The Prince of Paradise

by John Glatt

  “We were able to convince Narcy to modify the restraining order,” said Spadaro, “so that he could get back into the house.”

  Under the order, Ben Novack Jr. would be allowed to reside at the residence “to conduct his business,” while Nancy stayed in the guesthouse and could enter the main residence only to do her laundry.

  “No other harmful conduct shall occur between the parties,” ordered Judge Cohen, who called another hearing for June 25, to rule on Narcy’s restraining order.

  After the hearing, Novack told his new lawyer that if Narcy refused to drop the restraining order and didn’t return his money, he was filing for divorce. He then had Spadaro draw up a divorce petition on the grounds that the marriage was irretrievably broken down.

  As they drafted the divorce petition together, Novack insisted that the attorney incorporate Narcy’s alleged threats against his life during the home invasion.

  “I would never have put them in but for Ben’s insistence,” Spadaro explained. “I said, ‘Ben, if you want me to put this in there, you’ve got to tell me straight from your mouth.’ And of course I had him sign this.”

  Section 10 of the divorce petition read, “That the petitioner is fearful that when the Respondent received notice of the filing of this Dissolution of Marriage that violence will come to him as the Respondent previously has falsely imprisoned Petitioner in order to remove assets, including but not limited to cash, furnishings, antiques, family heirloom jewelry, firearms, and business files necessary for Petitioner/Husband’s business.”

  Section 13 was even more damning:

  “That the Petitioner/Husband is fearful that unless this honorable court enters a restraining order against the Respondent/Wife, that his life is in danger. The Respondent/Wife has threatened: a) ‘That if I can’t have you, then no one will have you.’; and b) that ‘the men that helped me remove the property from the house will come back and finish the job … I can have you killed anytime I want … you’re not dead now because I stopped them the other night.’”

  * * *

  On Wednesday, June 19, Don Spadaro filed the divorce petition, along with the couple’s original August 1991 prenuptial agreement, in circuit court. Two days later, Ben Novack Jr. posted a $50,000 bond and was granted a temporary injunction against Narcy, freezing all the cash and the rest of his belongings that had been removed from the house. These included all the pornographic photo albums, magazines, and negatives Narcy had taken.

  In her order, circuit court judge Patricia Coralis granted Ben Novack Jr. exclusive use of the marital home. “Narcy Novack is hereby restrained from coming in the marital property,” read the order, “and/or entering the marital home … pending further order of the court. Narcy Novack is also further restrained from molesting, harassing, physically hurting or abusing the husband … at any time or any place.”

  * * *

  On Tuesday, June 25, Narcy Novack told Judge Cohen at an evidentiary hearing that Ben was violently abusive and a pervert, lusting after amputee porn.

  “She goes forward and testifies ‘he’s hit me in the stomach,’” said Spadaro, who cross-examined her. “And she’s Hispanic, so her language is whatever, but she certainly described that he slapped [her] and spit on [her].”

  After Narcy’s testimony, Ben Novack Jr. told the judge that he had been held hostage under Narcy’s direction for more than a day, with a gun to his head. Then Detective Steve Palazzo took the stand to testify about the ongoing investigation.

  “And I think Judge Cohen was kind of shocked,” Spadaro recalled.

  Bernice Novack attended the closed hearing, sitting next to her son. Estelle Fernandez had offered to go with her for moral support, but Bernice had refused.

  “She was so mortified,” Estelle recalled. “She said, ‘No, I don’t want anybody to know how my daughter-in-law is.’ And then in court Narcy was telling all these stories about Ben having this fetish with amputee models and pictures. And Bernice would say, ‘Oh my God. She’s crazy. She’s crazy.’”

  * * *

  By the beginning of July, Ben and Nancy Novack had reconciled again, after she agreed to repay $175,000. Then, on July 10, after she paid a first installment of $75,000, they both signed a “Confirmation of Understanding” and had it notarized.

