Cellmate of killer Gucci heiress in 'plot to steal fortune'

A former cellmate of an Italian socialite who ordered the murder of her Gucci husband is being investigated for allegedly trying to swindle her out of her inheritance, as a Hollywood thriller starring Lady Gaga is made about the saga.

Patrizia Reggiani, nicknamed the Black Widow, spent 18 years in prison after being convicted of ordering a hitman to kill her ex-husband, Maurizio Gucci, a scion of the Italian fashion family. He was gunned down on the steps of his office in Milan in 1995.

Italian police are investigating four people for allegedly trying to get their hands on her fortune, including a former cellmate of hers, Loredana Canò, who was in jail for attempted murder.

They came to know each other when they were both imprisoned in San Vittore prison in Milan and Ms Canò was later taken on as the socialite’s personal assistant. Ms Reggiani even invited her to move in with her in a luxury three-storey villa in Milan.

A new film based on the murder, House of Gucci, is currently being made in Italy, starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver and Al Pacino, with scenes filmed in Rome this month.

Also under investigation are two lawyers and a financial consultant who were hired by Ms Reggiani to manage her considerable wealth.

They are accused of a crime known in Italian as “circonvenzione d’incapace” meaning to take advantage of a person who is incapacitated, either mentally or physically. They deny any wrongdoing, as does Ms Canò, the former cellmate.

Suspicions were raised by one of Ms Reggiani’s daughters, Allegra Gucci, who went to prosecutors with her concerns.

Ms Reggiani, who lives in Milan, is said by psychiatrists who have examined her to be “easily led” and vulnerable to manipulation.

The police raided offices and residential properties on Wednesday, seizing computers, mobile phones and documents.

Despite being convicted of ordering the killing of her former husband in 1995, Ms Reggiani was able to keep her share of the Gucci inheritance.

She also inherited property worth around €14 million, including her villa in Milan, and cash deposits of €4 million from her mother, who died in 2019 at the age of 92.

The property was put into a trust and police want to find out whether it was mismanaged by the people under investigation.

House of Gucci, which has been filmed in the Italian Alps and Milan as well as Rome, is directed by Sir Ridley Scott and due for release in November.

The Black Widow, as she is nicknamed in Italy, is being played by Lady Gaga while Adam Driver plays her ex-husband and the Romanian model Madalina Ghenea plays Italian screen diva Sophia Loren.

Ms Reggiani, 72, said in a recent interview with Corriere della Sera newspaper that she ordered the murder of her ex-husband because he “irritated” her. He had also left her for another woman.

Members of the Gucci family are concerned about how the fashion dynasty will be portrayed in the film, which is based on a 2001 book about the murder, The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour and Greed.

Patricia Gucci, a cousin of Maurizio Gucci, last month criticised the choice of Al Pacino to play her father.

She said the film was portraying her father Aldo Gucci as “a diminutive, overweight thug”, rather than as he was in real life - “tall, slender, and blue-eyed.”

Ms Gucci, who was raised in Britain, said her father’s reputation will be tarnished by the movie.

He had “transformed Gucci from a single store in Florence to a global phenomenon during his 30 years as chairman.”