The Gucci Murder

even in fairy tales not all endings are happy just read well any story by the prolific and sadistic brothers grim like cinderella she gets to marry her prince yes but her stepsisters get their eyes pecked out by birds during the wedding ceremony i mean i would argue that's not a fun scenario for cinderella either but my point is this when cinderella and her prince are married what happens next five years pass then 10 then 20 are we to assume that cinderella and the prince are faultless forever that they never wrong each other or anybody else for the rest of their lives that they stay content maybe they do you maybe they're the lucky ones but what happens when the happy part doesn't come at the ending but in the middle today we're covering one of the darkest stories from the glittering world of fashion when a high-end princess is scorned by her charming prince and becomes the villain in her own tale i'm harvey guillen and this is killer story italy 1970 we're at a debutante party for the upper class rich 20-somethings dance in their designer clothing straight from milan italy 1970 we're at a debutante party for the upper class rich 20-somethings dance in their designer clothing straight from milan talking about well Maurizio is the grandson of its founder guccio gucci what a name Maurizio's father Rodolfo now runs the company with his brother Aldo Rodolfo has created some of Gucci's famous looks while Aldo has grown the brand into an international phenomenon but Maurizio he's studying to become a lawyer not a fashion scion but Patricia doesn't care she's charmed by him. by their second date he feels certain he's going to marry patricia reggiani okay so patricia also comes from money her dad operates a transportation company he spoils his daughter buying her a sports car and fur coats she's not really a gold digger that's kind of a misconception her family has a seaside villa for crying out loud but Maurizio's level of wealth and fame puts him on an entirely different run of the no different, really, than his dad's had been. So, according to Patrizia, Maurizio grows colder, more distant, until one day in 1985, when Maurizio packs a bag and leaves her. He doesn't even say goodbye. Then he sends a family friend, a doctor, to break the news to Patrizia that her husband has left her. And then this doctor friend presents her with the bottle of Valium. Patrizia is shocked. She knew her marriage had soured, but she never thought a man like Mauricio would leave her like this. It's somewhere between ghosting and the 1980s version of breaking up over a text. He doesn't speak to her again, face-to-face, for months. When he does, Mauricio tells her it's not like he's seen anybody else. There is no other woman. He simply needs his freedom. Specifically from Patrizia. But the former Cinderella and Prince Charming of the fashion world don't make a clean break from each other. They now have two young children to raise. They don't want to be alone. And Mauricio has a business to run. Appearances are important to both of them, at home and in public. People expect to see Patrizia on his arm. So, for a while, she continues to play the part of a happy, glamorous wife at events. And whenever he drops by to visit the children, she dresses to impress him. But at the end of every night, Mauricio's leave her. All over again. It's hard. And when Patrizia needs support, she always turns to her close friend and confidant, Pina. And Pina's tarot cards. I mean, who doesn't like that one friend who can give you free tarot readings? Especially the ones who kind of fudge the results to make you feel better. But, well, Patrizia just can't help being Patrizia. She also copes by keeping a diary where she writes down every detail of the day of every interaction with her estranged husband. I know it's a little cringey, but at least she's obsessing in style. She uses a Cartier diary, with a photo of herself on the front cover. Hmm? A few months after the breakup, the whole family tries to spend Christmas together. It's like the premise of a good holiday rom-com, but it's not romantic or funny either. And at the end of the disastrous week, Patrizia starts to see clearly. Her marriage is over. Her fairytale ending comes to an end. It's a tough pill to swallow. But there's one fact that gives her some comfort. She might not have Mauricio anymore, but at least she still has the name Gucci. But then, according to Patrizia, he goes and messes that up too. When your mental health is suffering, finding the right treatment can be overwhelming. That's where Talkiatry comes in. Talkiatry is an online psychiatry practice with licensed psychiatrists who can evaluate, diagnose, and provide ongoing medication management when appropriate. They accept major insurers, can treat anxiety, ADHD, depression, and more. And you can schedule your first visit in days, not months. Go to talkiatry.com slash killers and get matched in minutes. That's T-A-L-K-I-A-T-R-Y dot com slash killers and get matched in minutes. That's as a shareholder, but Mauricio still has to deal with his three cousins, whom he calls the Pizza Brothers. Which sounds like a cool nickname, but he means it in a derogatory way. Very bad. The Pizza Brothers. Bottom line is, Mauricio still doesn't have control. The cousins can, and often do, vote against him. It's a stalemate, and Mauricio feels like the time to resuscitate this brand is running out. If he's going to turn this Gucci ship around, Mauricio