As one of the most notorious killers in America, Narcy Novack does not on the face of it seem a natural pal for British former socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.
But the pair have become close over a shared taste for the millionaire’s lifestyle, long sentences and their ages, insiders have claimed.
Convicted teenage sex trafficker Maxwell, 60, and 65-year-old double murderer Novack spend hours speaking together at Tallahassee jail in the east of Florida’s state capital.
The US con is a feared figure among inmates after having her hotel heir husband and mother-in-law bumped off and her friendship with Maxwell will no doubt offer the Brit some protection in the brutal prison world.
A source there said: “Once inside, Ghislaine gravitated towards Narcy.
“Because of her length of time inside and the brutality of her crime, she is treated like a female don.
“All the younger girls address her as ‘Miss Novack’ out of respect.
“Ghislaine will have a modicum of protection through her friendship, but given their ages and millionaire backgrounds, they were always destined to get on well.
“Together, they spend hours talking, laughing and joking.”
Maxwell is serving 20 years after being convicted last December of luring young girls for her disgraced ex, financier Jeffrey Epstein, to molest.
Despite their crimes, Tallahassee is categorised as a low-security prison that has a range of courses and work placements for inmates. There are apprenticeships in several fields, including gardening, baking, cooking, and housekeeping. Yoga, pilates, weights, softball and frisbee are offered as leisure pursuits.
While the two new prison pals both enjoyed tycoon lives on the outside, that is where their similarities end.
Maxwell, inmate 02879-509, was born into a life of privilege, partying with princes, stars and aristocracy. But ruthless Novack worked her way up in US society through stripping and sex.
She regularly swapped lovers for a richer, more wealthy man and eventually met multi-millionaire playboy Ben Novak Jr in her strip club. Years later, she was the mastermind behind the brutal murder of the 52-year-old and his mother Bernice, 86, in a twisted plot motivated by greed and revenge over claims Ben had cheated.
The pair were killed three months apart by hitmen hired by voodoo fan Novack and arranged by her bus driver brother Cristobal Veliz.
Bernice was the widow of Ben Novack Sr, who owned the legendary Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel, frequented by the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra.
She was found dead in a pool of blood on April 5, 2009, in the garage of her Fort Lauderdale home. It was ruled she died in a fall. But when Ben, who stood to inherit a £8.5million fortune, detectives reopened the case.
They found Bernice been battered with a monkey wrench. The medical examiner believes she had stumbled from place to place in the home but eventually fell in the garage.
Many believe Ben’s suspicions had grown about Novack’s involvement, but the assassins struck again before he could make any accusations.
Novack had accompanied him to a convention for his company at the Hilton Rye Town in Rye Brook, New York. The two hitmen said at her trial Novack had let them into the couple’s suite on the morning of July 12, 2009.
Ben was asleep when he was attacked in his bed with dumbbells.
They bound him with duct tape - and Novack threw them a pillow to muffle her dying husband’s screams.
She ordered the men to gouge out his eyes with a knife so, despite being dead, he could never look at a woman.
Novack later pretended she had found her husband’s body.
But police were suspicious from the off and struggled to believe her story.
She the stole more than £90,000 from his company, paying off the killers, Alejandro Garcia and Joel Gonzales. They eventually confessed in 2010. In exchange for lesser sentences of 210 months and 120 months respectively, the pair co-operated with police leading to Novack and her brother being found guilty of the murders.
During their trial, the siblings blamed Novack’s daughter, May Abad, for orchestrating the killings, claiming she was motivated by benefits from Ben’s estate. But the jury saw through their lies.
Assistant US Attorney Elliott Jacobson described the pair as “pathological liars”, adding: “They are extraordinarily dangerous sociopaths.”
Ben had grown up in one of Florida’s most affluent and famous families. But using his business skills, he made his own millions through a company that organised events and and conventions.
Wealthy and eligible, Ben attracted the attention of many women, including Ecuador-born Narcissa Cira Veliz Pacheco, also known as Narcy.
When they met, she was a blonde stripper working in Florida under the name of Sylvia. Her background was one of poverty and struggles.
Narcy married Ben in 1991, much to the disapproval of Bernice and with his money, she transformed into the role of the trophy wife.
The couple were dripping in jewellery and lived in a £2.4million home. They seemed to have it all from the outside, but their marriage was fatally flawed.
Once, police were called to their home to find Ben tied in what looked like a kidnapping attempt - but Novack insisted it was part of a sex game.
During her trial, it emerged he had paid porn actress Rebecca Bliss for sex. The couple went on to have an affair.
When Novack found out, she was petrified Ben would leave her and she would end up struggling again.
Their prenuptial agreement meant she would only be left with £55,000, not his millions. First, she tried and failed to pay Bliss off. In her fury, Novack hatched a plot to keep hold of his £8.5 million fortune.
Later the X-rated star would testify that after the rejection, Novack told her: “If I can’t have him, no one will.”
The case was turned into a 2015 Hollywood movie called Beautiful and Twisted starring Rob Lowe and Paz Vega.
