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The Murder Mystery Rocking Miami
Gerald Posner is former chief investigative reporter for The Daily Beast. He's the award-winning author of 10 investigative nonfiction bestsellers, on topics ranging from political assassinations, to Nazi war criminals, to 9/11, to terrorism. His latest book, Miami Babylon: Crime, Wealth and Power—A Dispatch from the Beach, was published in October. He lives in Miami Beach with his wife, the author Trisha Posner.
The death of the heir of the Fontainebleau Hotel fortune has sparked a twisted blame game as the victim’s wife and stepdaughter accuse each other of his murder. Plus, VIEW OUR GALLERY of The Fontainebleau through the years.
Editor's Note: In an earlier version of this article, five sentences were copied from a Miami Herald report without attribution. The Daily Beast has removed the sentences and regrets the error. Two additional such sentences have also been removed, and an inaccurate description of Ronald Novack has been corrected.
Ben Novack built Miami Beach’s iconic Fontainebleau Hotel in 1954. It was a magnet for the rich and famous, including so many mobsters that the FBI assigned undercover agents to conduct surveillance at the grand ballroom to keep a tally of which northern kingpins were in town. As I discussed in my book, Miami Babylon, Novack himself was long rumored to have mob connections, which he always denied.
But Monday, the Novack legacy took a strange turn when a Fort Lauderdale Probate Judge awarded Narcy Novack, the widow of Novack’s murdered son, Ben Jr., control of his $10 million estate. What made the probate ruling odd was that other relatives wanted Narcy Novack—a suspect in the murder—removed as the estate's executor under the state's slayer statute. That law prohibits a killer from inheriting any part of a victim's estate. The relatives dropped their lawsuit at the last moment, unable to marshal the evidence that Narcy was the killer. But the lawyers for the other Novacks asked for a dismissal without prejudice—which allows them to file another challenge at a later date.
Click Image to View Our Gallery of the Fontainebleau through the Years
Some background: This past July, Narcy found her husband’s bloody corpse at the Rye Town Hilton hotel in Westchester County, New York. He was on the floor beside his bed and had been bludgeoned. His mouth was covered with duct tape, his hands taped behind his back, and his legs were tied together together below the knees. Missing was Novack’s gold bracelet, with “BEN” in diamonds. Novack had been directing a business conference he had organized. According to his Web site, his company, Convention Concepts Unlimited, took in $50 million annually. Narcy told the police she found her husband's body when she returned from breakfast. The Westchester police believe the murder was a professional hit, although they are not sure who ordered it, much less carried it out.
While the family fought over burial expenses, Novack’s corpse was preserved on ice at the Westchester County medical examiner’s office for 52 days before he was finally buried in the family’s mausoleum in Queens, New York. Armed guards kept the fighting family members separated.
The Westchester police say Narcy is a “person of interest.” She hasn’t been charged, nor has anyone else. But the Novack family is a 10-plus on the dysfunction meter. Narcy Novack's daughter from a previous marriage, May Abad, charges that her mom arranged the murder to collect her husband's fortune, and that her mom knew Ben was having an affair.
A Feb. 2 Miami Herald article detailed the often volatile relationship between the Novacks.
Narcy has turned the tables in the current probate fight and accused her own daughter of murdering Ben Jr., a charge Abad vehemently denies. A few days after Novack’s body had been found, Narcy and her daughter had a violent fight at Narcy’s Fort Lauderdale home. Narcy called the police, accused Abad of assaulting a niece who was at the home, and had the police remove her forcibly from the property. Abad told the police her mother had struck her with a crowbar.
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Gerald Posner is former chief investigative reporter for The Daily Beast. He's the award-winning author of 10 investigative nonfiction bestsellers, on topics ranging from political assassinations, to Nazi war criminals, to 9/11, to terrorism. His latest book, Miami Babylon: Crime, Wealth and Power—A Dispatch from the Beach, was published in October. He lives in Miami Beach with his wife, the author Trisha Posner.
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Gerald Posner is former chief investigative reporter for The Daily Beast. He's the award-winning author of 10 investigative nonfiction bestsellers, on topics ranging from political assassinations, to Nazi war criminals, to 9/11, to terrorism. His latest book, Miami Babylon: Crime, Wealth and Power—A Dispatch from the Beach, was published in October. He lives in Miami Beach with his wife, the author Trisha Posner.
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Gerald Posner is former chief investigative reporter for The Daily Beast. He's the award-winning author of 10 investigative nonfiction bestsellers, on topics ranging from political assassinations, to Nazi war criminals, to 9/11, to terrorism. His latest book, Miami Babylon: Crime, Wealth and Power—A Dispatch from the Beach, was published in October. He lives in Miami Beach with his wife, the author Trisha Posner.
Nuld001
Mr. Posner's in-depth article reads like a script for The Sopranos - on steroids. There are certainly all the elements - sexual peccadilloes, familial violence, and probable murders for hire for the money. What else is in the horror closet? The golden rule is always follow the money. Who has the most to gain from all of this? Narcy Novack. Who has the most to gain if Narcy Novack is out of the picture? Maybe May Abad. The missing Batman memorabilia could be payoff for the murder(s). Given all that has transpired, why indeed would a probate judge grant Narcy Novack control of her husband's estate which includes one-half of her dead mother-in-law's estate too? Is the probate judge on the payroll? There is an undeniable odor about all of this.
pclayton
I guess we will have to read the book to find out why (or at least Posner's thoughts on why) the probate judge granted the estates to Narcy. Obviously there is something fishy in Miami and New York. This plot could have come from "I Claudius."
YARROW
I certainly can't understand how Novack's wife would get control of his estate. She seems to be the most likey suspect in his death.
SensiStar
Especially after this little incident.
" In 2002, 11 years into their marriage, Narcy and two others tied Ben Jr. to a chair, threatened to kill him and took money from his safe, according to the police report filed at the time"
KoverStar
Is it my imagination or are the majority of Posner's investigative pieces teasers for a book he's written?
briansays
Where are Crockett and Tubbs when we need them?
halfstop
I think it's wrong for "news" organizations to change a story because of plagiarism. You're screwing up the public record making it difficult for researchers and historians to understand exactly what happened. This destroying of the public record happens all the time and it's an outrage. Boo.
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