More On The Versace "Mafia Hit"

 An intriguing new theory about the murder of famous designer Gianni Versace has surfaced, this time from Versace's long time lover, the designer Antonio D'Amico.

Antonio D'Amico

D'Amico & Versace

D'Amico was speaking a few nights ago on the popular Italian entertainment program Verissimo.
In an interview with the host Silvia Toffanin he was asked about the murder and replied -"someone sent him"- referring to the alleged killer Andrew Cunanan.
 D'Amico says he struggles to believe that Cunanan would just turn up and kill Versace for no reason.

"In my opinion someone sent him (Cunanan)". Asked to elaborate, Antonio gives an enigmatic reply:
"it's my belief someone who knew Gianni very well, someone who was extremely close to him, sent his assassin. There is no evidence but the truth will come out one day"

D'Amico was a former model who began working in Versace's office in 1982 where he began a relationship with the designer that lasted until his murder. There is little love lost between Antonio and Gianni's sister Donatella Versace and brother Santo.

In Gianni's will D'Amico was left a legacy of around $26,000 a month for life and the right to live in any of Versace's several homes around the world.

Silvia Toffanin

By the time Donatella, Santo and their lawyers were finished, D'Amico received a fraction of his pension and never saw the inside of a Versace house again. Donatella is on record as saying she never liked Gianni's boyfriend. D'Amico now runs his own successful fashion design business.

And where does this leave the claim by two Mafia informants that Gianni Versace was murdered over debts to the Mafia who they say had invested earlier on in his fashion design corporation ?

P.I. Frank Monte

Those claims were published by the respected Italian investigative reporter Gianluigi Nuzzi in his 2010 book Metastasi which has been a best seller in Europe with an English version in the works.
At the time a furious Santo Versace threatened to sue anyone who repeated the Mafia hit claim. Nonetheless it was printed in hundreds of newspapers around the world and not one, including author Nuzzi has received notice from solicitors.

It's far cry from 2003 when Santo and Donatella hauled Australian private eye Frank Monte into the Australian Federal Court for making the same claim in his best selling autobiography Spying Game.
Monte had worked for Gianni in New York investigating Versace's fears that an insider was cooking the books. The Versace's spent millions of dollars to silence Monte and Pan McMillan had to pulp 26,000 copies of his book which was later published without the Versace Mafia link.

Frank Monte is restrained by the Federal Court from discussing the Nuzzi claims that mirror his own and the Australian media had a field day during the highly publicized Monte court case but oddly, have been largely silent over Nuzzi's book. Only weeks before Nuzzi published his book the Shuttle spoke to several tabloid writers who scoffed at Monte's original claim and were equally vocal when it was revealed he was investigating the David Jones sexual harassment claim. That turned out to be true.

Monte will not return calls about D'Amico's claim and our legal eagle expert says :
"Monte would still be restrained by the original court orders so probably steers clear of any discussion over the Versaces" " Mind you" he continued " I can't see Donatella or Santo taking him on again if he did speak to the media. Donatello could be called to explain the inconsistent evidence she gave to the Sydney court under oath where she claimed, surrounded by lawyers during a satellite link-up,that she had never ever taken drugs and then 2 years later gave an interview to Vogue magazine where she said she had been addicted to drugs before and after Versace's death. Courts don't take kindly to being treated like mugs"

Monte Won't Be A Guest

An invite to the Public Storage Blues Party in Manhattan lands on our desk and after perusing the guest list we note another Sydney-sider has been invited to the same event.

Frank Monte & Anthony Hayden Guest in New York

 It's the noted private eye and sometime LA & New York resident Frank Monte. The invitation is to a fund raiser for the British, New York based writer Anthony Hayden Guest

Readers may re-call that Hayden Guest was the inspiration for Peter Fallow, the hard-drinking hack in The Bonfire of the Vanities by author Tom Wolfe. Others claimed that the late writer Christopher Hitchens was Fallow but Hitchens said Hayden Guest fit the bill far better then he.

 It appears Hayden Guest has a dilemma : his personal art collection valued at $650,000 has gone astray from a storage firm. Anthony had forgotten to pay a bill of $1350 and the firm sold the collection for a paltry $650.

Now Hayden Guest is suing Public Storage and friends have rallied around to raise money to hire a top notch New York brief.

Jamie Lee Curtis & Christopher Guest

Hayden Guest says he keeps in touch with Monte on a regular basis :"I'm very fond of Frank and we exchange Christmas cards every year. We shared digs for a few months on the Upper West Side "

Monte says he won't be able to make the party in New York but will send a donation : "Anthony is a great pal and we went to dozens of parties in New York together. He can't stay home and is quite exhausting at times. He also looked after me once when I was very ill so I owe him a favour".

