Fla. widow convicted in hotel heir’s NY killing

Fla. widow convicted in hotel heir’s NY killing

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — A federal jury in New York has convicted a Florida woman of directing the killings of her hotel heir husband and his mother.

The jury issued its verdict today against Narcy Novack of Fort Lauderdale in the 2009 beating deaths of Ben Novack Jr. and Bernice Novack.

She was acquitted of charges that mentioned her husband’s murder, but convicted on charges of causing both deaths.

Her brother and co-defendant, Cristobal Veliz of Brooklyn, also was convicted.

Prosecutors said Novack and Veliz hired thugs to carry out the killings. They said she feared that her husband, who was having an affair, would divorce her and that a prenuptial agreement would bar her from the multimillion-dollar family estate.

Ben Novack’s father built the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach.

The defense blamed the killings on Narcy Novack’s daughter, who wasn’t charged.