thinks it should have only one captain. Him. So he decides it's time for some shareholder restructuring, which means it's time for a lesson on hostile takeovers. Okay, so here's how the company's divided. Mauricio has 50%. His cousins, Roberto and Giorgio. Each. Each have 23.3%. And Paolo, over here, he has 3.3%. Mauricio wants 100% of the company. The only way to do that is to buy them out, which he does not have the money to do. So, Mauricio goes to an investment banker. Now, this banker goes to a third party, Invescorp. And, at the time, they're an up-and-coming investment company with an eye on luxury brands. They jump at the chance to work with Gucci. Invescorp. Invescorp comes up with the money and makes the offer through that investment banker. They have to be stealthy about Mauricio's involvement. Otherwise, his cousins might refuse to sell. They can't know he's behind this little coup. Mauricio instructs them to go after Paolo first. He's going to be the easiest target. And Mauricio knows his weakness. Paolo feels like he's treated unfairly. So, when the banker offers to pay him the same amount they're going to pay his brothers, even though his brothers own way more shares, Paolo says yes. Once Paolo sells, his brothers decide they might as well sell too. Without Paolo's shares, they can't vote in a block. They'll never win against whoever is buying up the company. By the end of the 80s, Mauricio and Invescorp own the brand. And they're totally on board with Mauricio's vision. And that's how he steps forward as the singular head of Gucci. Okay, thanks for sticking with me. So, now Mauricio is in control of Gucci. Got that? Alright. So, he wastes no time and spares no expense trying to get the brand back to its former glory. I don't know if he's ever heard the phrase, you gotta spend money to make money, but he definitely embodies that phrase. He opens a new headquarters in Milan. He woos a bunch of new talent to work on his team. He hires a young designer by the name of Tom Frazier. And that's how he got his name, Mauricio Ford. There's no doubt that Mauricio's vision is elegant and refined. The question becomes, can he manage the money side of the business? With all of these changes he's making, Gucci is bleeding money. At the same time, he cuts production on a lot of the products that don't align with his vision. Except, those products were a major part of the company's annual revenue. From being super profitable to not being able to cover payroll, Mauricio racks up a bunch of debt, both for Gucci and for himself. And if somebody tries to talk sense into him, say by suggesting he hire a CEO, he won't listen. He is certain his vision is going to turn everything around. And you know what? He's actually right. Gucci bounces back, just like Maurizio believed it would. It just takes a while. And by then, Maurizio is out at Gucci. By 1993, Maurizio owes the bank something like $40 million, and that's just for personal loans. Gucci is fighting for survival at that point, so he can't pay. And he's forced to sell his shares to Investcorp. Maurizio feels like he gave it everything he had. And now, for the first time ever, Gucci is no longer owned by the Gucci family. He spends the next few months. In a daze. He feels like he's been betrayed. And he's not the only one. When Patricia hears that Maurizio has sold off the family company, she doesn't laugh. Doesn't rebel in his failure. She is enraged. Patricia still feels like being a Gucci is a huge part of her identity. So what if Maurizio finally asks for a divorce in 1991? On top of that, since they broke up. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She expected him to show up to support her when she had surgery, but he didn't come. And he also didn't show up to his daughter's debutante party. So there's a lot of things Patricia is angry about. But selling off Gucci to an investor, ugh, that really takes the cake. Does she hide her feelings of rage and hurt and disgust? She does not. She sends Maurizio a cassette tape on which she has recorded a spiteful, semi-threatening message, including such phrases as. You are a painful appendage that we all want to forget. And who could forget such classics as. Maurizio, the inferno for you is yet to come. Patricia claims she's going to the press and telling them what a monster she thinks he is. And then. She makes good on her promise. In one interview, she contends that Maurizio blamed her for the breakup because she fancied herself the president of Gucci. Oh, and when he doesn't show up at her daughter's debutante party, she casually asked her divorce attorney. What would happen if she had Maurizio killed? At which point, I assume the lawyer choked on his Negroni. If you think that's going a little too far, well, just you wait. By her own admission, Patricia starts to float the idea of killing Maurizio in front of other people, too. She asks randos around town, including the butcher, if they are brave enough to kill her ex-husband. So I would say Patricia is straight-up advertising her distaste for her ex. But Patricia. Maintains that she does not mean to incite Maurizio's murder. Not really. Which brings us to the morning of March 27, 1995. Maurizio wakes up next to his live-in girlfriend, Paola, and their old friends who reconnected and have been going strong for about five years. Their day starts as it always does. They wake up together in their gorgeous apartment in the heart of Milan. They eat breakfast