The Prince of Paradise (40 page)

Diane Marvin then called the curator’s office, saying they were having problems with Narcy.
They were then told to move next door to the Convention Concepts Unlimited offices “to defuse the situation.”

Soon after they began working there, the cleaning lady arrived.
Then Narcy and Carlos started berating them in front of her.
“Carlos stated that I was ‘doing the lawyer’s dirty work,’ and that I was really conducting an ‘investigation,’” said Marvin.
“I assured him that I was only doing my job as an appraiser and was treating this assignment as I would any other assignment.
Meanwhile, Narcy continued to be vocal about her opinions, made derogatory remarks, and used foul language.
Carlos made a number of derogatory remarks about [Ben Novack Jr.]”

When the appraisers attempted to examine her gym equipment, Narcy refused even to allow them to touch it, saying she was “germophobic.”

For the rest of the morning, as Narcy and her brother looked on, the two appraisers inventoried everything in the Novack Enterprises offices, with the exception of the Batman collection.

At around 12:30
P.M
.
they told Narcy they needed to return to the main house and start working there, but she refused to allow this.
“Narcy insisted we leave them for an hour,” said Marvin, “so that she could ‘have a break’ from us, and would not permit us to continue working.”

When they returned an hour later, Narcy’s behavior became even stranger and paranoid.
“Narcy was agitated,” Marvin explained, “and shouted she didn’t know me and demanded to make a copy of my driver’s license.
She complained that she had been robbed and did not trust us.
She spoke in a raised voice and shouted that I was ‘trying to screw’ her.

“She challenged me in a sarcastic manner to appraise the food in her pantry.
She spoke in a taunting way and tried to engage me in an argument.
She and Carlos stated they would not cooperate with us or do anything to help facilitate the appraisal.”

Then Narcy told Marvin that she was so angry she was going to “explode.”
She also threatened to have her “fired.”

“At that point I told her we would leave,” said Marvin, “and come back when it would be more convenient for her.”

The appraiser then called the curator’s office to ask for help.
Soon afterward, Narcy’s criminal lawyer Robert Trachman arrived.

The two appraisers remained outside the house while Trachman went in to reason with Narcy.
Narcy insisted that she did want Diane Marvin inside the house again that day, although she agreed that Robert Hittel could resume work tomorrow with someone else.

Two days later, Diane Marvin wrote up a report, saying that Narcy and Carlos’s “difficult” behavior would delay the appraisal by at least three weeks, when the Batman collection could be appraised by an expert.

“In summary,” Marvin wrote, “I found Narcy Novack to be uncooperative, controlling, hostile, combative and verbally abusive.
Carlos was also controlling, protective of Narcy and made threatening remarks.”

Marvin also requested that an outside observer be present when she and Hittel returned to complete cataloguing the Batman collection.

“The appraisers need protection from being accused of stealing,” she wrote, “and someone should be there to act as a buffer.”

*   *   *

The following week, curator Douglas Hoffman filed a motion in Broward County Probate Court complaining that Narcy Novack and her brother Carlos were making his job impossible.
Using Diane Marvin’s report as Exhibit A, he asked Judge Dale Ross to order Narcy to cooperate.

“Narcy Novack has been an obstructionist with the appraiser carrying out her duties,” the motion stated.
“Furthermore, Narcy’s brother, Carlos Veliz, has been intimidating, threatening and uncooperative.”

Hoffman said a New York expert in Batman memorabilia was flying to Fort Lauderdale at the end of October to carry out the appraisal, but he feared Narcy would try to stop it.

“The Curator believes,” Hoffman wrote, “that there will be a likelihood of irrevocable injury to the Estate if he cannot fully and timely carry out his duties.
[And] that items may continue to be secreted or otherwise lost to the Estate, and that Narcy Novack will continue to be uncooperative in allowing the Curator to efficiently carry out his duties to locate, appraise and safeguard the assets of the Estate.”

The motion also asked Judge Ross to order Narcy to allow Diane Marvin and her staff to continue their appraisal, appointing a “neutral third party” to ensure the appraisers’ safety.
It asked the judge to ban Carlos Veliz from the house while the appraisal was taking place.

In the wake of the motion, Narcy Novack’s attorney Howard Tanner was interviewed by
The Miami Herald
.
Once again, he stated that his client was totally innocent and had been wrongfully accused of killing Ben Novack Jr.
by her daughter.
Tanner pointed out that May Abad and her two young sons had a motive for lying, as they would inherit everything if Narcy Novack were convicted of murder.

