Police Friday arrested the former wife of Maurizio Gucci and charged her in the 1995 killing of the fashion family scion.
Patrizia Reggiani Martinelli, 49, and four other people, including her psychic and a hotel doorman, were charged with murder, said Ottavio Aragona, a Milan police deputy commander.The 46-year-old businessman was gunned down as he walked into his office building in central Milan on the morning of March 27, 1995. Investigators at the time said the killing appeared to be the work of a professional gunman.
Martinelli was accused of ordering the killing and the psychic of organizing it, Aragona said.
Two hit men, one now in jail on unrelated drug charges, carried it out, he said. The ANSA news agency reported that Martinelli paid the killers $310,000. The doorman's role was not clear.
Police did not immediately disclose an alleged motive.
Martinelli had contested her alimony payments by Gucci, ANSA said.
Her lawyer, Marco De Luca, said he had just been retained and had no immediate comment.
The psychic was arrested in Naples, while police picked up Martinelli in a central Milan apartment. The other suspects also were arrested in Milan.
Gucci's grandfather was Guccio Gucci, who founded the company known for shoes, wallets, handbags and other status leather goods.
Maurizio Gucci was the last family member to hold shares of the company. He sold his holdings to the Bahrain-based Investcorp for a reported $100 million to $140 million in September 1993.