Guest wrote a book  The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night about his New York exploits. He contributes to a number of US publications like Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair.

His older brother (Baron) Christopher Guest is a Hollywood script writer and is married to the movie star Jamie Lee Curtis and both will be at the Public Storage Blues Party next month.

Sharon Sargeant Vs The Middletons

Britney Spears attacks paparazzi

Lord Justice Leveson

At the Leveson Inquiry into phone hacking in the UK, the picture editor of The Daily Mail-the newspaper that receives more web hits than any other publication on the planet-Paul Silva gave evidence that Pippa Middleton the sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, typically has eight or nine photographers camped outside her door and estimated that they produce between "300 to 400 pictures" of her daily. Silva says these photographs arrive on his desk and most are literally, snaps of Pippa either entering or exiting her front door and are of no value.

It's an example of the nature of today's so-called 'papparazi that has seen thousands of young kids armed with an inexpensive digital camera swell the ranks of the 'media' section of show-biz events.

For old-timers (like the Shuttle) they're a pain in the neck. Most of them are arrogant and seem to have no connection to the celebrities they snap. They show little interest in the subject matter. It's like big game hunting with a lens and as long as a 'kill' is made that's all that matters.

Frank Monte

Pippa Middleton

The Shuttle dates back to the days when they were just three photographers at any event in London. Richard Young was one and he was a welcome addition to any show biz shin dig or high society party. Likewise New York's Patrick McMullan. Both are still going strong and the difference is they are welcome at any event because not only do they have a personality, they know how to play the game.

In Los Angeles the paparazzi are even worse. Agencies are hiring illegal immigrants at around 6 a time to stake out a movie star's home. They have strict instructions. Two will have cameras, two will be 'spotters' and they other two 'agitators'. Their role is to annoy, cajole, flirt or otherwise to get a reaction from the star. A smile is as good as a scowl from their prey.

And so it leads us to Sydney party girl Sharon Sargeant who as we reported last week, was  photographed at an exclusive Fijian resort while her partner, private investigator Frank Monte held secret discussions with Fijian government officials. The snaps came from an unlikely source-a well known American show business star who had spotted Ms Sargeant bathing topless at the beach.

What the Shuttle wasn't expecting was the roasting we got when we finally got in touch with the girl known as Shazza who made her displeasure known in a 5 minute tirade down the phone.  Surely she would be happy to know an American star- and we do mean a top movie star who was quite taken with Sargeant's charms-thought enough of her to pass on the pics?. Sadly we cannot reveal his name despite Ms Sargeant's threat to take legal action.

However-just to show there are no hard feelings, we decided to publish two more from the set !

First Fiji-Now Kings Cross

SYDNEY GIRL-ABOUT-TOWN SHARON SARGEANT has returned to Sydney after holidaying in Fiji for the past week at the uber Jean-Michel Cousteau Islands Resort, the luxurious hotel that has cabins stretching along it's own palm fringed beach.


 


The Shuttle's local spy disguised as a fallen coconut managed to grab a few shots of the fun loving Shazza on the beach despite the hotel's boast that armed guards roam the grounds to keep prying eyes at bay and celebrities feeling safe to frolic in the sea au naturel, just as Sharon was (we've had to censor the snaps for our family readers).


Our local contact says the only time he spotted Ms Sargeant's escort, the famous private eye Frank Monte was once in the hotel's restaurant deep in conversation over lunch with a large important looking Fijian man who arrived and left with a military escort. What could he be up to?.The mind boggles!.

Kings Cross

But it's Ms Sargeant's activities over the past few days that has spiked the Shuttle's curiosity. Sharon was spotted on Sunday and Monday inspecting a number of vacant business premises in Kings Cross with a local real estate agent in tow. 

Apparently she was dressed far more demurely than usual and carrying a briefcase (albeit..a Louis Vuitton one) of papers, looking very business-like and  jotting down particulars of the properties she was looking at. What on earth is she up to ?. To date, our telephone messages left for Shazza haven't been returned.

The Full Monte

TWO late arrivals at the Mother Of All Balls last week had all eyes swivelling in their direction.
Not just because one was the ample bossomed party girl Sharon Sargeant who became something of an Internet star in India when her picture from the same event last year was featured in the Times Of India newspaper, but it was also her seemingly new partner, an inscrutable looking gentleman in a rather magnificent robe that drew many comments

Even the Shuttle, well used to seeing the world's most famous private eye Frank Monte around town was momentarily fooled and thought Sargeant had found a new paramour.

