Patrizia Reggiani: Murder of Maurizio Gucci, Who Is She?

by Scott Wu | October 21, 2009 at 12:47 pm

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Patrizia Reggiani arranged the murder of her ex-husband Maurizio Gucci in 1995, and she was sentenced to 26 years in prison in 1998. A new movie by Ridley Scott, Gucci, is starting to take shape as the director is in discussion with Angelina Jolie, who might play Patrizia Reggiani.

More than a decade has passed since the murder and her subsequent conviction. Patrizia Reggiani was called the "Black Widow" for hiring hit man to kill her estranged husband Maurizio Gucci. He was shot 4 times outside of his Milan office in 1995. She remained outspoken after her ex-husband's death, telling friends and reporters that she had wanted him dead.

The prosecutor originally sought a life sentence, the most severe punishment in Italy, but got 29 years sentence instead. In 2000, an appeals court reduced the sentence from 29 to 26 years.

Maurizio Gucci, then 46, was the grandson of Guccio Gucci, the founder of Gucci fashion empire. He inherited half of the family business in 1983, which he sold in 1993.

Maurizio Gucci, who inherited half of the family business after his father died in 1983 and fought and exchanged lawsuits with his relatives, was not deeply mourned. He spent his own and his company's income so freely that after repeated losses he was forced to sell his shares to a Bahrain-based investment group, Investcorp, in 1993.

Maruizio Gucci had been living with his mistress Paola Franchi, an interior designer, when he was murdered.

At first, the police thought that his murder was linked either to Gucci family feuds or his new-found casino ties. Finally, an anonymous tip led police to a hotel porter, Ivano Savioni, who had been contacted by Mrs. Auriemma and who helped her hire the gunman, Benedetto Ceraulo, as well the driver of the getaway car, Orazio Cicala.

Among the evidence prosecutors presented in court was Mrs. Reggiani's diary. In it she wrote, ''There is no crime that money cannot buy.'' On the day Mr. Gucci was shot, there was a single word entry: ''Paradeisos,'' the Greek word for ''paradise.''