Mafia Boss Betrayed By Facebook 214
An anonymous reader writes "One of Italy's 100 most-wanted criminals, a vicious mafia boss who had been on the run for months, was betrayed by his passion for social networking and flushed out thanks to Facebook. Using the name 'Scarface' from the gangster movie starring Al Pacino, Pasquale Manfredi, 33, a boss of the the ferocious 'Ndrangheta mafia organization from the Calabria region in southern Italy, had logged on to his Facebook account so often that police were able to trace the signal from his Internet key and find his hideout.' Seems the Mafia Wars Facebook phenomenon goes deeper than it seemed!"
Eh (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Eh (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Eh (Score:5, Funny)
>>I'm guessing that "'Ndrangheta boss" counts for more than "uses facebook" when it comes to calculating an individual's ranking in the criminal respect index.
Yeah, but tweeting your crimes is definitely worth -50 points.
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Re:Eh (Score:5, Funny)
Driveby shooting ? (Score:3, Funny)
Don Zynga strikes again! so, Facebook may be expecting a drive-by shooting any moment ?
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Perhaps he was using it to keep in touch with his "family".
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Re:Eh (Score:5, Funny)
- Totally legit
- On the lamb
- Locked up
- It's complicated
Re:Eh (Score:4, Funny)
- On the lamb
For priests?
--
DiGiorno and delivery.
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That depends (Score:5, Funny)
What's his score on Mafia Wars?
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"'Scarface' has invited you to be a capo! Click here to accept."
Eh? (Score:2)
I can only imagine how seriously people will take him when he's in jail.
... and I only wonder how many serious bananas he'll take when he's under the shower.
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The government only deals with the organized crime periodically, like when it's so bad it gets embarrassing.
A thirty something mob boss on facebook isn't all that surprising, something tells me it's not like the movies where all they do is sit around eating pasta and talking in cliche like "Paulie sleeps wit da fishes".
There's probably a mafia presence in the malw
Trace the signal from his internet key? (Score:5, Interesting)
WTH is that supposed to mean?
Re:Trace the signal from his internet key? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's likely simplified language for something too complicated for the general public to understand.
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Re:Trace the signal from his internet key? (Score:5, Funny)
It basically means that law enforcement whipped up a GUI in Visual Basic in order to trace his IP address.
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IRC is like boats . . . .
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BWAHAHA, TV fail
Greetings, yabos,
I see that digg and the chans have gotten to you. It was inevitable. But if you should happen to see through the fog of groupthink and hive mind,
remember, you are only allowed to use approved slashdot memes here (examples, in soviet russia, beowulf cluster jokes, i, for one, salute... etc). Digg and chan memes are a little too childish for us, and we tend
to frown upon them. Thank you for patronizing slashdot, and please remember to stick to the guidelines or forever be banis
Re:Trace the signal from his internet key? (Score:5, Funny)
One of the investigators sat down at a terminal and said, "Hey... this is UNIX! I know this!" Then, he used the UNIX GUI to fly around the interwebs until he found a box with the name "scarface" on it. He clicked on that box, and it brought up this guys address, phone number, names of his family members, and favorite color.
It was pretty simple, actually. The investigator learned how to do it by watching Jurassic Park over and over.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
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The sort of detail that should have been in the article in the first place.
Re:Trace the signal from his internet key? (Score:5, Informative)
Whereas we call it a USB Modem, in Italy they call it "Internet Key".
Basically, they got his IP address from Facebook, took it to the Mobile Broadband supplier who gave up his billing address.
Re:Trace the signal from his internet key? (Score:4, Informative)
Whereas we call it a USB Modem, in Italy they call it "Internet Key".
Basically, they got his IP address from Facebook, took it to the Mobile Broadband supplier who gave up his billing address.
Or actual triangulated physical location. If you are a mobile provider, these things are quite possible, although whether the law enforcement agencies get access to this kind of data depends on the laws of your country.
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Or... just used GPS.
Remember, most 3G chipsets do use USB, and the chipsets are identical to the ones used in smartphones (there are only a few big chipset manufacturers out there). Most of them connect via USB - whether it's to your PC, or to the smartphone's main processor. Many of these "U
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Or... just used GPS.
Remember, most 3G chipsets do use USB, and the chipsets are identical to the ones used in smartphones (there are only a few big chipset manufacturers out there). Most of them connect via USB - whether it's to your PC, or to the smartphone's main processor. Many of these "USB Sticks" or "Internet Sticks" or whatever are just the phone part of a smartphone ripped out, so they support GPS and all sorts of other phone features...
No, there is no such thing as an USB gprs/3g modem with GPS. It makes no business sense whatsoever for manufacturers of devices to include GPS.
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No, there is no such thing as an USB gprs/3g modem with GPS. It makes no business sense whatsoever for manufacturers of devices to include GPS.
