Federal authorities have brought charges against four individuals in the slaying of meeting planner Ben Novack—including his wife. Novack, the owner of Convention Concepts Unlimited, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was found dead in his hotel room in Rye Brook, N.Y., on July 12, 2009, where he was orchestrating a convention for Amway Global.
Authorities indicted Novack’s wife, Narcy Novack, as well Cristobal Veliz, Denis Ramirez, and Joel Gonzalez, on July 8. All four defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit interstate domestic violence and stalking, one count of interstate domestic violence, and one count of stalking, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York.
The defendants allegedly conspired to attack Novack in his hotel room while he was in Rye Brook planning an Amway Convention at the Hilton Hotel. Novack’s wife let two of the co-conspirators in the room and the men allegedly beat and bound the victim, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. He ultimately died from the attack, allege officials.
"Today, just four days short of the one-year anniversary of the heinous killing of Ben Novack, we announce the indictment of four individuals allegedly responsible for his death. As described in the Indictment, the plot that led to the brutal death of Ben Novack was a family affair. Because of the exceptional teamwork among federal, state, and local authorities, Narcy Novack and her co-conspirators will be brought to justice for the crimes we charge today," said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, in a press release.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy counts and a maximum sentence of life in prison on the interstate domestic violence and stalking counts.
"The killing of Ben Novack was not a spur-of-the-moment crime of passion. It was the end game of considerable planning,” added George Venizelos, acting assistant director-in-charge, FBI New York Field Office, in a release.
Novack had a long history with the hospitality industry. His father, Ben Novack Sr., operated the famous Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach from its opening in 1954 until he lost it to bankruptcy in 1977. Ben Novack Jr. launched his company, Convention Concepts Unlimited, in 1978.
According to an article in the New York Post, Novack was worth about $10 million and had one of the largest collections of Batman memorabilia in the world.