fucking mind.
He’s screaming, ‘They stole my money!
They stole $440,000!’”

Seraydar told him to calm down and call the police.
When Novack said he could not, the former Miami Beach cop asked why.
“He said, ‘I think my wife was involved,’” said Seraydar.
“I said, ‘Get the fuck out of here.
What makes you think that?’”

“He goes, ‘Well, when the guys busted through the bedroom door, she said, ‘Look out, he has a gun on his nightstand.’
I go, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’”

Seraydar called a retired cop friend of his called Fred Walder, asking him to go straight over to 2501 Del Mar Place and give Ben a gun to protect himself.

At 1:59
A.M
.
on Monday, while waiting for his mother to arrive, Ben Novack Jr.
called the Fort Lauderdale Police dispatcher, to report the incident.
He informed her that he was an officer with the Miami Beach Police Department.
The dispatcher said someone would get back to him.

“He stated his wife came into the residence with 3 armed men,” read the official report, “robbed him and left him tied for approximately 25 hours.”

Then Novack called Hollywood police chief Jim Scarberry, asking what to do next, without mentioning Narcy’s involvement.

“He was very scared,” said Scarberry.
“He said he had been a victim of a home invasion robbery.
That the people had told him not to call the cops or they’d come back and kill him.
He didn’t want a bunch of Fort Lauderdale cops in uniforms and cars rushing to his house.”

Novack asked Scarberry to use his contacts with Fort Lauderdale Police to explain the situation called with the utmost discretion.

“He assured me the bad guys had left,” said Scarberry, “and that there was no safety issue for the cops.
So I kind of coordinated that through our detective bureau.”

Soon afterward, Sergeant Salters of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department called Ben Novack Jr.
to follow up on his complaint.
In the meantime, Bernice Novack had arrived, and the officer could hear her talking in the background.

“[He] refused to allow a marked unit to respond to his residence,” said Salters.
“While I was speaking with him I could hear him [discuss] the return of his money.”

Novack told him that the men responsible for the home invasion were still watching his house, and would know if police responded.

Salter said, “I explained to him that we did not have any detectives in unmarked cars working at this hour that could respond to his location.
I asked if I could call him back, and he agreed.”

A few minutes later, Sergeant Salters received a call from Police Chief Scarberry, who had been referred by Dispatch.
Scarberry informed Salters that Novack’s father had once owned the famous Fontainebleau hotel, adding that he had known Ben Jr.
for years.

“I explained to Chief Scarberry the dilemma Mr.
Novak [
sic
] has placed us in,” Salters later wrote in his report, “when he is making these allegations and does not want a marked unit to respond.
I informed him I would offer Mr.
Novak [
sic
] the option of making his report via landline.”

After the call, Sergeant Salters called the Miami Beach Police Department, verifying that Novack was a reserve officer and known to them.
Then he instructed an Officer Johnson to call Ben Novack Jr.
and take his statement.

“Ben advised [that] his wife Narcy [had] orchestrated the robbery, with the unknown males,” Officer Johnson later wrote in his official report on what the police referred to as a “suspicious incident.”

Novack then gave the officer a detailed account of his twenty-five-hour ordeal, calling it “well organized.”

“The suspects … took turns guarding him,” he wrote, “while removing jewelry, documents and money and various other items.
He claims total loss is approximately a million dollars.”

Officer Johnson reported Ben’s claim that the home invaders had threatened to kill him if he even spoke or made a move, and that periodically he was hit on the head with a gun.

“When the suspects were leaving,” Johnson wrote, “Ben plead for his life and requested to his wife to be released.
Ben claims Narcy called a neighbor to come over in 10 minutes to help her move some items.
When she came over she found Ben tied up.”

The officer also reported that Novack had refused any medical treatment for cuts on his mouth and badly bruised arms, saying there would not be much forensic evidence to be found.
He also insisted that no mention be made of the incident over the police radio, in case his assailants were listening.

“[He] urged that forensics cannot respond,” Johnson reported, “because no marked vehicles can be observed for fear that his life could still be in danger.
He claims someone is still watching his property.”

Powerless to do anything while Novack was refusing to allow officers to come to the house, Officer Johnson could only give him a case number for any subsequent investigation.

“Due to Ben’s request for police not to respond at his home,” Johnson wrote, “I have no physical observation to substantiate his claim as to the events that occurred other than the information taken by phone.”

T
WENTY-
S
IX

FALLOUT

At 8:00
A.M
.
on Monday, Detective Steve Palazzo of Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s Violent Crimes and Robbery Division began his shift.
As soon as he walked into police headquarters, his superior, Sergeant Patrick French, assigned him to the Ben Novack Jr.
home invasion, handing him a copy of Salters’s report.

