The Prince of Paradise

by John Glatt

  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.”

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  “UNUSUAL SEXUAL GAMES”

  On Tuesday morning, Ben Novack Jr. arrived at Fort Lauderdale Police headquarters to make a taped statement under oath. Since Detective Steve Palazzo’s visit the day before, Ben had called and texted him dozens of times, for updates on the investigation.

  He was taken to an interview room, where he repeated that Narcy had orchestrated the home invasion. He even brought along a surgical eye patch that he said had been used to blindfold him. There had been further calls from Narcy, he told Palazzo, and he was now negotiating with her to return his money and business documents.

  After Novack made his statement and left, Detective Palazzo and Sergeant French discussed how to proceed with the investigation. They decided to call Narcy’s cell phone there and then and record the call. She answered, agreeing to come to the police station for an interview.

  “She told me that she was anxious to tell her side of the story,” said Palazzo, “[and] agreed to be at the police station the following morning.”

  * * *

  At 7:30 A.M. on Wednesday,
Ben Novack Jr. called in Pat Franklin for help. The retired Miami Beach detective, who now ran his own private investigation company, had once worked security details at the Fontainebleau, where he had first met Novack as a teenager.

  “So I said to Ben,” Franklin recalled, “‘to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?’ And he began to tell me a very bizarre tale.”

  Initially, Franklin thought it was a joke, as Ben spoke in whispers, as if scared someone might be listening. But Franklin soon realized Novack was deadly serious.

  “He told me that the police in Fort Lauderdale were not doing their job,” said Franklin in 2011. “That he didn’t think that they believed him and were not acting quickly enough for his liking.”

  During their conversation, Narcy Novack called her husband’s cell phone, and he held it up to his landline so the private investigator could listen in. Franklin then overheard Narcy admitting to being involved in the home invasion.

  After hanging up with Franklin, Ben Novack Jr. called Detective Palazzo, informing him that he had now hired a private investigator. He said Pat Franklin intended to follow Narcy after she left the police station later that morning, and get his property back. He also invited the detective to call Franklin, saying he had proof Narcy was involved in the attack.

  “I called Franklin,” Palazzo later noted. “He advised me that he had in fact heard Narcy Novack talking about details of the incident.”

  The private investigator said that he had met Narcy several times in the past, and recognized her distinctive accent. He then asked Palazzo if he had any problems with his taking the case and putting Narcy under surveillance.

  “[Palazzo] inferred that he had problems with [Ben’s] story,” said Franklin, “but if I found out anything I should give him a call.”

  After hanging up, Pat Franklin called his new client and negotiated a $3,000 retainer to take the case. Novack told him to come straight over to his house.

  When he arrived, the front door was ajar, so he let himself in, calling out that he was there.

  “Ben came walking downstairs,” the private investigator recalled, “and he definitely was shook up. He looked as if he was beaten about the face. He had abrasions and a swollen eye and had clearly been beaten or manhandled. He had ligature marks on his wrists.”

  Novack brought him into the living room, which was full of Coca-Cola memorabilia, including a large old Coke machine. They sat on the couch and Franklin asked Novack to tell him what had happened from the beginning.

  “He told me two stories about Narcy,” Franklin said. “I don’t know which one’s the truth to this day.”

  In his first version of the incident, Novack said he and Narcy were with another woman for a bondage threesome. “They were going to have sex together,” said Franklin. “They were going to tie him up in a chair at the foot of the bed, and Narcy and the woman were going to have sex.”

  He said they had tied him to the chair and blindfolded him when some men suddenly burst into the bedroom, hitting him in the face.

  “He wasn’t sure where Narcy was in all this,” Franklin said. “And I said, ‘Well, did you hear her voice?’ and he goes, ‘Yeah, I’m not sure what she was saying. It was very confusing. There was a guy and different voices.’”

  Novack said he thought there were six men there, and had no idea what had happened to the other woman.

  Pat Franklin then asked Ben to take him upstairs and walk him through the chain of events. Once inside the bedroom, Franklin observed foursquare impressions in the shag carpet at the foot of the unmade bed, impressions that matched the feet of an orange reclining chair.

  At the foot of the bed were identical nightstands, with the door of the right one open. Franklin asked where his gun was, and Novack replied that his attackers had taken it. Franklin’s follow-up question was from where, and Novack pointed to the nightstand with the open door.

  “I said, ‘Ben, you’ve got two identical nightstands on either side of the bed,’” said Franklin, “‘How do they know to go to that one?’”

  When he said Narcy had told them, the private investigator became suspicious.

  “I said, ‘Why don’t we start over and why don’t you really tell me what happened.”

  In his second story, Ben Novack Jr. recounted the original version he had told police.