He also maintained that as her husband’s sole beneficiary, Narcy now owned his entire Batman collection.
“She was married to him for nineteen years,” Tanner said.
“It was purchased during their marriage.”

He explained that Narcy had no money, as she was unable to access their marital assets.
A month earlier she had requested a family allowance from the probate court, which had still not been ruled on.

“She’s a victim,” Tanner explained.
“Not only of losing her husband to a crime—now she’s a victim of a system that is punishing her for no reason at all.”

*   *   *

Rye Brook homicide detectives were now busy interviewing everybody who had ever come into contact with Ben and Narcy Novack.
Lead detective Terence Wilson had already met many of Ben and Narcy Novack’s friends and business contacts, looking for any leads.

The New York detectives also believed that Bernice Novack’s death had been no accident, and started sending their colleagues in the Fort Lauderdale Police Department leads on things to follow up.
But these were met with an icy reception.

In mid-October, the Fort Lauderdale Police announced it was satisfied that Bernice Novack had died from a series of falls, and that absolutely no foul play was involved.

“So far every lead [Rye Brook Police] have given us has been looked at,” said spokesman Sergeant Frank Sousa, “but they all led to dead ends.”

A few weeks later, the FBI quietly moved in, taking over the investigation into Bernice Novack’s death.

F
ORTY-
S
IX

NARCY SPEAKS

On Tuesday, October 20, Judge Dale Ross ordered Narcy Novack to allow the appraisers three days of access to 2501 Del Mar Place, to complete their job.
She must also make everything available to the appraisers, and reveal where any missing items were.
Carlos Veliz was ordered to vacate the premises during the appraisal.

Hours after the ruling, Narcy Novack appeared in Broward County Circuit Court for her long-awaited deposition.
After Narcy was sworn in, May Abad’s attorney William Crawford stood up to begin his often confrontational questioning.

“Have you ever been known by any other names other than Narcy Novack?”
he asked.

“There’s a list of them,” Narcy replied in her thick accent.
“Narcy Saveles, Narcy Saveles Novack.”

“And how about Narcisa Sero Felez Backham?”

“Yes,” she agreed.

After Narcy told the court that she had a college-level education in Ecuador, Crawford asked about her employment history after coming to America.

“I’m going to object to that,” interrupted her criminal attorney Howard Tanner.

Crawford then amended his question, asking about her work history after her marriage to Ben Novack Jr.

“In meeting, planning industry,” Narcy replied.
“Event producing.”

Her daughter’s attorney then asked how many children she had.

“That’s an interesting question,” replied Narcy.
“One.”

“One.
Okay.
The name of the child?”
Crawford asked.

“Do I want to say that name?”
she asked her other lawyer, Trachman, who told her to answer.

“May Abad,” she replied.

“And by whom did you have your child May Abad?”
Crawford asked.

“My first marriage, Angel Abad,” she replied.

Then Crawford asked straight out if she had murdered her husband on July 12, 2009?

“No,” Narcy replied resolutely.

“Did you conspire with another person to kill him on July 12, 2009?

“Certainly not,” Narcy said.

“Did you plan to murder him on July 12, 2009?

“No.”

“Did you direct someone to kill your husband on July 12, 2009?”

“No.”

“Do you know who killed your husband on July 12, 2009?”

“No.”

Then Crawford asked how many key cards been issued to her and her husband when they had checked into the Rye Town Hilton.

“I’m going to advise my client to invoke the Fifth Amendment,” Tanner said.

“Describe the appearance of your husband when you found him on July 12, 2009, after breakfast?”

Again, Tanner told his client to invoke the Fifth Amendment to that question, as well as a further one as to whether she knew Ben Jr.
had been having an affair prior to his death.

Then Crawford moved to the 2002 home invasion, asking Narcy if she had conspired to kidnap her husband.

“No,” she replied defiantly.

“Okay,” Crawford continued.
“On or about June 10, 2002, did you extort any money or property from your husband?”

“No.”

“Did you admit to participating in a scheme whereby your husband was bound and gagged on or about June 10, 2002?”

“That’s exaggerated,” Narcy replied.

“Did you admit to that on June 10, 2002?”
Crawford pressed.

“I don’t recall,” Narcy said evasively.

“Did you participate in tying up and gagging your husband on June 10, 2002?”

“At this point we’re going to invoke the Fifth Amendment,” Tanner interjected.

“Did you ever say to any Fort Lauderdale Police Department detectives, on or about June 10, 2002,” Crawford asked, “‘If I can’t have Ben, No one else can’?”

