Gammino Gioacchino (Gioacchino Gammino)

Biography

2021: Arrest on murder charges in Google Street View footage

At the end of December 2021, Italian investigators found the 61-year-old leader of one of the mafia groups, Gioacchino Gammino, in Spain in a city northwest of Madrid thanks to the Google Maps tool. Google Street View, which is built into Google Maps and Google Earth services, allows you to view panoramic street views of many cities around the world from a height of about 2.5 meters.

In 1999, Gioacchino Gammino was arrested on murder charges, and on June 26, 2002, Gammino escaped from an Italian prison in a suburb of Rome, investigators believe, went through the front door of the prison, taking advantage of the turmoil created by film crews during the filming of the scene for the television series. In 2005, Gammino managed to escape to Spain, he changed his name and severed ties with his family, creating a new life for himself, at one time even working as a chef in an Italian restaurant. During the years spent on the run, he was convicted in absentia of murder, and in 2014 a European warrant was issued for his arrest.

The head of the mafia, who was on the run for 20 years, was detained in a frame in Google Street View

Investigators in Palermo declined to say how they tracked Mr. Gammino to Galapagar, a town near Madrid, saying that some aspects of the case were still part of the ongoing investigation. But General Altiero was more frank, explaining how investigators used Google tools to search for a fruit and vegetable store. And also with the analysis of pages on the social networks of the suspect on the Internet, including one with a photo of a restaurant chef standing next to a wood stove for pizza.

The man in the picture was of the same height and physique as Joacchino Gammino, and investigators noticed that the store had the same phone number as the nearby La Cocina de Manu restaurant, which closed several years ago. Investigators used Google Maps and Street View to help them track down Mr. Gammino, a Sicilian who was on Italy's list of the most dangerous fugitives. They say that luck favors the brave, "said Nicola Altiero, deputy director of the Italian Anti-Mafia Investigation Department.

Investigators applied age progression technology to Mr. Gammino's old photo to understand what a fugitive would look like in 20 years and identified the chef as a wanted person. Italian investigators contacted the Spanish police unit that is searching for fugitives, and on December 17, 2021, Gioacchino Gammino was arrested as he walked along the street. General Altiero said that there were other breaks in the investigation, which lasted two decades, but detection using Google tools was the key to the suspect's rapid arrest.

The prosecutor in Palermo refused to say whether Gammino was involved in illegal activities in Spain. According to investigators, it is expected that by the end of January 2022, Joacchino Gammino will be extradited to Italy to serve a life sentence.^[1]

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