The TRF-3 (Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region) reduced the sentence of the former director of Dersa, Paulo Vieira de Souza, known as , this week. Sentenced in the first instance to 145 years and 8 months in prison for embezzling millions of dollars in construction work on the Rodoanel Sul, he must now serve 5 years, 11 months and 3 days in a semi-open regime.
The decision was taken unanimously by the judges of the 5th Panel of the court, reforming the sentence of judge Maria Isabel do Prado, of the 5th Federal Criminal Court of São Paulo, who in March convicted the former director of three crimes: embezzlement, criminal association and insertion of false data into the public system.
The TRF-3 only maintained the conviction for embezzlement and reduced Paulo Preto’s sentence. The reduction of the sentence occurred as a result of the effects of appeals presented by other defendants, such as Paulo Preto’s daughter, Tatiana Arana de Souza Cremonini, and the former head of settlements at Dersa, José Geraldo Casas Vilela.
The process involves the diversion of around R$7.7 million. This money should be used for compensation for residents removed due to the works on the southern section of the Rodoanel. According to the Federal Public Ministry, part of the amount was used to benefit domestic workers in Paulo Preto, who received CDHU units and moving allowances improperly. The accusation also points to the making of around 1,700 payments to false homeless people.
Paulo Preto is appointed as PSDB’s financial operator by the São Paulo division of Lava Jato. He turned 70 in 2019. According to the Penal Code, the time needed to prescribe crimes is reduced by half from that age onwards. With the sentence drastically reduced and the possibility of retroactive counting of the period, the defense may request recognition of the prescription of the punitive claim, which could extinguish the punishment.
UOL tries to contact Paulo Preto’s defense. The space remains open for demonstrations.
