Widow of Fla. hotel heir loses control of husband’s $10M estate because of federal probe

Fla. hotel heir widow loses control of $10M estate

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A slain Florida hotel heir’s widow has lost control of her husband’s $10 million estate because of a federal criminal investigation.

A Broward County judge on Thursday reversed his previous order naming Narcy Novack as representative for Ben Novack Jr.’s estate. The judge cited a federal grand jury investigation in New York into an unspecified criminal conspiracy possibly involving the Novacks.

Ben Novack, whose father built the Miami Beach landmark Fontainebleau Hotel, was found beaten to death in July in a suburban New York hotel. Novack’s relatives claimed in court that Narcy Novack should not get his estate because she was behind the slaying, but she has not been charged.

Narcy Novack’s lawyer says she is innocent.