Monte's superb disguise  fooled all, particularly as he wandered the room nodding and saying hello to various friends who looked perplexed at the sight of the stranger greeting them.

It was possibly the best costume of the night. According to one guest  the ball's mastermind actress Rachel Ward voiced that opinion whilst her husband, actor and producer Bryan Brown noted that the cloak Monte wore would be ideal for a feature film he had in mind.

Monte's robe was an amazing original Emperor's gown from the Shang Dynasty (3000 years ago) which normally hangs in a case on a wall in his New York office.

"When I heard that the theme was Shanghai Chic I thought it was the prefect outfit even though Shanghai didn't actually exist when this ceremonial gown was created. I bought in Paris 25 years ago and it was authenticated by the National Palace Museum in Taipei. They've said when the time is right, they would love to add it to their collection of Chinese antiquities which is the best in the world."

Until then, Monte is having the cloak crated and shipped back to New York,.

There are over 20 sponsor marquees at today's Polo In The Park at Centennial Park but most action is expected to be happening around the Paspaley Pearls tent. The event has become increasingly popular since it began in 2006.
Brisbane held the first matches last week followed by Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
All eyes will be on the star attraction- handsome young Argentinian player Baron Jakob Von Plessen.

Melbourne Cup Hat Of The Day

In the end, it looked like the QANTAS debacle was a bonus for Sydney with every pub, bar, restaurant, hotel ballroom, park and garden packed with hundreds of people celebrating the Melbourne Cup.

John Ibrahim & Chelsea Mitchell

Charlotte Dawson & pals

There were parties everywhere one looked.

A few of the smartest : the  Moët & Chandon party at the W Hotel hosted by TV personality Charlotte Dawson with a room full of good looking young punters including Liberty & Somer Watson from Coco Ribbon in London's Notting Hill Gate plus some fine food and plenty of champers.

The Chandon luncheon in Centennial Park with social heavyweights like Glen Marie Frost, Deeta Colvin, Melissa Hoyer and Victoria Morish and top party designer James Gordon.

Sharon Sargeant & Frank Monte

Liberty & Somer Watson, Alison Barton-Chen

The Finger Wharf, which the W Hotel forms part of, had a dozen parties with every restaurant packed to the rafters, with the very swish Otto's booked out weeks beforehand.

Cup cakes at the W

Radio king John Laws was there with wife Caroline and Malcolm Coppleson , Frank Monte with party girl Sharon Sargeant and keeping a low profile, nightclub tsar John Ibrahim with his girlfriend Chelsea hosting a table with about a dozen friends.




At the Cup itself at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne , international stars were few on the ground.
Shane Warne and Elizabeth Hurley failed to show nor did Joan Collins. Kim Kardashian is in Sydney for a party tonight (pursued by the world's media)

The W Hotel

But they will be there on Oak's Day (Thursday) which is far more genteel and fashionable, along with Sarah Jessica Parker who flew in to Melbourne on Monday but lunched at the Chandon's Greenpoint Brasserie in the Yarra Valley. The only star of note at the Cup-actor Adrian Grenier.


And amongst the wild and wacky costumes that appear on Cup day-the prize goes to multi-millionaire self promoter Dick Smith for his simple but effective Dick Smith's Ozemite hat !. That's Dick's political statement on his annoyance that the iconic Aussie spread Vegemite has been snapped up by a foreign corporation and a clever plug for the new spread he is marketing.

Shock & Awe At The Black & White

We always knew local party girl Sharon Sargeant would make a memorable entrance to the ritzy Black & White Charity Committee Ball last Friday evening at the Sydney Town Hall.

The first indication was when her limo pulled up at the entrance in the 'buses only' lane, sending an exasperated bus driver into a frenzy of horn blaring. That suddenly ceased  as she clambered out of the vehicle and smiled sweetly at the bus driver.
 All became clear as she alighted the Town hall steps and a major wardrobe malfunction was revealed (we've had to censor it for our more sensitive readers). There was spontaneous applause from the assembled onlookers and one Scot's bagpiper momentarily faltered and hit some very odd notes.

When Sharon and her escort, the famous private eye Frank Monte took to the dance floor all eyes at the front row tables were transfixed.

Today we spoke to a member of the charity committee to get their comments on the spectacle.