together. And then Maurizio heads off to work. After making $120 million on the sale of his Gucci shares, Maurizio has taken an office near his apartment. He's been tinkering with some new business ventures. Anything but fashion, he hopes. As he reaches his office building, he skips up to the front stairs with his usual burst of energy. A doorman, Giuseppe, welcomes him. But before Maurizio can disappear inside, a man walks up, brandishes a gun, and. fires six times. Two bullets strike Giuseppe in the arm. Another hits Maurizio in the head. And he collapses. It's 8:30 a.m., broad daylight, so the police are notified immediately. And yet, in the chaos, the gunman escapes in a getaway car. Giuseppe, who will survive, pulls himself over to Maurizio. and holds onto his gun. And holds him. until he's gone. Investigators know right away that this was a hit. But the gunman also didn't seem like a true professional. And police informants say they didn't hear about any hit going down. Not to mention, Maurizio doesn't have any major outstanding debts. He paid everything off. Which means the murder wasn't business. It was personal. When police interview Paola, she tries to help. She tells them Maurizio heard some troubling news, somebody was talking about. having him killed. Patrizia Reggiani. Evening. Buyer's remorse. Buy a new car? I'll be moving in. Let's get started. Sorry, I think there's been a mistake. I bought it from Carvana. You what? Yeah, great price. I even have seven days to love it or return it. So there's no. No, no buyer's remorse. More like buyer's rejoice. I guess I'll let myself out. Congratulations. I mean it. Buyer's rejoice. Buy your car today on Carvana. Limitations and exclusions may apply. See our seven-day return policy at Carvana.com. Hey, parents. How do you make smarter choices for your kid's college today? That's where Sally can help. With Sally, you can find scholarships, funding options, tools, and guidance all in one place. And if you need a loan, Sally has options for different families and different situations. College is only worth it if you do it right. So don't just help your kid go. Help them go smarter. sally.com/goparents. Gray roots entering the chat? Uninvited? Garnier's got you. Garnier Color Sensation Root Retouch covers up to 100% of grays in just 10 minutes. No ammonia, no mess, and the color lasts up to four weeks. It's as easy to apply as shampoo. Plus, it's vegan and cruelty-free. 10 minutes. Sensational color, sensational price. With those savings, your next girl's night is basically free. Find your perfect match at walmart.com or at a store near you. Naturally, the detectives working Mauricio's murder case want to speak to Patricia. She's his ex-wife, and credible sources claim she talked openly about having him killed. But Patricia scoffs at the idea that she would actually order him. "I would actually order his murder?" As she later puts it, "What wife has never said, 'I'd kill that guy.'" Um, I think a lot of wives never say that. To be clear, a lot of wives haven't and would never say that. But what do I know, right? But what she's saying is, "She was just venting. Doesn't mean she's guilty." And detectives can't find a shred of evidence tying her to the murder. They can't locate the gunman. They can't locate the gunman or the getaway car. And they can't arrest a scorned woman for hating her ex. So the investigation stalls. And the case goes cold. For nearly two years. Until one day, when a lead investigator gets a strange phone call. It's January 1997, when a man comes forward with a tip. He says he's a good friend of this hotel doorman. His name is Ivano. And one day, Ivano confessed to him that he was involved in the murder of Maurizio Gucci. He says Ivano isn't a bad man. But he has a large family and a lot of debt. He's always in need of money. So when he was offered the equivalent of $375,000 to orchestrate a hit. Well, he mulled it over. And yeah, he accepted. The person who offered him that money was an old pal of Ivano's. Some lady named Pina. The best friend of Patricia Reggiani. The tipster adds two other people were involved in the murder. Ivano didn't want to carry out the hit himself. So he hired another friend. The getaway driver. And he involved a neighbor of his. The gunman. It's a shocking story. And the pieces seem to fit. But it's hearsay. So the tipster agrees to wear a wire and talk to Ivano and his accomplices. Meanwhile, police tap everybody's phone. Including Patricia's. She's too smart to say anything obvious on the phone. But her accomplices, not so much. Police get plenty of audio from the hit team. Talking about carrying out the hit. They implicate themselves, each other, and Patricia. They actually get pretty fired up. Because right now they're thinking about blackmailing Patricia for more money. Here they are taking all the risk while she sits around in a fancy apartment living it up. They even hire a guy to scare Patricia into paying them, not realizing that the scary guy they hire is actually an undercover cop. On January 31, 1998, Patricia is jolted awake by visitors before 5 a.m. She now lives in the Milan home once shared by Maurizio and Paola. She had actually filed papers to have Paola kicked out just hours after the murder took place. Since then, her million-dollar-a-year divorce settlement has been keeping her afloat. When Patricia answers the door, it's the police, and they have an arrest warrant. She is still in her dressing