Fugitive mafiosi evaded cops for two decades until he was spotted on Google Street View
- Reference: 1641453911
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/01/06/mafia_google_arrest/
- Source link:
Convicted murderer Gioacchino Gammino, 61, was serving a life sentence at Rebibbia prison in Rome when he escaped in 2002. Police in Sicily have been searching for the crime boss ever since, and had an inkling he might be in Spain.
His exact whereabouts were tracked to Galapagar, a town on the northwest outskirts of Madrid, after police saw in Google Street View a man strongly resembling Gammino outside a fruit and vegetable shop.
[1]
Officers confirmed their suspicions by browsing a Facebook page for Cocina de Manu, a Sicilian restaurant in the town that has since shut down. Images on the page showed the fugitive had been working as a chef under the name of Manuel; he was identified by a scar on his chin.
[2]
He was arrested on December 17, according to a report [3]published in La Repubblica, an Italian newspaper, on Wednesday.
“How did you find me? I haven’t even called my family for 10 years!” Gammino reportedly told the cops when he was cuffed.
[4]Mafia works remotely, too, it seems: 100+ people suspected of phishing, SIM swapping, email fraud cuffed
[5]Reward! Uncle Sam promises $10m for info about DarkSide ransomware gang chiefs
[6]Call that a mugshot? Aussie model/fugitive asks rozzers for more flattering pic
[7]Emails, chat logs, more leaked online from far-right militia linked to US Capitol riot
He was part of a former organized crime group known as Stidda, which has its roots in southern Sicily. Gammino was found guilty of murdering a man, who he thought was a rival gang member, in 1989. The mobster was jailed in 1998 and managed to walk out of Rebibbia prison four years later while a film crew was shooting a scene there.
Gammino will be sent back to Italy to finish his sentence. ®
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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YdbL2ysQ9TcA7dd2ym9a7wAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YdbL2ysQ9TcA7dd2ym9a7wAAAJY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[3] https://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/2022/01/05/news/mafia_il_superlatitante_gammino_scovato_dopo_vent_anni_con_google_maps_vicino_a_madrid-332668896/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/21/europol_arrests/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/05/us_darkside_ransomware_10m_bounty/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2015/07/08/aussie_fugitive_asks_police_for_more_flattering_facebook_mugshot/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/28/in_brief_security/
[8] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Well who'd a thunk ?
I would rather say it's another proof it isn't a good idea to share your data on FeckBook - especially if you are on the run.
Re: Well who'd a thunk ?
I don't think he shared his data, it was someone else (the restaurant).
Irrespective of the merits of catching this killer, it shows your privacy can be raped by friends/family or local businesses thanks for FB.
Odd, I thought Google Street View blurred faces... Does this mean that law enforcement gets to see the unredacted images?
Probably not - blurring a face doesn't make someone totally unrecognisable when you can see the rest of his body. They probably looked and thought that his body strongly resembled him, then corroborated it with the pics from the Facebook page of the restaurant he was working for (that was in the same area).
In fact it pretty much says this in the article.
No. This particular story has been reported in a rather confused way, even in Italy.
What really happened is that police had already figured out that Gammino was connected with the restaurant, or at least in the general area. After that , they looked at the restaurant's Facebook profile, and found a photo of Gammino. That's where they saw the scar.
After that , they looked at Street View for good measure, and noticed a guy who looked about the same size and build as Gammino. The face couldn't be seen, as it should be, but it didn't really matter; they already had more than enough evidence to prepare an arrest.
So, no, the criminal was definitely not discovered on Street View; he was discovered mostly by regular means, and also through Facebook by being dumb enough to let a picture of him appear there. Street View was maybe a little cherry on top.
Well who'd a thunk ?
Facebook has finally been useful for something.
The world really is coming to an end.