A SICILIAN mafia 'godfather' who had been on the run for 20 years was captured in Madrid thanks to a photo on Google Maps, police say.
Gioacchino Gammino's first, and stunned, words when he was arrested in the commuter town of Galapagar were, “how on earth did you find me?”
The Google Map picture which led to police tracing Gioacchino Gammino, 61, who escaped prison in Rome in 2002 and was living as ‘Manuel’ in Galapagar, Madrid (photo: Google Street View/National Police)
Back in 2002, the then leader of the notorious Sicilian mafia known as the Cosa Nostra was facing a life sentence for murder.
But a 'prison break' in Rome led to his disappearance almost immediately after he had been convicted.
According to reports in the national daily newspaper La Repubblica, Italian authorities had long suspected the fugitive had sought refuge and anonymity in Spain.
Now 61, he was living under the assumed name of 'Manuel'.
Italian police thought they had traced him to Galapagar, in the Greater Madrid region, but once they had identified the probable town, the trail had gone cold.
It was some unlikely 'detective' work by Spain's National Police that led to Gioacchino's capture.
Inspectors looking on Google Maps homed in on Street View and, against all probabilities, it turned out the 'fake Manuel' had been caught on camera when the satellite photos were taken.
Depending upon where they are in the world, these can be years old, and are literally a snapshot in time, making Gioacchino extremely unlucky.
He was in the frame, outside a fruit and vegetable shop called El Huerto de Manu, talking to another man.
A distinctive facial scar sparked a probe, which started with detectives finding a Facebook page for a restaurant, now closed, called Cocina de Manu, which included Sicilian dishes on its menu and was very close to El Huerto de Manu.
They discovered both businesses were run by Gioacchino, and the pictures of the restaurant chef on Facebook matched those of the missing man, scar included.
Officers wasted no time in confirming his identity and arresting him in Galapagar.
“But how on earth did you find me? I haven't even been in contact with my family in 10 years!” said an incredulous Gioacchino when he was caught after just months shy of 20 years of anonymity.
As a professional criminal with an extensive box of tricks, this successful needle-in-a-haystack search surpassed even Gioacchino's skills.
His escape from prison in Rome proved what he is capable of: Whilst scenes from a film were being shot in part of the jail building, Gioacchino managed to pass himself off as a visitor, and slipped out during moments of confusion and crowds.
