# Fugitive Mafia boss found on Google StreetView **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 5, 2022, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282 "2022-01-05T21:03:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cytop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@cytop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cytop)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/1 "2022-01-05T21:03:34Z")
One of those WTF things, but amusing (to me, at least) > **[Italian mafia boss caught after Google Maps sighting in Spain](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59884803)** > > Gioacchino Gammino had been on the run for two decades, but was spotted in Spain on Google Maps. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/2 "2022-01-05T21:13:02Z")
Something sounds fishy about this. Faces are blurred in Google maps. Someone was randomly looking at street views, saw a blurry blob and thought hey, this must be that mob guy no one has seen in 20 years? My guess is someone sold him out, and they came up with the Google story to protect them. ---
**Author:** ![cytop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@cytop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cytop)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/3 "2022-01-05T21:47:06Z")
Made no comment about the true facts or what really happened - it’s just an amusing story but 1 bad guy off the streets, at least and that bit is true 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/4 "2022-01-05T21:56:06Z")
I used to have a classic muscle car that I never drove, and it saw the light of day out of the garage for maybe an hour once a year to hose the dust off. And I live in the middle of nowhere. So, imagine my surprise that the StreetView of my house has this car out in front of the house, AND my wife walking across the yard. I kinda hate it, actually, because I ended up selling it and it and kinda miss it. Don’t like to be reminded of it. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/5 "2022-01-05T21:58:16Z")
Oh. I miss the car, too. 😄 ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/6 "2022-01-05T22:56:20Z")
Easy peasy. Gammino always wears that shirt. I wonder if the blurring goes away at certain angles on street view. Blurred signs do that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/7 "2022-01-05T23:22:43Z")
How was he even recognized, 20 years later? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/8 "2022-01-06T00:03:22Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > I wonder if the blurring goes away at certain angles on street view. Blurred signs do that. Here’s the view. It looks blurred from all angles to me. I still think there’s more to the story. https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=%213m2%212sen%214v0%216m8%211m7%211sCXfpxlfJFST9dhA1iXEk5Q%212m2%211d40.5765973%212d-4.0030833%213f210.75%214f7.243%215f0.75 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/9 "2022-01-06T03:27:38Z")
I got curious and checked the Street View of my house. It’s from 2014. I wonder if Gammino has been going to that same shop since he went into hiding. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/10 "2022-01-06T03:50:32Z")
According to the BBC article in the OP, he was listed as a chef for a similarly-named restaurant, Cocina de Manu, which featured Sicilian cuisine. So I’d guess some sort of connection to the shop in the photo; perhaps he owns it. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/11 "2022-01-06T04:01:46Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > My guess is someone sold him out, and they came up with the Google story to protect them. It could be something like a wire tap that authorities don’t want to disclose or perhaps facial recognition that is advanced beyond what some in government would prefer the public to not be aware of in scope or ability. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2022, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/12 "2022-01-07T12:08:40Z")
Body kinsesthetics - think of it, John Wayne and his rolling walk, and that hipshot way of standing is _very_ recognizable, we actually rely on gross view of people to ID them at a distance, not smaller features. It is our whole hunter gatherer evolution. That guy in beige has a moderately recognizable resting stance - I would recognize my father, brother or husband with his face blurred out by stance. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2022, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/13 "2022-01-07T17:42:21Z")
I’m willing to bet the true story is some variation of this. ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/14 "2022-01-07T17:47:07Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Something sounds fishy about this. Well, you would know. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/15 "2022-01-25T23:20:50Z")
No! I’m Gioacchino Gammino! ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/16 "2022-01-25T23:31:11Z")
well the story I read was they suspected he was in the area but couldn’t get proof of him so one of the officers decided to scan google going back years and found enough evidence for a Spanish surveillance warrant and it still took months to arrest him ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/17 "2022-01-26T07:42:41Z")
Faces aren’t (or weren’t) always blurred out. A few years ago, a friend of mine was clearly visible, sitting in front of a neighborhood bar. The image was changed after a few months, although I don’t know if it was due to enforcement of policy or just an update. Also, if you poke around [Castle Doune](https://www.google.es/maps/place/Castillo+de+Doune/@56.1852005,-4.0499969,99m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x48888bd24de4fcbf:0x5599d30a61b7fb39!8m2!3d56.1851989!4d-4.0499458) (where parts of Monty Python and the Holy Grail were filmed), you’ll see plenty of clearly visible faces. I don’t really know how Google Maps works, though. The images I’m referring to correspond to those blue dots rather than a road or path, so I guess they’re not actually part of StreetView. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fugitive-mafia-boss-found-on-google-streetview/957282/18 "2022-01-27T22:01:32Z")
The [NY Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/07/world/europe/italian-mafia-fugitive-google-maps.html) has a little better info. Looks like they did use Google Maps, but it was only part of the investigation. > But General Altiero was more forthcoming, explaining how investigators had used the Google tools to look up a fruit and vegetable store — “El Huerto de Manu” — that they believed could have ties to the fugitive, and happened upon an image of a man standing in front of the store. > > The man in the image had the same size and build as Mr. Gammino, General Altiero said, and investigators noticed that the store shared the same telephone number as a nearby restaurant — “La Cocina de Manu” — that had closed some years ago. > > But its social media pages remained online, including one with a photograph of the restaurant’s chef standing next to a wood-burning pizza oven. > > Investigators applied age-progression technology to an old photo of Mr. Gammino to get a sense of what the fugitive would have looked like after 20 years, and identified the chef as the wanted man, General Altiero said. Let that be lesson to everyone, if you plan on going on the run, plastic surgery comes first.