Tell that to AT&T.
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-details/?device=AT%26T+USBConnect+Velocity&q_sku=sku4380265 [att.com]
If you have a laptop without GPS, you can turn it in to a large screen nav unit. So, why WOULDN'T you want it. Imagine running Google Maps on a nice 17" touch screen laptop.
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Of course it's possible. The Google Maps app for my phone could pinpoint me in my house, and they don't have access to all the data from the mobile provider's antennas.
And no, the phone doesn't have GPS.
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I'll bet that nefarious Google was involved. Trying to make amends.
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Many countries do not care about the legality of the evidence, though I don't know if Italy is one of them or not.
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An omni [wikipedia.org], by definition, can't be pointed.
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Re:Trace the signal from his internet key? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Trace the signal from his internet key? (Score:5, Funny)
Seriously though, if law enforcement had any of the programs and databases they seem to have on every cop show on television, I am pretty sure the unsolved crime rate would be below 2%.
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Hopefully they are not strains resistant to antibiotics ... oh VB ... never mind. /Roseanne Roseannadanna
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You'd need to contact facebook to get their IP address.
actually most ISP's enter long/lat info into their routers. you can easily trace a connection to the nearest NOC of the ISP using a geotracing program find their neighborhood in a few seconds with nothing more than an IP address.
Here's an open source geotracing program: http://www.linuxsoft.cz/en/sw_detail.php?id_item=169 [linuxsoft.cz]
You can then call the NOC and find out who the IP's been assigned to, and get their billing address, if you have a badge, maybe even i
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Seriously though, if law enforcement had any of the programs and databases they seem to have on every cop show on television, I am pretty sure the unsolved crime rate would be below 2%.
2%? Sounds like we are not [remove glasses] milking our technology for all it's worth...
YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
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Seriously though. If they had any of that stuff, the solved crime rate would be above 2%
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You forgot the climactic live video satellite zoom in over Bad Guy's shoulder as he's sitting in a Sicily cafe clearly texting on whatever device paid the most for a product tie-in.
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There is a guy in a brightly lit room with about 30-40 computer screens
No, the guy in the high tech office can't do it because he's caucasian. The police must enlist their friend the ethnic minority person in a ratty apartment who hacks into the official networks to track the bad guy.
Re:Trace the signal from his internet key? (Score:5, Informative)
A wireless USB stick, known in Italy as "chiavetta internet"/internet key.
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As an italian, I can tell you that "internet key" is the way the average Joe in Italy calls a 3G usb dongle.
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Is this good or bad? (Score:2)
I'm a bit uncertain about this. I guess phones could be traced too...
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1. Mafia boss gets caught.
2. It's good when the bad guys get caught, but bad when the good guys get caught...
What was the question again?
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All things electronic can be trace
Wow, I didn't know that! Could you try tracing my microwave oven, please? Just to give you a bit of a head start, it's 800W, and I'll probably be using it tonight around 7pm, somewhere in the UK.
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The iPhone uses three different methods for location data. GPS is only one of them. Even if I'm in a building and can't get a GPS signal, the iPhone can show me my current location within 5 seconds or so.
I often hear that triangulation of your location off towers is bullshit, except I have a working proof of concept sitting in my hand.
Do authorities have access to that immediately without a warrant? I would hope not.
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It works, but it's not as accurate as one might think. Signals bounce, which (at least in the GPS world) is known as multipath. This both result in a longer distance (and delay) and a weakened signal. The recipient (the antenna tower) do not know how much the signal has bounced.
Actually the distortion and reflection in the GPS signal makes it possible to gather (crude) information about the location and shape surrounding buildings. I wish I could find the appropiate video :-/
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Don't know who told you it's bullshit, because it isn't. There are real world implementations of this.
Hell, I built one (small scale example) using FM transmitters. If you know the transmitting power of three points, and you can find out the signal strength from the receiver, then you can triangulate the position rather accurately.
For my project, it was in a field, so the accuracy was really good (to the metre). If you get walls/building/etc... in the way, it's not so good, but generally will be good e
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Triangulation based on cellphone towers works, and it's been used for years, even before cellphones you could triangulate radio signals. It basically works in the same way GPS does, except the towers are closer than satellites, and it's less accurate.
In Argentina, Movistar provides you with that information. Basically, you have a service where you can send a text message to a given number, asking for location information of a given cellphone. The mobile you are trying to track gets an SMS requesting authori
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That's better, yes :)
And technically true, but unlikely.. the shielding in microwave ovens is very good, so you'd need some incredible scanning technology, or to be very close.
internet key?? (Score:2)
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Just Google for it ;-)
"Internet key"
I found this one really quickly:
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review/broadband/3-mobile/broadband_internet_key/222237 [idg.com.au]
Re:internet key?? (Score:5, Funny)
What is this Google that you speak of?