  “He was asleep,” Franklin said, “and that two men jumped on the bed, covered him with the sheet and pillows and began pounding the shit out of him. He screamed and reached for the gun, at which point Narcy said, ‘He’s got a gun!’”

  The assailants then threw him in the chair and tied him up.

  “He said that Narcy was on the phone during this with someone named Lou,” Franklin said. “And he knows of a Lou that just got out of prison, who Narcy had dated when she was dancing as a stripper in Hialeah.”

  Novack told the investigator he thought Lou was still watching the house, and was in touch with Narcy.

  Franklin asked Novack what he wanted him to do. Novack replied that he wanted Narcy and his money back, and was prepared to drop the criminal prosecution in return.

  “I said, ‘Ben, you know this is pretty dangerous shit,’” Franklin said. “‘She just sent you a home invasion robbery with a [guy] she used to date that just got out of prison.’ He goes, ‘I want her back.’”

  Novack then gave the investigator Narcy’s cell phone number, and Franklin called and left a message.

  “I said, ‘Narcy, this is Pat Franklin. I understand that you’ve had some trouble with Ben, and I want to talk to you before we move forward. I think that there may be a way to resolve this matter without pursuing formal charges.’”

  * * *

  That afternoon, at 1:35 as arranged, Narcy Novack arrived at police headquarters in her Mercedes, carrying several large bags and boxes. As Detective Palazzo brought her into an interview room, she explained that these were items she had taken from the house.

  Then, before the detective could say anything, she opened up a large brown accordion file and emptied the contents out onto the table in front of him.

  “She began by showing me a large number of photographs of naked and partially clothed women,” Palazzo later reported. “She showed me several magazine pages of women with artificial limbs … and photos of women with artificial limbs posing nude or partially nude.”

  Narcy then started telling Palazzo, in explicit detail, about her husband’s strange sexual desires. “She insisted that he was into many different and unusual sexual games,” wrote Palazzo. “They are both into bondage and most of their sexual relations involve handcuffing each other to the reclining chair in the master bedroom.”

  Narcy Novack said their relationship had always been violent.

  “She said that he has often battered her,” Palazzo noted. “On one occasion several years ago, she received a broken nose after Ben hit her. He later took her to a plastic surgeon. She was put to sleep by the doctor and insisted that when she woke up, she not only had a nose repair, but also breast implant surgery. While she contends that this was done against her will, she never made a complaint to anyone.”

  It was some time before Narcy allowed the detective to speak. He then told her that their interview would be taped, and he began reading her Miranda rights.

  When he turned on the tape recorder, Narcy announced she needed medical attention, explaining she had come straight from a doctor, who was treating her for allergies.

  “She said she was not feeling well,” Palazzo wrote. “That she was supposed to wait for one hour before leaving, to allow the medicine to take effect.”

  Detective Palazzo offered to put the interview on hold until she was feeling better, but Narcy wanted to continue.

  “She denied ever tying Ben to the chair,” reported Palazzo, “and said he was only handcuffed on one hand. She denied that he was ever attacked in the bed and said that he got into the chair willingly to have a sexual encounter.”

  Narcy then claimed that o
n Sunday morning Ben had been working in his office next door when a moving van arrived at their residence. He had later come home to discover she was moving out. She refused to identify who was helping her move, saying she had sent them away when Ben came back, to avoid an argument.

  “She told me that she and Ben talked for several hours,” Palazzo reported, “eventually decided to have sex. She got in the chair and Ben handcuffed her and performed sexual acts on her.

  “She said that Ben then got in the chair and once she handcuffed him, she decided that she would leave him there while she continued to remove her belongings.”

  Narcy told the detective that her husband had been unable to get out of the chair to summon help, as it was too heavy for him to move. She denied that he had been blindfolded or bound to the chair at any time. When Palazzo asked about the portable urinal found in the master bedroom, Narcy explained that they both used it while watching television, or in the middle of the night. She explained that Ben likes the portable urinal, so he doesn’t have to get out of bed and wake his cat.

  The detective then asked her about removing all her husband’s business files. Unfazed, Narcy replied that she had taken them only to find certain photographs and documents she could later use as ammunition in a divorce. She said that she had already agreed to return them.

  “When asked about taking the money … from the safe,” Palazzo wrote, “she told me that it was equally her money.”

  Narcy also insisted that she had taken only $5,000, and not the $440,000 her husband was claiming.

  “Throughout the statement,” Palazzo wrote later, “I did not confront her with any inconsistencies or untruths. I allowed her to provide whatever explanation she chose.”

  Narcy told the detective that there had been ongoing problems in the marriage for the last seventeen years.

  “It is a sick vicious circle,” she declared. “I have left him twenty times, or forty times, or fifty times. He has … gotten me back. He goes to my sister … he goes to my brother … we kiss and make up. It’s a vicious circle that I need to break it.”