Much of the vast collection of Batman memorabilia owned by the late Fontainebleau heir Ben Novack Jr. is missing -- adding to the acrimonious fight over his estate. -
Not the shark-repellent spray, or the goo gun or even the Caped Crusader's Batarang could apparently protect the country's second-largest Batman collection from disappearing.
Much of the Batman memorabilia owned by slain Fontainebleau heir Ben Novack Jr. is missing from several warehouses in Broward County, The Miami Herald has learned. Sources close to the case said the locks on the warehouses were cut.
As if that wasn't enough, a bank blundered in giving Novack's widow access to a safe deposit box kept by Novack's late mother.
It all comes at a time when Novack's widow, Narcy Novack, and her daughter, May Abad, are locked in a bitter court battle over the multimillion-dollar estate. Each has accused the other of plotting Novack's murder.
``The [Batman] stuff is gone -- disappeared,'' said Chief Gregory Austin of Rye Brook, N.Y. police, who are investigating the millionaire's unsolved murder. Novack was found dead in a Westchester, N.Y., hotel in July.
UNAUTHORIZED Austin also confirmed that investigators learned from the estate's curator that Narcy Novack was able to gain access to her late mother-in-law's safe deposit box a few weeks ago, even though she was not authorized to do so.
Austin said it is up to Florida law enforcement to investigate the two incidents, but no police report has been filed, according to Fort Lauderdale police spokesman Frank Sousa. There is no record that the estate's curator, Douglas F. Hoffman, filed a court motion to have the safe deposit box assets returned.
Hoffman did not return several phone calls from The Miami Herald. But in an e-mail, he said: ``I cannot comment on asset information involving either estate as that information is confidential under Florida law.''
Novack's mother, Bernice Stempel Novack, 86, was found dead at her Fort Lauderdale home on April 6 -- three months before her son was slain. Her body was found face down and her skull was fractured.
Close friends and family have said that Bernice and Narcy Novack had a contentious relationship, and Bernice would never have wanted her daughter-in-law to access her safe deposit box. Bernice Novack once told police she feared her daughter-in-law tried to poison her.
Narcy Novack's attorney, Howard Tanner, could not be reached.
Bernice was the ex-wife of the late Ben Novack Sr., former owner of Miami Beach's Fontainebleau hotel, and Ben Novack was their only heir. She willed almost her entire estate to her son, which was folded into his estate, said to be worth millions.
Under her husband's will, Narcy Novack is his sole beneficiary.
On the day his will was made public, Narcy Novack, 53, and her daughter, May Abad, 33, engaged in a slugfest outside Novack's home in the affluent Las Olas section of Fort Lauderdale.
Austin said he was not sure what, if any, bearing the safe deposit box incident or the Batman mystery has on the murder investigation.
``At this point, it has no bearing on the case,'' Austin said, adding that the case was ``moving forward.''
`PERSON OF INTEREST' Hoffman was assigned to handle Novack's estate after Abad filed a motion to freeze his assets. Narcy Novack, who is considered ``a person of interest'' in the case, agreed it would be inappropriate to act as executrix while the probe was ongoing.
Hoffman, of Fort Lauderdale, had been working to assess the value of Novack's estate, which included his $50 million-a-year convention planning business and the Batman collection, said to be worth a fortune.
At a hearing in Broward probate court on August 27, Hoffman said Novack's Batman treasures filled four of six warehouses and the couple's $3 million home on Delmar Place.
Austin was not sure how much of the memorabilia was stolen.
Novack discovered her husband's badly beaten body in their room at the Hilton Rye Town hotel on July 12, after she returned from checking on breakfast for their convention guests. About 2,000 people from Ben Novack's most important client, Amway Global International, attended the weekend event.
BEATEN, BOUND His wife returned about 8 a.m. to find her husband on the floor beside his bed. He had been bound with duct tape over his face, his hands were taped behind his back and his legs were taped together below his knees.
Her husband's body remained at the Westchester County medical examiner's office for 52 days as the family haggled over money and other matters. Hoffman was able to work out the details and Novack was finally laid to rest Sept. 2 in his family's mausoleum in Queens, N.Y.
Since then, family members have been skeptical about whether Bernice Novack's death was accidental. After her son was killed, the Broward County Medical Examiner reviewed the autopsy and other evidence. Dr. Joshua Perper's conclusion was the same: accidental -- the result of a series of falls in her home.
Officials with Bank of America did not respond to calls or an e-mail requesting comment.