Her reply :
 "We just loved having Sharon attend the ball. She really livened up the evening. And Frank is always more than welcome considering he drops a bundle on raffle tickets" 

"Mind you one distinguished gentleman was very put out and couldn't stop talking about her and her fairly exposed assets. In fact he was so shocked he walked the length of the hall past her table at least seven times to check on the outrage until his wife put a stop to it."

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Australia's Got Talent winner, 14 year old Jack Vidgen takes to the stage tonight for his first appearance at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas-possibly the youngest ever performer to appear there.

Jack has been telling his friends he was bowled over when walking down a street in Vegas to suddenly see his face flashed  on a giant TV screen announcing his appearance.

Following the stage show at Caesar's Palace where various Talent winners will appear, some British singer called Elton John has to win over the audience.

 Not only has Vidgen's premier CD now been released in the USA, he has become a major star in Brazil with Sony rushing to get copies of his album to his fans there.

Black Is White

Let us cast our minds back to 1937.

Earl of Gowrie

Mrs Eric Sheller of Darling Point put forward, to a group of well heeled ladies, the idea of holding an annual charity ball. Soon the The Black and White charity committee was formed and thus Sydney's annual society get together began it's life with the then Governor General of Australia, the Earl of Gowrie,as the  guest of honour at the first Black and White Ball held at the Trocodero, the most glamorous event the city had ever seen.

The Town Hall

Lord Gowrie, late of the 3rd Battalion Highland Light Infantry, the Cameron Highlanders in Dublin, a companion to Lord Kitchener on his visit to Australia had been appointed by King George VI as Governor General to the former colony under the British born working class Labor Party Prime Minister Billy Hughes (later known as the Little Digger), the longest serving Australian parliamentarian in the countries history.

Fast forward to 2011 and last Friday night at the Sydney Town Hall where the 75th Black and White Ball was held with an impressive 450 guests.. One guest of honour was the interior designer Leslie Walford who has decorated grand houses from Belgravia to Beverley Hills and Sri Lanka.and is the son of the committee's founder Mrs Sheller.

Ita Buttrose & Professor Ross Steele

 And what a fab night it was. Like stepping back in time to an era of restrained elegance. They even rolled out the red carpet (only slightly soiled) while dozens of bemused (and confused) by-standers gathered at the foot of the Town Hall steps and gazed in awe at the spectacle unfolding before their eyes.

Leslie Walford & Susan Diver

They had no idea what it was all about of course but there was colour and movement, glamorous ball gowns and a Scots bag-pipe band to serenade the swells as as they arrived in line after line of limousines.

Up until the late 1980sw the B & W Ball was  the cities premier social event. Then a  sort of unfounded and ill-informed criticism was perpetuated in the popular media . Just who in the hell were these ladies, probably with too much time on their hands, many with wealthy husbands , organising these over the top shindigs where hundreds would gather to drink champagne, dine on fine fare and dance the night away all in the name of charity?.

Bronwyn Bishop MP & Angela Bishop

In light of the latest report here-where some of Australia's most well know charities have been exposed for spending up to 60% of donations on  "operating costs" one fact has been ignored. The ladies of the Black & White Committee work for free. They cajole, pressure, plead for every single aspect of the ball.

Caterers, waiters, alcohol suppliers, venues, entertainers, doormen, prize donaters and so on-not one single one is paid. Everything is donated and every penny raised goes directly to charity

The Town Hall looked as splendid as it can at times although sadly the great organ on the stage-the largest in the world -remained silent but a terrific 1940's style band belted out numbers from the past 70 years.

The traditional 'Derby' went off went off without a hitch (although we noticed one gent at a front table, an 87 old retired Admiral almost had a heart attack when the starter's gun was fired) and the throng were soon up and dancing a storm.

The Derby

One guest- Bronwyn Bishop MP who spent the first half of the evening in Canberra at the Parliament House reception for HM The Queen caught a plane to join her TV presenter daughter Angela Bishop at the ball.

Four former presidents of the committee were on hand but the current president, Sue Diver deserves a gold star stamp for her superb efforts. Having survived 75 years, the Black and White Ball looks assured of a future for many years to come.

Frank & Arnie's Not So Secret Lunch

He's not normally shy of the media but the Shuttle couldn't get a word out of famous private eye Frank Monte when we phoned him today to ask if it was true that he was spotted two weeks ago lunching with ex-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the movie star hang-out, The Ivy in Los Angeles.