  This six-point document, which Novack’s divorce attorney, Don Spadaro, had not been consulted on, stipulated that “certain private items” must be kept private or the agreement was void. It also stated that Ben would agree to drop the divorce action and allow Narcy to come back home.

  It read:

  1. That Ben and Narcy wish to do everything possible to reconcile their relationship and move forward with their lives, together.

  2. That Ben and Narcy have agreed to seek marital counseling from a professional in this field. Narcy will locate some qualified individuals for this and together Ben and Narcy will mutually agree on which one or ones to utilize. This action will be done immediately.

  3. That Ben and Narcy have agreed to other certain private items that will be honored mutually by both parties to keep this document and agreement valid. Should any of those items not be honored by one or both parties this agreement ceases.

  4. That Ben and Narcy will place a privately agreed sum of money into a joint investment, chosen by mutual agreement, and which can subsequently be touched only by both parties together and neither one individually.

  5. That upon full completion of #4 above, Narcy will return to the house and Ben will drop the Marriage Dissolution action and all related actions in that filing.

  6. If at any point during the 8 month period following the completion of the above actions it becomes apparent that the relationship is not going to work out, that Ben will provide for a reasonable and mutually agreeable house or apartment for Narcy to reside in, at Ben’s expense, for a period of one year following.

  A few days later, Ben Novack Jr. brought Narcy to Don Spadaro’s office and instructed Spadaro to drop the divorce action. As Narcy waited in the foyer, Novack went into Spadaro’s office and handed him a copy of the “Confirmation of Understanding” and a receipt for $75,000.

  “He came in and said [they’d] reconciled,” recalled Spadaro. “And I brought him in here, because she was in my waiting room. Then I closed the door and said, ‘Are you crazy? [How can anybody] that went through what you went through, go back and reconcile?’”

  The attorney asked how Ben knew Narcy wouldn’t have somebody break into the house again to rob him, perhaps killing him the next time. Novack replied that he still loved Narcy, and they were back together.

  “I still tried to convince him that he was nuts,” said Spadaro. “After what he went through, having a gun put to his head. But I have since learned that they had some sort of kinky sexual thing going on … that he enjoyed, and he wanted to keep that relationship together.

  “That was pretty much the end of my involvement. When he walked out of that door that day I never saw him again.”

  Seven years later, May Abad would allege that her mother had blackmailed Ben Novack Jr. into paying her $6,500 a month, threatening to go public with his fetish for “photographs … involving nude bodies with amputated arms and limbs.”

  * * *

  When Hollywood police chief Jim Scarberry learned of the reconciliation, he was appalled. Although they had spoken almost daily since the home invasion, it was weeks before Ben told him that Narcy was behind the attack.

  “I had asked him how the investigation was going,” Scarberry said. “He told me that Narcy had apologized, and they were going to get back together.”

  Chief Scarberry said he was “nuts,” and warned him that Narcy might kill him the next time. Ben replied that he still loved Narcy and they were going into marriage counseling to work things out. Then Scarberry told him never to call him again.

  “I was hoping that would entice him to make a decision to get away from her,” he explained. “But that didn’t happen, and that was the last ti
me I spoke to him.”

  Charlie Seraydar found out that the divorce had been called off only when he called the Novack house and Narcy answered the phone.

  “That surprised the hell out of me,” Seraydar said, “because Ben was calling me every single day. Then I happen to call him back one day and she answers the phone. And she was as nice as shit to me, and I was nice to her.”

  When they next met, Seraydar told his old friend that he was a “fucking idiot” for taking Narcy back, after what she had done. “I just said, ‘Ben, I’m not going to pass judgment on you, but look what you were put through.’ And he says, ‘I know, but we’re going to marriage counseling, and I’m seeing a psychologist.’”

  Seraydar then asked why he was going back to Narcy. Ben replied that he still loved her and did not want to lose everything that he had built up over the years.

  “Then I said to him, ‘Is it worth your life?’”