“No.”

“Did you ever extort money or property from your husband Ben Novack, in exchange for your silence with respect to certain sexual practices in your marriage?”
Crawford asked.

Once again, Tanner invoked Narcy’s Fifth Amendment rights, and then again for a question about why Ben had declined to file charges against her in 2002.
He also refused to let her answer whether Ben had given her a pay rise after the 2002 incident.

“Do you practice voodoo?”
Crawford asked.
“Do you have black candles at your house?”

Tanner again stepped in, invoking Narcy’s Fifth Amendment rights.

Crawford then asked the name of her husband’s life insurance company, which she had applied to for a payout after his death.

“I don’t remember,” she answered.

“Is that the policy with a million dollars in it?”
Crawford probed.

“Yeah,” she replied.

Then after half an hour on the stand, Bill Crawford had no further questions, and Narcy Novack stepped down from the witness box.

*   *   *

The next day, Narcy Novack’s civil attorney, Henry Zippay Jr., filed a motion asking the Broward County Probate Court to decide whether May Abad’s opposition to her mother’s appointment as the estate’s personal representative had any merit.
The motion also asked Judge Dale Ross to rule on whether the Florida “Killer Statute” was sufficient grounds for denying Narcy the right to oversee her husband’s estate.

“Narcy Novack hereby requests,” the motion read, “this honorable court to specifically set a time for the trial/final hearing of the two objections as filed by May Abad relating to the allegations that Narcy Novack ‘unlawfully and intentionally killed or participated in the procuring of the death of the Decedent, Ben H.
Novack, Jr.’
And further, upon failure to advance and/or prove said evidence, that the court appoint Narcy Novack as Personal Representative … and award her the requested family allowance.”

Three days later, May Abad’s attorney William Crawford responded, again asking Judge Ross to appoint Maxine Fiel as the estate’s personal representative.
His motion repeated the allegation that Narcy Novack had murdered her husband, and therefore should be disqualified from running Ben’s estate under the so-called “Killer Statute.”

Later, Maxine would explain that she had reluctantly agreed to become involved in the probate case to protect her family’s estate from Narcy Novack.
“[Stephen McDonald] called me up and asked me to be the [personal] representative,” she explained.
“I was not too happy about doing it, but he said this way you can protect your sister’s [and Ben’s] money, because as his wife, she would inherit everything.”

On November 9, May Abad’s attorneys filed a new motion, citing the 1991 prenuptial agreement as sufficient grounds for Narcy’s not being appointed personal representative.

“Prior to the parties’ marriage,” the motion stated, “Narcy Novack waived and relinquished all statutory rights as surviving spouse … in the selection and appointment of an executor, administrator or other personal representative of the decedent’s estate.”

The motion also alleged that Narcy Novack had “surreptitiously” deposited money belonging to Novack Enterprises into her personal bank account, contravening the Florida Probate Code.
She had also refused to return the money to the court-ordered estate curator.

“Narcy Novack is further incapable of complying with … Florida law,” the motion read, “by reason of her deliberate surreptitious removal of Batman memorabilia and collectables [
sic
] and hiding and concealing [them] from the duly appointed Curator.”

Two weeks later, attorney William Crawford filed yet another motion into probate court, this time concerning Narcy’s role in the June 2002 home invasion.
It accused her of conspiring with others to “kidnap and batter” Ben Novack Jr., and of stealing $350,000 in cash and jewelry.

“Narcy Novack stated … to another,” the motion read, “that she did what she did … to decedent Ben H.
Novack, Jr.
to get what she needed to get.”

The motion observed that Ben Jr.
had been bound with duct tape in 2002, just as he had been when he was murdered seven years later.
It alleged that Narcy had “extorted” her husband to pay her $6,500 a month, so she would not “reveal photographs … involving nude bodies with amputated arms and legs.”
It also accused her of an ongoing campaign of extorting money and property from Ben Jr.
“in exchange for her remaining silent about the intimate facts and circumstances concerning their private marital relationship, including their sexual relationship.”

*   *   *

Soon afterward, Narcy Novack’s attorney Howard Tanner hit back, hiring a private investigator named Robert Crispin to go through May Abad’s trash looking for incriminating evidence.
The retired Coconut Creek Police Department detective was put on retainer for an ongoing program of “trash pulls.”
His first one was on November 8, and over the next six months he would conduct at least half a dozen, taking various bills and final notices that Narcy Novack hoped to use against her daughter at a later time.