The decision by the Public Ministry of Maranhão (MP-MA) to speak in favor of the release of the mayor of Turilândia, Paulo Curió (União Brasil), vice-mayor Tânya Mendes (PRD), the 11 councilors of the municipality and others investigated for a scheme that diverted at least R$56 million from public coffers provoked a reaction from the institution’s prosecutors. In protest, the professionals who are part of the Special Action Group to Combat Criminal Organizations (Gaeco) asked for collective dismissal from their duties in the body.
The request was formalized on Sunday and forwarded to the Attorney General of Justice, Danilo José de Castro Ferreira, after the Attorney General’s Office (PGJ), through the acting head of the MP, Orfileno Bezerra Neto, issued a favorable opinion to the revocation of preventive arrests decreed within the scope of Operation Tântalo II.
The investigation investigates the activities of a criminal organization that, according to the MP himself, set up shop in the City Hall and City Council of Turilândia, in the interior of Maranhão, to defraud tenders, use shell companies and divert resources mainly from the areas of Health and Social Assistance.
Continues after advertising
In the document, prosecutors state that the PGJ’s position contradicts Gaeco’s technical understanding and goes in the opposite direction to the evidence gathered throughout the investigation, which resulted in the arrest of the mayor, vice-president, first lady, former vice-mayor, businesspeople, civil servants and all city councillors, a case that gained national repercussion after a report by Fantástico, on TV Globo.
“Such a position, in addition to being at odds with the premises that guided the careful investigative work carried out in the case, weakens the institutional role of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in combating organized crime, producing negative impacts on the credibility of complex investigations”, state the prosecutors, justifying that the divergence made remaining in the group unfeasible.
Ten prosecutors who work in the centers of São Luís, Imperatriz and Timon signed the request, including the coordinator of Gaeco, Luiz Muniz Rocha Filho, as well as Fernando Antônio Berniz Aragão, who worked directly in the investigation. They informed that they will prepare a detailed report on the progress of the case to ensure the continuity of the work.
The MP-MA’s opinion was issued after the end of the testimonial phase of those investigated, carried out throughout the first week of January. The majority chose to remain silent, including mayor Paulo Curió, vice-mayor Tânya Mendes, first lady Eva Curió and the 11 councilors. Despite defending his release, the Public Prosecutor’s Office requested that the mayor’s removal from office be maintained and the imposition of strict precautionary measures, such as electronic monitoring, prohibition of access to city hall, night-time home confinement and prohibition of contact between those under investigation.
Now, it will be up to the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Maranhão Court of Justice to decide whether or not to accept the opinion and authorize the release of the prisoners.
A scheme that paralyzed the city
Launched on December 22, Operation Tântalo II revealed a scheme described by the MP himself as systemic and widespread. Investigations indicate that, since 2021, fictitious companies were created to participate in fraudulent tenders. They issued invoices for services that were not provided, received payments from the city hall and returned most of the amounts to the organization’s political core.
Continues after advertising
According to the Public Ministry, around 95% of the municipality’s tenders were fraudulent. Part of the money supplied a bribery scheme to ensure the City Council’s inaction: the councilors would have received together R$2.3 million to approve bills and not supervise the Executive.
Mayor Paulo Curió is named as the leader of the criminal organization and the main recipient of the diverted resources. Intercepted audio shows the use of credit cards from companies contracted by the city hall and mentions of monthly “surpluses” of public money. Vice-mayor Tânya Mendes and former vice-mayor Janaína Soares Lima appear as key players in the business nucleus. A gas station linked to Janaína and her husband received more than R$17 million from the municipality, in contracts that, according to the MP, do not correspond to real consumption.
The scale of the scandal led to the arrest of 21 people and left Turilândia practically without command. With the departure of the mayor and vice-president, the president of the Chamber, José Luís Araújo Diniz, known as “Pelego” (União Brasil), temporarily took over the mayor’s office, despite being under house arrest, a situation that generated criticism and legal questions.