Monte in LA

Arnie

Our source, a local paparazzi contacted us after he saw Schwarzenegger arrive and disappear inside the restaurant for two hours. When he later asked a friendly waiter who Arnie had lunched with the waiter said an Australian businessman  named Frank Monte made the booking. Both men arrived and left separately.

Is Arnie going back into the movie business and what is his connection with Monte ?.

We do know that for years Frank Monte has been working on a film script about his adventures as a young PI in the 60's when he was hired by the then New York governor Nelson Rockefeller  to mount an expedition in the remote Asmat region of New Guinea to search for his son Michael Rockefeller who disappeared while on an expedition.

Respected journalist Paul Toohey later wrote a book Rocky Goes West  in which he recounted Monte's role in searching for the missing heir. There were several theories about Rockefeller's fate- that he had been taken by a crocodile or shark or that he had been captured by headhunters and cannibals. Toohey says Monte found Rockefeller's skull and delivered it to the explorer's family in the US.

The Rockefeller family have never denied or confirmed that fact but Michael Rockefeller was officially declared dead in 1974.  Years later the History Channel said Monte had been paid $250,000 for his services.

Michael Rockefeller

And Schwarzenegger's role ?. Another Shuttle source in the top US artist's agency William Morris says that the agency and Schwarzenegger jointly owned the rights to Monte's film script for years but Arnie dropped all his film commitments when he became Governor of California in 2003.

Is he now going back into the film business as a producer?. The story of the missing Rockefeller heir would make a compelling and exciting drama. For years Monte has hinted that the Rockefellers remained sceretive about their son's life and death beacuse he was gay, long before the gay American writer Tobias Schneebaum revealed that as a friend of Michael Rockefeller's he had listened in awe to the explorer's tales of previous visits to new Guinea and how he had discovered a 'free and easy' lifestyle there.

Sharon Sargeant Special

A brown paper parcel lands upon the Shuttle's desk and a mid-year (July '11 to July '12) calendar is revealed. But what a calendar!.

It's the latest offering from one of Sydney's most popular party girls Sharon Sargeant and to say it reveals many of Ms Sargeant's charms is an understatement.

Apparently the calendars are selling like hot cakes and each one comes with a personal note signed by Sharon.

Regular readers may recall Ms Sargeant first came to prominence when it was announced that she and the world's most famous private eye Frank Monte had become engaged over a long lunch at the uber smart restaurant Ottos in Woolloomooloo, not so long ago.

Monte & Sargeant (Getty)

Then the paparazzi snapped her having suffered a wardrobe malfunction and partying in Potts Point with pals after attending a Lady Ga Ga gig while Monte was in the USA. Soon she was discovered gate crashing a porn convention in Las Vegas and was photographed dancing with one of America's reining porn queens Claudia-Marie (a strong constitution is needed if you dare visit her website).

Weeks later Britain's Daily Mirror tabloid splashed even more pics across their pages with Ms Sargeant pictured escorting the British Rugby Team (then touring Australia and accompanied by Princess Anne's daughter Zara Phillips and her fiance Mike Tindall) to a million dollar gin palace and waving them off as they departed for a harbour cruise accompanied by some scantily clad lasses. Rugby bosses scrambled to assure the public it was an innocent outing.

UK Sunday Mirror

More shocking news when the Daily Telegraph exposed Sharon as the owner of an escort agency. But there's more than  meets the eye to this gal. Sargeant later on-sold the agency for a tidy sum to an American corporation and was spotted recently tooling around Bondi Beach and Double Bay in a gleaming black Ferrari. a gift to herself from the sale proceeds.

Now Sharon, who has been learning some nifty dance routines along side Lara Bingle ( left with Sharon) has been hailed by no less than the US Army. The US 509th Airborne Infantry have invited Sharon to be their mascot for the year and supply the troops in Afghanistan with a series of patriotic photographs to keep morale boosted on the long and lonely nights.
Our snap above and opposite are censored versions of what our US allies will be feasting their eyes upon and the calendar contains similar.

And after one snap appeared on Facebook, a British army unit has requested the same !. But is it Prince Harry's unit ?. He's partial to blonde's. The mind boggles.


You can order Sharon's calendar here...and you could always send one to our boys in Iraq and Afghanistan .

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Z-Sydney super yachts.com

Read It Here First : it's been 6 months since the Social Shuttle revealed that the luxury floating palace Z-Sydney owned by media mogul and billionaire James Packer would soon be for sale and so it has come to pass as reported in today's Sydney Morning Herald. The shining tub has played host to many Hollywood movie stars when they visit Sydney including Tom Cruise, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. It's your for around $22M.