[sethii]

Quote:

The fashion designer Gianni Versace was murdered because of debts to the Mafia – who then tried to steal his ashes to blackmail his family, according to a supergrass. Gianni Versace was allegedly killed 'over debts' he had with the Godfathers Photo: REX By Nick Pisa in Rome 5:01PM GMT 05 Dec 2010 The 50-year-old Versace was gunned down on the steps of his Miami apartment in 1997 by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. According to a new book by Giuseppe Di Bella, a former member of the Calabrian Mafia known as the N'drangheta, Versace was allegedly killed "over debts" he had with the Godfathers. In the book Metastasi, Di Bella alleges that Versace was being used by Godfather Paolo De Stefano to launder money. Di Bella told investigative journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi:"There were rivers of money from *****, extortion, protection rackets, loan sharking, mountains of money and it had to be made clean. "Bars, restaurants, property and luxury goods were used but also clean businesses like that of Versace." Di Bella also describes how the N'drangheta plotted to steal Versace's ashes from a cemetery near his family home on Lake Como on New Year's Eve 1997 but it was never carried out. Giancarlo Capaldo, of the Rome-based anti Mafia department, said: "We have opened a file into what Di Bella says – he is an informer and his information in the past has always proved correct." In a statement the Versace family denounced the claims as "false and shameful". "We reserve the right to protect the memory and reputation of Gianni Versace in civil and criminal courts," the statement added.

telegraph.co.uk

[Elfinkova]

This allegation leaves a lot of questions unanswered. So what happened next? They just approached Cunanan to murder Versace over 'debts to the Mafia'?

[kokobombon]

^as I understood it, yes. Probably to scare the family so they´ll pay the debts... if it´s true of course. I hardly remember the case, did the police ever catch the "killer"?

[saann]

^ it says in the article that he was shot by a serial killer

it does seem like there's a lot more to it. and if it's true, for how long did they launder money with the help of the Versace house? did it still go on after his death?

I wonder how this will affect the Versace business if it turns out to be true

[gius]

i remember an article a long time ago posted here on vogue italia, their photographers and a bunch of other italian fashion houses all linked to the mafia

[Label Basher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kokobombon I hardly remember the case, did the police ever catch the "killer"?

He killed 5 people, Gianni being the last and then a few days later he shot himself. He was never brought to justice.

I was obsessed with Versace as a teen and did my main project on him in Fashion Studies at school. The story is inked in my brain.

[ultramarine]

Theres something I dont quite get .. I think I read on a Vanity Fair article about Cunanan about his killing spree where he murdered a lot of his ex-lovers .. including Gianni. Why did he killed all this other guys if he was "hired" to kill just Gianni?

And why will he kill himself if he did it for the money?

This story just doesnt add up .. my take? the house of Versace may or may not linked to mafia but now they're using it as some sort of bragging rights way to intimidate or gain street cred ...

Anyway, its all wrong ...

PS A cookie to whomever can pronounce that mafia guys name

[j.cruz146]

^lmfao! the last sentence was pure gold. you deserve a cookie! haha

but i still agree with everything you just said. i might not have known of him cause of my young age at the time (7), but i do love him now.

my take is that only the family knows what happened. maybe it was all part of donatella's long life plan to be head b!tch!

[Echoes]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ultramarine PS A cookie to whomever can pronounce that mafia guys name

a former member of the Calabrian Mafia known as the N'drangheta,


Not a person's name, rather the name of the group, faction or family. 'Mafia' is sort of a collective reference to a number of separate entities. Most well known is La Cosa Nostra.

I don't speak Italian, but it would be along the lines of dran - getta.

[saann]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ultramarine Theres something I dont quite get .. I think I read on a Vanity Fair article about Cunanan about his killing spree where he murdered a lot of his ex-lovers .. including Gianni. Why did he killed all this other guys if he was "hired" to kill just Gianni? And why will he kill himself if he did it for the money? This story just doesnt add up .. my take? the house of Versace may or may not linked to mafia but now they're using it as some sort of bragging rights way to intimidate or gain street cred ... Anyway, its all wrong ... PS A cookie to whomever can pronounce that mafia guys name

I'm also skeptical about that part and I like your take. but if it's true that they paid him then maybe he didn't commit suicide and they killed him instead so he wouldn't spill. Or I need to stop watching so many movies.

and I can pronounce it! Where's my cookie?

[shoesexy]

Silly.

[ultramarine]

Some tidbit appear on NYMags The Cut and they say that the guy who said it its pretty trustworthy .. so til then, we will have to wait.

PS Chocolate macadamia cookie is OK?

[Squizree]

It's not easy to believe, but if they say he's reliable then I guess we'll wait and see.

[radolgc]

I do not understand why anybody would like to know what happened and who did what...what diffcerence would it make? It will just feed the curiousity of some people. The truth behind such events will never be known or if some of us know it (as I think I do) nobody would evber believe them, cause often people do not believe what is in front of their eyes or what sounds logical...I spoke to an insider who is close to the family and i was never curious to know anything, I just heard a version of all this that sounded pretty believable...I do not want cookies, but I do not think it would be apprporiate to discuss such matters here and who knows what the conciquences might be...
And by the way there is NO LOGIC whatsoever in the version that he was murdered for having debts to the mafia! Nobody would believe such nonsense...after all Gianni was on of the richest designers out there and his fashion impire was successfull(which it still is even after his death), so it is more likely that somebody else is in debts to him...he did not need anybody or anything to be rich, he did what he loved and gained fame and fortune. There is always a good reason behind every "crime", but do you guys think that the truth will be publicly told?! I do not think so!

[Lalique]

Andrew Cunanan was a documented nutcase. There are a few books well-researched books out that detail his history with Versace, as well as the other murders he committed. He was killed in a shootout by police after he killed Versace in cold blood.

This was NOT a professional hit. JMO.

shoesexy, those cookies look tasty!