Wife Swiped Murdered Man's Batman Junk
Missing collection found, wife was the culprit
By BRIAN HAMACHER
Updated 8:00 AM EST, Tue, Oct 13, 2009
The country's second-largest Batman memorabilia collection which was stolen from South Florida warehouses last month has been found, and it wasn't the Catwoman.
It turns out the wife of slain millionaire Ben Novack Jr. took the collection herself, and she says the toys aren't going anywhere.
"It belongs to Narcy Novack. She was married to him for 19 years," lawyer Howard Tanner told the Miami Herald. "It was purchased during their marriage. Wouldn't you rightfully assume the property belongs to you?"
The collection, enough to fill two Batcaves, is at the center of Narcy Novack's bitter battle with her daughter, May Abad, over the estate of her slain husband.
Novack Jr., heir to Miami Beach's Fontainebleau Hotel estate, was killed in his hotel room in upstate New York in July, and the disappearance of his Caped Crusader collection, believed to be worth millions, had astounded investigators.
The curator of Novack Jr.'s estate, Douglas Hoffman, said Narcy stuffed the couple's Fort Lauderdale home with the Batman junk.
"It's been pretty packed," said Hoffman, who believes the collection belongs to the estate, not Narcy. "If Mr. Novack had left all his money in joint accounts, that would be right, but he didn't."
Hoffman also pointed out that Novack Jr.'s mother, Bernice, would have inherited the collection and any other assets, had she not died three months before her son.
Bernice Stempel Novack was found dead in her Fort Lauderdale home in April, her skull fractured. While her death was ruled accidental, family members have expressed doubts, pointing to the fact that Novack, 86, had once told police that she thought Narcy was trying to poison her.
Narcy Novack, who police have said is a person of interest in her husband's murder, will be allowed to store the collection, but is not permitted to sell any of it until the dispute is settled. Tanner said Narcy should have access to the couple's marital assets.
"She's a victim 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," Tanner said.
First Published: Oct 13, 2009 6:43 AM EST
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