Fugitive Italian bomber on run for 2 years caught in Spain: Police

• Authorities in Spain have arrested an Italian anarchist convicted of a 2017 bombing in Florence and on the loose for nearly two years. Italian police said they took 38-year-old Salvatore Vespertino, described as a “militant anarchist,” into custody on Saturday in Madrid after he “disappeared without a trace” in July 2023.
• Police said Vespertino fled after his 2023 conviction. The court sentenced him to eight years in prison for severely injuring a bomb squad officer.
• The officer lost an upper limb and eye while attempting to disarm a bomb in Florence in January 2017.

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Authorities in Spain have arrested an Italian man convicted in a 2017 bombing in Florence. The fugitive, 38-year-old Salvatore Vespertino, was on the run for nearly two years.

Italian police took Vespertino, described as a “militant anarchist,” into custody on Saturday, Feb. 15, in Madrid after he “disappeared without a trace” in July 2023.

When did Vespertino flee?

Police said Vespertino fled after his 2023 conviction.

The court sentenced him to eight years in prison for severely injuring a bomb squad officer, who lost an upper limb and eye attempting to disarm a bomb in Florence on Jan. 1, 2017.

What were the charges?

The court convicted Vespertino on charges of manufacturing, possessing and carrying an explosive device, according to Italian authorities.

Investigators said they linked Vespertino to the crime through forensic analysis that found his DNA on the explosive device.

How did they catch Vespertino?

Italian police did not release specific details about the arrest.

However, officials did say that they investigated Vespertino’s whereabouts and tracked his links to other anarchist groups across Europe by contacting authorities in Spain, France, Switzerland and Greece.