Italian Fugitive Spotted on Google Maps 20 Years After Escaping Prison

A former member of the Sicilian mafia group known as Stidda was arrested last month after he was found living in Spain on Google Maps, nearly two decades after escaping prison, Reuters reports. 

Gioacchino Gammino, 61, had been living in the town of Galapagar where he owned a fruit and vegetable shop called El Huerto de Manu, or Manu’s Garden, a possible reference to Manuel, the fake name he assumed after fleeing prison in Rome in 2002, according to The Sun. Detectives became curious about another nearby restaurant called Manu’s Kitchen, which featured a photo on its Facebook page of Manuel dressed in traditional chef attire.

Manuel and Gammino shared a distinctive scar on their chins, which detectives suspected could mean they were the same person. A two-year investigation led them to a photo of Gammino standing in front of a fruit shop on the Street View feature. “The photogram helped us to confirm the investigation we were developing in traditional ways,” Nicola Altiero, deputy director of the Italian anti-mafia police unit (DIA), said, per Reuters. 

At the time of his arrest, Gammino reportedly confessed to authorities how stunned he was that they found him, saying, “I haven’t even phoned my family for the last 10 years.” He will remain in custody in Spain until February when he’s expected to be taken back to Italy where he will continue to serve his life sentence on murder and drug trafficking charges.