“Ben had refused to allow any officers or marked patrol cars to come to his house,” said now-retired detective Palazzo.
“So I guess it was his choice to wait until a detective was available.”

Detective Palazzo called Novack, who immediately informed him that he was a Miami Beach Reserve Police officer with almost thirty years’ experience.
He also stated that he was “close personal friends” with several police chiefs and “very well connected” in the local business community.

“He insisted that something should be done immediately to locate and arrest his wife,” Detective Palazzo later wrote in his report.
“He insisted that police in plainclothes and unmarked vehicles should respond to his residence but that we must not make our presence known to anyone in the area as the culprits may still be watching his house.”

At 10:00
A.M
., Detective Palazzo and Sergeant French drove up outside 2501 Del Mar Place in an unmarked police car.
A disheveled Ben Novack Jr.
came to the front door and let then in.
He then brought them into a small room, where his elderly mother was waiting.

Palazzo immediately noticed that Novack had cut lips and bruising to his face.
There were also red marks on his wrists.

“He had been bound,” said Palazzo, “there was no question about it.
And he had been struck in the face.
That was obvious.”

Novack pointed to a floor safe, which was open and empty.
Then he led the detectives upstairs to the master bedroom, as his mother followed.

“We noted a reclining chair,” Palazzo wrote later, “surrounded by ropes and binding items … a pair of handcuffs hanging from the left side of the chair.”

Although it was daylight, the curtains were closed, bathing the bedroom in darkness.
There was a small table with food on it next to the reclining chair, and a stool behind that.

Novack said the pillows and top bed sheet had been taken, and he showed them Narcy’s large bedroom closet, which was bare except for some shoeboxes and hangers.

“She obviously took a lot of her belongings,” Palazzo noted.
“All her clothes were gone, but his stuff was all still there.”

Novack then brought them into the en suite bathroom, pointing out that Narcy’s marble countertop to the left of the faucet was bare, while Ben’s side was full of his toiletries.

They then went into a room next door, which was being used as an office.
Inside were several metal file cabinets, with drawers missing.

“He told us that these cabinets contained all of the files and documents for his business,” Palazzo wrote.
“He [had] had $440,000.00 in cash in the safe which was company funds [and] she had no rights to the money.”

When the detective asked if Novack had documents to prove the money had existed, Novack said no, as it was his company’s petty cash.

“Novack explained that his father was a former owner of the Fountain Blue [
sic
] Hotel in Miami,” Palazzo wrote.
“His father is deceased.”

Novack then explained the setup of his company, saying he was the CEO and his mother the vice president.
“His wife is not a corporate partner,” Palazzo wrote, “and has no official standing in the company, but does work with him for the business.
He stated that she has no legal rights to take the documents.
That she had no rights to the money.”

Then, for the first time since they arrived, Bernice Novack spoke, confirming that everything her son had said was true.

“Bernice Novack stated that her son and Narcy have had ongoing problems for years,” Palazzo wrote, “[and] Narcy has a strong dislike for her.”

Then Bernice suddenly claimed that her daughter-in-law had tried to poison her the previous Saturday afternoon, just hours before the home invasion.
She said she and Narcy had both been working in the company offices in the building next door, and she had been drinking out of a plastic water bottle.
After Narcy had left, Bernice said she drank some water and had “a burning feeling in her mouth.”

“Within hours,” the detective wrote, “her entire mouth was numb.
She produced that water bottle which had a small amount of liquid in it.
She stated that she is certain that she was poisoned and her mouth is still numb.”

Detective Palazzo advised Bernice to go straight to the hospital for treatment, and get her blood tested.
He then took the bottle into evidence, in case anything was later discovered in a blood analysis.

Ben Novack Jr.
then told detectives that early Sunday evening, while being held hostage, he heard his wife call their friend Rada.
Although his bedroom door had been closed, he later heard the Indian lady downstairs for a long time.
As the men had left the house several hours earlier, only he, Narcy, and Rada remained.

“I asked why he chose not to call out to [her],” Palazzo wrote, “and he stated that he was fearful that Narcy would harm him [and] that he was still bound to the chair.”

Then Detective Palazzo called headquarters, requesting that Narcy’s name and birth date be run through the police computer, for her vehicle license plate number.
Once that was obtained, he issued a county-wide all-points bulletin for her car to be stopped immediately so she could be brought in for questioning.

“During this time,” Palazzo wrote, “Ben Novack was very busy on the telephones conducting his business.
The phone seemed to ring constantly.”

