Google Maps is best known for finding places, but the service is also proving adept at finding criminals.
Gioacchino Gammino learned this the hard way.
The mafioso had been on the run for 20 years when he got a surprise visit from the police.
How did you manage to find me?
I havent even called my family for 10 years, Gamminoreportedlytold the cops.
According to an anti-mafia investigator, they found him on Google Maps.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
Gammino was one of Italys 100 most-wanted criminals.
The 61-year-old had been convicted of murder, but escaped prison in 2002.
Gammino later opened a store bearing his alias: El Huerto de Manu (The Garden of Manu).
Thegreengrocers has a stellar 4.7-star rating on Google.
it’s possible for you to visit it for yourself but only onGoogle Maps.
The physical store is now labeled permanently closed.
While chatting outside the premises one day, Gammino was photographed by a Google Street View vehicle.
Years later, Sicilian police said they spotted him on the service.
The lead investigator said the arrest wasntsolelythanks to the app, but that it added to their suspicions.
We were on the right track and Google Maps helped us to confirm our investigations.
Indeed, that wasnt the only app that provided clues.
The mobster was identified by a distinctive scar on his chin.
It seems Gammino wasnt living quite as quietly as he should have.
However, not all the reviews are so glowing.
One criticizes the slow service; another says Manu attacked a local councilor and threatened to kill him.
The dispute stemmed from an order to stop using a smoky stone oven, SpainsABC News reports.
Skeptics suspect that the police are hiding something.
Was the Street View explanation used to avoid revealing their source?
DidGoogleprovide the cops with a special unblur orfacial recognitionfeature?
The latter wouldnt be entirely surprising given the companysroots in the CIA.
In any case, Gammino is unlikely to be the last criminal whos found on Google Maps.
With Street Viewconstantly improving, its getting harder for anyone to evade the mapping app.
And if youre a mafioso on the run?
My advice is to avoid opening a Sicilian restaurant although those cannoli do sound delicious.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
