His widow Narcy and her brother
Cristobal Veliz were each sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for their parts in the murder-for-hire killings of Novack and his mother. Prosecutors alleged that Narcy was afraid that Ben would leave her for his mistress,
Rebecca Bliss, and their prenuptial agreement would only leave her $65,000 in a divorce, and the bulk of his estate to Bernice. Narcy claimed that the murders were orchestrated by her daughter,
May Abad, who inherited the bulk of Novack's estate.