The detective asked if Novack had a recording device, in case Narcy telephoned, and Novack showed him a special phone with a microcassette built into it.

Then, despite Novack’s protests, Palazzo summoned Detective Carol Coval, a forensic technician, to the house to process the crime scene.

While they were waiting for her to arrive, Narcy Novack called.
Ben turned on the cassette recorder before answering.

“After the call,” the detective wrote, “Ben Novack played the tape recording for me.
The entire recorded conversation seemed to deal with Ben trying to get Narcy to return his property.
He repeatedly talked about the company records and files as well as the missing money from the safe.
Narcy disputed the amount.”

The detective heard the tape only once, as Ben refused to let him take it, saying it was the only blank tape he had.
But he did agree to keep recording Narcy’s calls, and gather evidence against her.

Then Palazzo asked why Novack hadn’t asked his wife about the savage attack or about being held hostage for a day.
He explained that this evidence would be vital in proving Novack’s serious allegations against Narcy.

“He told me that he was unaware of that,” said the detective, “and would try to get more on the next call.”

At 11:45
A.M
., Detective Carol Coval arrived and started photographing and processing the alleged crime scene.
Detective Palazzo brought her upstairs to the master bedroom, where she saw the tan leather chair in the middle of the room, which Novack claimed to have been bound to during his ordeal.

“Connected to the bottom of the metal frame,” Detective Coval later reported, “was a pair of handcuffs hanging down.
Draped over, through and around the arms and back of the chair were numerous Terrence cloth strips of material and cloth type white ropes.
Lying on the floor next to the chair was a box with a disposable urinal.”

After photographing the bedroom and bathroom with 35 mm color film, the forensic technician processed the upstairs rooms for fingerprints, finding just one partial latent print on a small refrigerator in the bedroom.
They then went downstairs and into Ben Novack Jr.’s Batman museum.

“That was an office with Batman collectables [
sic
] covering every square inch, both on the floors and walls,” Detective Coval observed.
“A floor safe had been uncovered and the carpeting was pulled away.”

Then Novack handed Coval a plastic green tape dispenser that he told her “they” had used to seal the packing boxes, and a pair of latex gloves he said he had found in the house.

Finally, Coval photographed the injuries to Novack’s lips, face, and wrists, before returning to police headquarters with Detective Palazzo.

*   *   *

While Fort Lauderdale detectives were processing her house, Narcy Novack was across town at Broward County Family Court swearing out a domestic violence injunction against her husband.
She was now staying in a motel just outside Fort Lauderdale, and wanted to have Ben thrown out of the house so she could move back in.

In her petition, Narcy wrote that she was the victim of domestic violence, and in imminent danger from her husband.
She claimed that the previous Thursday, he had savagely beaten her up in their home.

She wrote out her petition in capital letters and poor, ungrammatical English.

BEN—NOVACK MY HUSBAND—SLAPPED ME & PUNCHED MY STOMACH, SPIT ON MY FACE AND THREATENED.
HE IS A BAD PERSON & USES A BAGED OF POLICE OFICE OF MIAMI BEACH TO POWER FOR PERPOUS—EN CASE Y WILL CALL DE POLICE MY SELF—HE SAID HE WANTS MI TO ROT IN JAIL & HE WILL DO ANITING TO ASURE THAT TO HAPPEN & HE WILL USE HES CONNECTION EN CASE Y LEAVE HIM.

She also stated that Ben had guns and police hunting rifles at the house, and he must leave 2501 Del Mar Place so she could move back.

Asked why she could not get another, safer place to live in, Narcy wrote, “WI HAVA A BISNES TUGUETER.
WORK—SAME PLACE.”
She also asked the court to order Ben to provide her financial support and temporary alimony.

*   *   *

That afternoon, Detective Steve Palazzo returned to his office to check out Ben Novack Jr.
and his allegations against his wife.

“Obviously, we’re dealing with a very bizarre situation,” said Palazzo in 2011.
“There’s a guy who’s claiming to be a police officer making these wild allegations.”

The detective first called Narcy’s Indian friend Rada, who confirmed she knew the Novacks and was aware of their ongoing marital problems.
Rada confirmed that she had been in the Novack home at around 7:00
P.M
.
on Sunday, but had not seen Ben Novack Jr.
She also agreed that Narcy had called her at around 2:00
A.M
.
asking her to return to the house to help move some furniture out of their bedroom.
Rada had gone over and then found Novack bound to a chair.
She had cut him free and waited with him until his mother arrived.

“She stated that in the light of this event,” said Palazzo, “she does not want to speak with me.
She is moving out of the area as fast as possible.”