  Ben’s old school friend Kelsey Grammer was also concerned Ben had gone back to Narcy. “It seemed like classic abused-victim behavior,” the actor later told People magazine. “He was terrified of her.”

  * * *

  By the fall of 2002, Ben and Narcy Novack were back living and working together, as if nothing had happened. But Bernice Novack could not forget her son’s frantic call for help, or rushing over to his house to find him bruised and battered.

  “Bernice was so upset that she went into counseling for the longest time,” said her neighbor Rebecca Green. “She was just so disturbed by it.”

  To make things even worse, she saw her daughter-in-law every day, at the Conventions Unlimited office. Always extremely private, Bernice would discuss what she was going through only with her closest confidants.

  “Well, she called me and told me the entire story,” said Barbara Lunde. “She said, ‘Please do a prayer for me, so I will know what to do.’”

  Bernice also confided in Temple Hayes, saying she had hoped it would be the end of the marriage. “She was appalled and flabbergasted,” said Hayes, “that someone could have done that to her son … she feared for his life. She knew Narcy was into Santería and even wondered if she had put some kind of spell on her son.

  “She felt Narcy was involved in some kind of Spanish Mafia, and said, ‘There you go. I knew what was going to happen. She only married my son for what he has, and because she wants to control him. She brought in these hit people to show him what she would do if he ever tried to leave her.’”

  Bernice was especially hurt by Narcy’s allegations that her son was into bondage sex, telling her sister she refused to believe it. “Bernice said, ‘It’s a lie,’” said Maxine. “She tied him up, and they kept him there with a gun to his head until he opened that safe.”

  When Estelle Fernandez asked how Ben could possibly stay with Narcy, Bernice said it was because he had always hated to be alone at night.

  “But I think Narcy must have had loads of stuff on him,” Estelle said, “like offshore money, bank accounts, and stuff like that. He knew he couldn’t trust her to keep her mouth shut, and that’s the real reason why he stayed with her.”

  For Ben’s sake, Bernice now did her best to get on with Narcy, but it was always an ordeal. When friends asked why she was still working six days a week, Bernice explained that she was only doing it to protect Ben.

  “His mother was extremely worried about him,” Fernandez said. “She stayed mainly because she wanted to see Ben.”

  A few months after the home invasion, Prince Mongo told Bernice how sorry he was about what had happened. “I said, ‘How does he stay in the house with Narcy under those conditions?’” said Mongo. “She said, ‘I told him he has to sleep with one eye open.’ I said, ‘I would tell him to sleep with both eyes open.’”

  THIRTY

  “TIME MUST MOVE FORWARD!”

  Over the next several years, Ben and Narcy Novack did appear to get their relationship back on track. Convention Concepts Unlimited was thriving, and money was rolling in. None of Ben Novack Jr.’s clients or business contacts had any idea of what had happened, or how perilously close the company had come to imploding.

  In the wake of the home invasion, the Miami Beach Police Department questioned Reserve Officer Novack about the incident, having him write out his version of events in an official report. Soon afterward, he was told that his services were no longer needed.

  “There was a little bit of an embarrassment in the department,” explained Charlie Seraydar, who had retained close ties to the Miami Beach Police Department after retiring. “And that would have been the last time he donned the uniform.”

  On May 5, 2005, Ben Novack Jr. wrote a letter on Convention Concepts Unlimited notepaper to Miami Beach police chief Donald DeLucca, with the heading “Resignation/Retirement.”

  “It was good sitting down with you a few weeks ago … to discuss the past, present and future,” it began. “Having been a sworn and certified police officer for more than 30 years … I have certainly seen a lot of changes.”

  The letter went on to explain that because of the “tremendous growth” of his business, he could no longer devote sufficient time to serving in the Reserve Unit.

  “I feel that the best course for me may well be to ‘retire,’” he explained, “and go out on a very high note with many fond memories of the past 30+ years.”

  He promised to let the chief know if the situation were to change, thanking him for allowing him to attend several upcoming police courses in order to maintain his state certificate for the next four years.