gown, so they grant her a moment to get dressed. She comes back out, dripping in gold and jewels, a full-length fur coat, and of course, a Gucci handbag. Who says you can't look fashionable in prison? Well, a lot of people say that, actually, you can't. You can't wear your own clothes in prison. I know, because when I went, my lawyer says to not bring that up. The point is, her mother, who's witnessing all of this, talks her into changing into a more sensible outfit. The trial lasts months. In terms of sheer media coverage, it is the Italian equivalent of the O.J. Simpson trial. The press dubs Patricia the Black Widow. And Pina? The Black Witch. Pina confesses to her role in the murder, but places the blame on Patricia. And Patricia's bank statements confirm Pina's story. Two large withdrawals match the first and second payments that finance the hit. Police also confiscate Patricia's diary, the Cartier one with her photo on it, where she wrote about every interaction with Maurizio. And on the day of his death, her entry was one. single word. It's Greek, and it translates to "paradise." But Patricia has an explanation for everything. She says that was simply a neat word she came across that day. She liked it and wanted to remember it, because, well, she happens to be writing a book. And this is true, a somewhat fictionalized account of her relationship with Maurizio. As for Pina's story, Patricia says that it's all a lie. She claims that Pina moved in with her in 1994 to help her write that book. And maybe Patricia talked about hiring a hitman, but she didn't mean it. She insists that she had nothing to do with Pina going off and planning the hit. And then, once it was done, Pina blackmailed Patricia into paying the money by threatening her daughter's lives. Patricia admits she was relieved when she heard Maurizio died, but she maintains she had nothing to do with the murder. Although she also tells the court that his death was "worth every lira." So the messaging isn't totally consistent here. At trial, all of the defendants are found guilty of playing a role in Maurizio Gucci's murder. Pina is sentenced to 25 years. The getaway driver gets 29, Ivano gets 26, and the gunman receives life in prison. And Patricia gets 29 years, originally. Later, she's sentenced to 26. In 2011, she's offered early release, which she turns down. Because one of the stipulations is that she has to get a job. Reportedly, she tells her lawyer, "I've never worked in my life. And I don't intend to start now." Eventually, Patricia leaves prison in 2016, after serving 18 years. For a while, she gets a job working for a maker of costume jewelry. Now in her 60s, she seems content to be back among the shinier things in life. And the press seems happy to have her back, too. They photograph her celebrating her freedom with a shopping trip in Milan. And the things Patricia says in the press are sometimes funny, too. I mean, when one reporter keeps asking her why she had Maurizio killed by a hitman, she flippantly answers, "My eyesight is not so good. I didn't want to miss." But while she was a larger-than-life character, Maurizio was killed. He was only 46 years old. His daughters lost a father. And Paola lost the man she loved. Now I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Lady Gaga aspect of the story. She famously plays Patricia in the film House of Gucci. And Patricia notoriously was upset that she wasn't involved in the project. But as Gaga has said in interviews, "Club, bus, another club." Wait, that's not the ones you're talking about. Sorry. But as Gaga said in interviews, she needed to find her own way into the character. She had to become Patricia on her own. And at the end of filming, she was out on her balcony one day, in full Patricia mode, singing with a cigarette hanging from her mouth, when a cloud of flies swarmed her. They wouldn't leave her alone. Gaga thought it was somehow 100% true. 100% possible that Patricia had sent them. Maybe Lady Gaga was onto something with the swarming flies. Because you look at Patricia Reggiani's life today, and it's like looking at a fractured mirror of a Disney classic. She's the bizarro Cinderella, the one who got the palace and then lost the prince. Even in prison, she insisted on her royal perks. She called the San Vittore penitentiary her victor residence. And like any good princess, she had her animal helpers, specifically a pet ferret named Bambi. Her lawyers actually negotiated for that ferret to live in her cell. But in a twist that's more Brothers Grimm than Walt Disney, the story of Bambi ended when another inmate accidentally sat on him. It's dark. It's absurd. It's peak Patricia. Today, if you walk through Milan's fashion district, you might still see her. She's in her late 70s now, often decked out in gold and oversized shades. But the glass slipper has been replaced by something much louder, a massive pet macaw named Bo, who hitches a ride on her shoulder as she goes window shopping at the boutiques that used to bear her name. Patricia Reggiani wanted the fairy tale at any cost. She got the name, she got the residence, and she still has her birds and her beast. But the prince is gone, the family is fractured, and the kingdom has moved on without her. She remains the black widow of Milan, a woman who proved that sometimes when the clock strikes midnight you don't lose your carriage, you just lose your soul. She's the only one who can save her. She's the only one who can save her.