Detectives in Spain spotted an Italian mafia fugitive on Google Maps and he was captured.
Gioacchino Gammino was one of Italy’s most wanted mobsters.
He had been 60 years old when he changed his name and worked as a chef before opening a fruit-and-vegetable shop.
Detectives found him in Spain on Google Maps and he was taken into custody.
The Italian police tried to find him but he was getting closer and they made an unexpected breakthrough by spotting him in Google Street View. He stood outside El Huerto de Manu’s Garden, a grocery store.
Gammino was now known as Manuel.
They found nearby a listing for Cocina de Manu, a closed restaurant that had been listed.
However, its Facebook page still existed online. It featured Gammino dressed in white chef’s clothes. The special Sicilian supper was on the menu. The design of the menu is similar to that seen in The Godfather movie.
Gioacchino Gammino has been released from prison and will be returning to Italy.
Instead of Don Corleone’s puppeteer holding on to the strings, Don Corleone was held by a pair hands who were grasping a spoon and fork with spaghetti hanging down.
Detectives recognized the mafioso because of a distinct scar across his chin.
The man was detained on December 17. He said that he wasn’t sure how the police had tracked him down. He was arrested on December 17.
Gammino is now being returned to italy where he will finish his sentence for the murder of his wife.
His charges include drug trafficking, mafia organization and drug trafficking.
He belonged to the Stidda family from Agrigento, which was in bitter conflict with Cosa Nostra of Sicily.
Giovanni Falcone, a well-known anti-mafia prosecutor, first made the arrest of the mobster in 1984.
On December 17, he was taken into police custody. He said that he was puzzled by how the police had tracked him down. Since the 10th of December, I haven’t phoned my family in the past 10 years.
Gammino was found guilty later of killing a pedestrian in Campobello di Licata. He had mistaken Gammino for a Mafioso back in 1989.
He fled the scene after he was charged and was finally arrested in Barcelona, Spain in 1998.
He was sent back to Italy, extradited and sentenced to imprisonment. However, he managed to escape with a bold act of courage in 2002.
After being mistaken for his relative, a film was being shot at Rebibbia prison. He managed to escape and walk to freedom.
Many suspect that an unidentified mafia officer in uniform might have assisted his escape.
He was arrested after a 2-year operation that involved detectives from Rome and Sicily.