  “It saddens me to leave something that has been part of my life for 30 years,” he wrote, “but time must move forward!”

  * * *

  After leaving the Miami Beach Police Department, Ben Novack Jr. devoted all his spare time to building up his collection of Batman comic books and memorabilia. As he could no longer live out his Caped Crusader fantasy on the streets of Miami in a black and white, he now lived it vicariously through his Batman toys and comics.

  “I must have sent him five hundred boxes over that period,” said British dealer Ed Kelly. “He would pay for all the shipping, and I would just fill boxes for him and send it.”

  Novack now went to all the Comic Cons around America, getting to know the dealers and making useful contacts.

  “He would have a whole army of people searching for stuff for him,” said Kelly, “and he’d buy it through auction houses and dealers. He was very good at negotiating and I’m sure he got things at great prices. But of course because he was buying so much of it, people would give him good prices.”

  * * *

  Although Ben and Narcy’s close friends were aware of their marital problems, these were never discussed when they met socially. The Novacks were now regulars at Robert Woltin’s Italian restaurant Louie Louie, on Las Olas Boulevard, a few blocks from their home.

  “I met him at my Miami nightclub Façade in 1987,” said Woltin. “He was a customer at my restaurant and he would eat there with Narcy on the weekend.”

  They were often joined for extended dinners by Prince Mongo and Jerry Calhoun.

  “Ben would order a five-hundred-dollar bottle of wine,” said Mongo, “and drink the whole bottle. Narcy may have one glass.”

  Although Mongo was close to the couple, he was aware of Ben’s stable of kept women around Miami. “Joe Gandy would take those whores money all the time,” said Mongo, “to pay their rent secretly. I didn’t like Gandy and what he was doing undercover. And that’s why Ben never got rid of him. Ben was using him, because you won’t cut off your left hand, will you.”

  Ben Novack Jr. now had several mistresses whom Gandy catered for, who had all received new breast enhancements from their rich benefactor. “There [were] three he had,” said Gandy, “that I used to drop money with. And every one of them goes with him [for] money. None of them were with him for love, including Narcy.”

  Gandy could earn up to $5,000 a week from his boss, running his secret errands and
helping with conventions. “I was making a lot of money every week,” Gandy said, “but I put up with a lot of shit. I wanted to kill him a thousand times.”

  Periodically, Narcy’s daughter, May Abad, would arrive with her two teenage sons to stay for a few weeks. But Ben never allowed the boys in the house, in case they messed with his Batman collection.

  “He would send them to my house for the night,” said Mongo, “because Ben didn’t want them sitting on his sofa. He didn’t want them touching Batman. He wanted them regimented. When they came in the house he said, ‘Don’t move!’”

  Mongo recalls May, who worked as a barmaid, as being in her own world and never close to her mother or her stepfather. “She didn’t really care about Ben,” he said. “But she cared about her kids.”

  Several years running, Mongo was invited to Passover Seder at the Novack home, where Narcy prepared a traditional kosher meal. “Ben would be at the head of the table,” he said, “and we’d have the kosher wine and all the rituals. We’d have to put on our yarmulkes, and May and the kids would be bored to death.”

  According to many, Ben Novack Jr. disliked his stepdaughter intensely. Although she occasionally worked on conventions for him, he tried to avoid her as much as possible.

  “He hated May to death,” Joe Gandy confirmed. “Sometimes May and her mother would go three to four years without talking. No kids came by. No nothing. Then they would end up making up, and Ben would let her back in the office to work. But Bernice couldn’t take her at all.”

  Charlie Seraydar, who has known May since she was a little girl, says she had a very difficult upbringing. “May was always a problem child,” he said. “She has her issues with her kids, very similar to the issues she experienced with her mother. I thought she was a nice kid. The problem is her mother.”

  * * *

  On January 19, 2006, Ben Novack Jr. turned fifty, and made a will, leaving virtually everything to Narcy. He even wanted their caskets to be buried next to each other at his family’s mausoleum in Queens, New York.