Prosecutors May Announce Death Penalty Decision In Novack Case
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBS4) - New York prosecutors could announce Wednesday whether they plan to seek the death penalty against a Ft. Lauderdale woman accused of arranging the killings of her husband and mother-in-law.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliott Jacobson has been threatening to file a new charge, murder in aid of racketeering, against 54-year-old Narcy Novack of Fort Lauderdale. He's been waiting for the Justice Department to decide whether to seek the death penalty or life in prison.
Novack and her brother, 57-year-old Cristobal Veliz of Brooklyn, have pleaded not guilty. They're charged with hiring the killers of Ben Novack, who died in a New York hotel room, and Bernice Novack who was killed in her home.
If prosecutors decide to seek the death penalty, the defense will get to bring in additional attorneys, skilled in the law of capital punishment, to argue against the death penalty before a trial can begin. The process could take months which means the trial could get pushed to next year.
Ben Novack's father built the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach and prosecutors claim Narcy Novack was after her husband's $10 million estate. His mother's death added to his fortune.
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