A Gucci Murder Story – “Blood on the marble” E02 The second episode of the True Crime series dedicated to the Gucci murder

Three events - each every Wednesday - to tell the story of Maurizio Gucci and all the events that preceded it. The first episode, which tells of Maurizio's rise to the top of the company, can be read by clicking on this link.

To do so, we have divided the story into three episodes, which will focus respectively on the rise of Maurizio Gucci to the top of the company, his murder and the investigations that followed. For the convenience of the exhibition, we present below a synthetic family tree of the Gucci family in which we have highlighted the main protagonists of the facts.

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The late 1980s and early 1990s were a moment full of transitions for Gucci: in 1989 the first real creative director of the brand, Dawn Mello, was called from America - she had the very difficult task of cleaning up the brand's reputation after years of wild licenses and franchises that had irreparably diluted it. Mello's work was essential in resurrecting the brand's fortunes at a delicate moment of transition of power and prepared the ground for the triumphant arrival of Tom Ford, the Man of Destiny who brought the myth of Gucci into the new millennium. Before this triumphant moment, which however occurred only after the company had been torn from the rissous hands of the Gucci dynasty, the waters in which the family sailed for over a decade remained stormy, finding relative calm only after the death of Maurizio Gucci in 1995.

Patrizia

One of her habits that has been strengthening over the years was to manifest her growing hatred for her husband: first for his irresponsible expenses; then for his relationship with an old friend of hers, Paola Franchi in '92, who became cohabitation in '94. Already in the late 1980s, in fact, Patrizia was asking basically anyone if they coudl fine somebody who wanted to kill her husband, who wanted to see him dead. He also asked her lawyer, Cosimo Auletta, to whom she nonchalantly said: «What would happen if I try and get my husband killed?» When asked, the lawyer quit and alerted Maurizio, who was aware of his wife's intentions. According to some accounts, in fact, on the rare times he went to visit his daughters he refused to sit down for breakfast or to eat or drink anything that had passed from his wife's hands.

Trouble and War

The first rumors begin to emerge: Morgan Stanley carried out its operations on behalf of a mysterious group of shareholders, with some even named Christian Dior. Finally comes the article in the Financial Times of London: behind the purchase of the company is the Arab group Investcorp. In the meantime Maurizio is sentenced in Milan with a suspended sentence – if he manages to close his civil case with the tax man he can return to control 50% of his shares. The question remains open even when, in 1989, the new board of directors appointed Maurizio Gucci as the new president of Gucci: the family war is won. However, the success would last only a few years: after re-lifting the fortunes of the brand putting first Dawn Mello and then Tom Ford in charge of the creative team, the debts incurred to secure control of the company had become enormous and, in a final twist, Maurizio himself found himself forced to sell his entire share package at Investcorp for 170 million dollars in 1993. The Gucci epic was over forever.

«For you hell is yet to come»

With the sale of the last piece of the company, Patrizia felt that she had lost a status that belonged to her - at the time of her love with Maurizio she had been her most trusted advisor. What's more, by losing the family business, Patrizia felt that her daughters were losing her inheritance. The gigantic alimony agreement signed with Maurizio in Switzerland, which granted her one million francs a year as well as the use of houses in St. Moritz and Creole, the sailing ship that Maurice had bought her by weight of gold during their thirteen years together, was not enough. Here's what gucci house maid Alda Rizzi remembered:

«Since 1985, Dr. Gucci sent his wife $200 million a month, plus $350 million in August for renting a boat. [...] They came in cash, I counted them. [...] She told me he wanted to see him dead. To cover her house expenses she had accumulated debts, she also had difficulty keeping her daughters' horses [...]. She asked me if my husband could find someone to kill Dr. Gucci. She said she wanted to kill him, that he didn't give her any more money, that I had to help her. She was serious. I objected. Even if it's the last thing I do - she replied - I want to see him dead».

In 1991 there was a turning point. Reggiani is diagnosed with a benign brain tumor that is successfully removed. Next to her are her two daughters, her mother and friend Pina Auriemma but not Maurizio. This infuriates Patrizia who, in a telephone message that was recorded, tells him «For you hell is yet to come». Meanwhile, she begins to ask anyone she knows if anyone knows a contract killer to kill her husband: she asked her boyfriend at the time, she also asked the housekeeper of her house, Alda Rizzi, to both of them proposed a payment of two billion lire.

The killers fire twice more at the doorman: one shot goes empty, the second injures him in the arm. The man also falls to the ground. The killers get back in the car and run away. The mystery of the Gucci murder had begun.