Do I need an internet key to access it?
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> Do I need an internet key to access it?
Not necessarily, an IP address would suffice ;-))
Canadian made IP addresses seem to be better for some users:
http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/archives/2007/09/how-can-i-canadianize-my-ip-address.html [darrenbarefoot.com]
You may want to estimate your needs with the "Advanced IP Address Calculator" prior to buying your IP address at a store near you:
http://advanced-ip-address-calculator.softonic.fr/ [softonic.fr]
Too bad... (Score:2)
Rule No. 1: NEVER log on from your hideout directly if you are on the run! At least use proxies, but I wouldn't even trust them under those circumstances.
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What a nub. He should have made sure he was behind seven proxies...
http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Seven_proxies [encycloped...matica.com]
Al Pacino was not the first scarface. (Score:5, Informative)
Mr. Capone would like to have a word with you.
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Does Spider-Man know about Mr. Manfredi? (Score:2)
It's probably Mysterio again.
Notification! (Score:2)
The Crime Boss's Manual to the Internet. (Score:2)
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Fan of baths in the canal (Score:5, Funny)
Pasquale Manfredi has sent you an invite you cannot refuse. Do you want to accept?
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Pasquale Manfredi has sent you an invite you cannot refuse. Do you want to accept?
You surely meant "Do you want to accept - yes or yes?".
First Rule of Not Being Seen (Score:5, Insightful)
<Python>"As you see, Sergeant Smiley has not learned the first rule of Not Being Seen: Never stand up."</Python>
His last Facebook status update... (Score:4, Funny)
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why do these mafia bosses live like peasants? (Score:3, Interesting)
when they arrested the boss of bosses in Sicily a few years ago he was in a farmhouse running from the cops and sleeping in a different house every night. this guy lived in a basement. why do people choose a life where they have millions of $$$/Euros but have to live where they can't show it off and like they are poor?
Re:why do these mafia bosses live like peasants? (Score:5, Insightful)
why do people choose a life where they have millions of $$$/Euros but have to live where they can't show it off and like they are poor?
Because before they were on the lamb they were living like kings.
Seriously, why the hell else would you think they do it? You've only seen them at the end of their time as mob boss, they haven't been living in basements for the last 20 years, they've only been living in a basement for the last three weeks. Get it?
It takes years, decades even, to close the noose on these guys because of their money and influence, and even then you'd better have out-witted them at every turn or they'll find a way to slip away clean. In the mean time, they are living in multi-million dollar houses, eating like kings, wearing clothes worth more than ordinary people's cars, etc. There is a lot of advantage that goes with the risk - the only thing that sucks is if you get caught you are as bad off as the poor people these guys despise.
Re:why do these mafia bosses live like peasants? (Score:4, Interesting)
It's not always so. Some mafia bosses have been known to hide in pathetic basements for years, and indeed the parent poster's question makes a lot of sense. It seems that these people's kick ain't money but power and respect, and in mafia subculture the latter aren't tied to money. And those who make an excessive show of wealth are often snubbed as parvenus, kids without the balls etc etc. because money is a proxy for power only when power isn't apparent - and thus not existent.
That of course may change depending by geographical area, exact type of mafia (mafia proper from Sicily, 'ndrangheta from Calabria, camorra from Campania) etc., but basically it's the way it is with those dorks.
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Because before they were on the lamb...
I thought he was Italian, not Welsh.
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They do it for the pussy. Why leave your basement when you can have young Italian girls delivered to you any time you want?
Reminds me of this Song (Score:2)
A Warning (Score:2, Funny)
Italy needs your help defeating a mafia boss (Score:2, Funny)
What really bothers me... (Score:5, Funny)
What really bothers me about this is that this guy became a mob boss at 33. I really need to pick up the pace.
Wow (Score:2)
Lol.... (Score:2)
... It seems we will voluntarily invoke orwellian lifestyle.
Everyone is screaming "look at me" for attention, but also complains about the government's oversight... HELLO! Did you want attention in public or did you want privacy? Not only are people's locations, relationships, and photographs posted online --- their feelings/emotions, beliefs, and personal problems are too! I'm not knocking it -- this is quite obviously what people are really going to do.
The world is getting far too small for many of ou
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Lunch privacy doubly so.... wait, that didn't work out how I thought it would.
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It could make sense since he congratulated the police ;-))
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Apparently that's how the term Italians use to describe USB 3G wireless modems translates into English. (See earlier comments...)
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Go away. Go away, and never come back.
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No, he just asked for help on one too many jobs...
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wtf is an Internet key and how do I get one? Alt+F4?!
Why would you want one? Look what happened to this guy! ;-)
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After I hit submit and went back to the story I saw that somebody had been quicker on the draw than me. So I figured I'd end up getting smacked with a redundant mod.
Just didn't think that the one that just beat me would end up +4 insightful.