Google Maps is used by tourists and drivers to navigate and familiarize themselves with the locations they want to visit. However, Google Street View recently assisted federal agents in apprehending an Italian mafia boss who had been on the run for 20 years.
Gioacchino Gammino, a convicted killer and mafia clan member who perpetrated multiple mafia-related crimes, is among Italy’s most wanted. He had previously been captured and sentenced to life in jail, but he escaped and has been on the run ever since. He had married, changed his name, worked as a chef and owned a fruit and vegetable shop in Galapagar.
The Sicilian Police are conducting multiple investigations in order to arrest Gammino. He was thought to be in Spain, but Google Street View located his exact location.
Police say they saw a man who looked like Gammino and was captured on Google Maps outside a shop called El Huerto de Manu, or Manu’s Garden, in Galapagar.
He ran out of luck after 20 years of hiding and was arrested on December 17. Google Maps assisted in confirming Gammino’s location, according to Palermo prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi, who headed the newest investigation.
This leads to the question, “Are the Feds and Government using these tools to track down people and their whereabouts?”
Continue reading at The Guardian
