(Melchizedek Communique, MC123110) Gianni Versace was raised in a tough neighborhood in southern Italy, in an area dominated by the Calabrian Mafia. Later, during his professional life, Versace "would become inflamed with rage at suggestions that he had links with the Mafia." [1]

Thus began a report by this editor in 1997, after Versace was murdered outside his Miami Beach home, July 15, 1997. The gay fashion designer, a friend of Elton John, and Diana, Princess of Wales, was supposedly murdered by "spree killer" Andrew Cunanan. [2]

"At the site of the shooting [of Versace]... police collected two cartridge cases and a dead pigeon." (A dead pigeon... as in "stool pigeon?") And why did the shooter (whoever he was) "shout a curse in Italian before firing?" [2]

The circumstances of Versace's murder seemed suspicious in 1997. And they seem more suspicious now following a report in the Sun, a weekly tabloid newspaper. A police informant alleges Versace was killed on orders of an Italian mobster. Reportedly, a new book, Metastasi (Chiarelettere), by Gianluigi Nuzzi, relies on a former La Cosa Nostra member, Giuseppe Di Bella, to support the claim. [3]

Frank Monte, a 65-year-old private detective who once worked for Versace, also reportedly claims "the mafia hired a hit man to carry out the shooting with the help of local nightclub owners and drug dealers." Monte reportedly "believes Andrew Cunanan — the man whom police believe carried out the murder was a ‘patsy’, or fall guy." [4]

But Santo Versace, brother of Gianni Versace, "vehemently rejected the statements made by two former mobsters that evoke the connections between his brother, designer Gianni Versace, murdered in 1997 in Miami, and the Calabrian mafia." [5]

Where did alleged killer Andrew Cunanan get all the money? Cunanan is described in a New York Times article as "moving $75,000 in and out of bank accounts in the first few months of this year alone." Cunanan is also linked to another high-profile slaying, that of Chicago multimillionaire real estate tycoon Lee Miglin. [6]

Add the name of Gianni Versace to the list of possible "star whackers" victims. Others on the list include Sylvie Cachay, Ruslana Korshunova, Deborah Jean Palfrey, and Ronni Chasen.

On or about December 10, 2010 fashion designer Sylvie Cachay was found dead in Manhattan's hyper-fashionable Meatpacking District. Ms. Cachay was discovered partially clothed with bruises on her neck, lying in a bathtub. [7]

In June 2008, Ruslana Korshunova, a fashion model, died due to a fall from the balcony of her ninth-floor condo, also in Manhattan. [7]

Deborah Jean Palfrey, the DC Madam, was found dead, hanging from a garage beam, on May 1, 2008. [7]

Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen was gunned down in late November 2010. The "Andrew Cunanan" in her case was Harold Martin Smith, who later pulled out a pistol and shot himself in the head. [7] (The real Andrew Cunanan shot himself in the mouth in the upstairs bedroom aboard a Miami houseboat, on July 23, 1997. [8])

The nomenclature of "star whackers" was introduced by Randy Quaid, who greatly feared he was targeted by unknown killers. (Background: "Star Whackers Pursue Randy Quaid", http://www.shout.net/~bigred/mc112110.html)

------- Notes -------
[1] Telegraph (UK), "Boy Raised Among the Brothels Who Became a Fashion Star," by Caroline Davies, July 16, 1997
[2] "Andrew Cunanan: Latest 'Lone Nut' On American Landscape"
http://doubleuoglobe.com/vol10/cn10-76.html
[3] "Mafia Ordered Murder of Celebrity Designer Versace", Sun, Jan. 10, 2011
[4] "Was Gianni Versace murdered by the mob?", by Andrew Malone and Nick Pisa. Daily Mail (UK), Dec. 13, 2010
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337585/Was-Gianni-Versace-murdered-mob.html
[5] "The Versace family vehemently denies rumors of links with the Calabrian mafia", by Capo (pseudonym).
http://mafiatoday.com/sicilian-mafia-ndrangheta/the-versace-family-vehemently-denies-rumors-of-links-with-the-calabrian-mafia/
[6] "Four Other Deaths Linked To Same Elusive Suspect", by David M. Herszenhorn. New York Times, July 16, 1997
[7] "Plan 9 From Ronni Chasen", http://www.shout.net/~bigred/mc122110.html
[8] "Andrew Cunanan", Wikipedia, Dec. 30, 2010