The governor of Espírito Santo, Renato Casagrande (), dismissed at the end of last year one of the delegates responsible for an investigation that identified activities considered suspicious by federal judge Macário Júdice in the state.
Other agents involved in the investigation were also transferred by the corporation. The exchanges occurred shortly after the final investigation report was drawn up with the indictment of a businessman whose phone contained allegedly irregular conversations with the magistrate.
The Security Secretary of Espírito Santo, Leonardo Damasceno, stated that neither he nor the governor are aware of the existence of dialogues involving the magistrate. He also said that the dismissals occurred due to wear and tear on part of the team that worked on the investigation with the general delegate of the Civil Police, José Darcy Arruda.
The relationship between Casagrande and Macário is the subject of a report to the STF (Supreme Federal Court). According to the corporation, conversations on the judge’s cell phone were identified in another investigation that could indicate a criminal exchange of favors between the two.
The measure was an outcome of the PF’s investigations into Macário’s activities in Rio de Janeiro, where he worked as a federal judge at the TRF-2 (Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region). He is preventively detained on suspicion of leaking investigation information to the removed president of Alerj (Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro), Rodrigo Bacellar (União).
In a statement, the governor stated that the dialogue held with the magistrate was “institutional and republican”. THE Sheet sent a message to lawyer Fernando Fernandes, who represents Macário, but received no response.
Macário’s suspicious dialogues found by the Civil Police of Espírito Santo were obtained during Operation Baest, launched in May 2025 against the supposed “financial arm” of the Primeiro Comando de Vitória faction.
One of the targets of the action was businessman Adilson Ferreira, whose cell phone contained conversations with Macário Júdice that indicated the magistrate’s role in bidding processes within the Casagrande administration.
The final report of the operation was concluded on September 24 with the indictment of Ferreira on suspicion of being one of those responsible for the faction’s money laundering. From that date on, the four delegates who signed the document were removed from their positions.
The general delegate of the Civil Police, José Darcy Arruda, removed Alan Moreno de Andrade from Ciat (Center for Intelligence and Telematic Analysis) that same day. On October 2, José Lopes Pereira left the coordination of the unit. In December, Ricardo de Almeida Soares was transferred from the Homicide Department to the Narcotics Department.
Casagrande, in turn, dismissed delegate Romualdo Gianordoli Neto from the position of undersecretary of Intelligence at the Security Secretariat on October 24th. He even took on an advisory role in the department, but was dismissed in December.
Shortly after leaving, Romualdo began to state that he was removed due to the advance of Operation Baest on “a businessman from Serra”, in reference to Ferreira.
“This individual has contact with several high-ranking people in society. People who have contact with the government and people who have contact with the Civil Police, which unfortunately is quite eroded,” he said on his social network.
Romualdo states that his dismissal from the undersecretariat occurred three days after a meeting at the top of the Public Security Secretariat about the developments of Operation Baest. He says three other officers who participated in the investigation were also removed.
The Security Secretary of Espírito Santo, Leonardo Damasceno, told Sheet that two of the dismissals of the team that conducted Operation Baest occurred due to wear and tear with the general delegate of the Civil Police.
He also denied that the movements were related to dialogues considered suspicious between Macário and Adilson. The secretary said he did not know the evidence, nor did the governor.
“I’m not in the habit of learning about confidential investigations by the Civil Police, much less the governor,” said Damasceno.
In relation to delegate Romualdo, he states that institutional wear and tear generated an investigative procedure within the Civil Police Internal Affairs Department. According to the secretary, the former undersecretary is the target of an investigation for “appropriation of Civil Police data”.
“He brought the police officers that we left at the disposal of the police back to the secretariat. And these police officers would have brought with them documents that belong to the Civil Police, investigation documents from this operation and others. This caused institutional wear and tear. There was no other alternative at that time than to dismiss him from that role. I cannot have an Undersecretary of Intelligence fighting with the General Delegate”, he said.
He claims that he appointed him as an advisor, but had to dismiss him again because Romualdo began to take part in politics with the MBL (Movimento Brasil Livre).
Romualdo denies the accusations of data appropriation and states that the investigations opened by the Internal Affairs Department are part of the political actions provoked after Operation Baest. He also said that he has not yet decided whether he will run, but declared that he is not affiliated with a political party.
Damasceno states that the breach of trust between Romualdo and the general delegate also affected delegate Alan Moreno.
Regarding Pereira, he said that he is deputy general delegate, the “second most powerful person in the Civil Police”. “He didn’t fall, he wasn’t discredited.”
According to the secretary, Pereira was coordinating Ciat only to monitor, at the request of the general delegate, Alan’s work. “The general delegate no longer trusted, or didn’t have a relationship of trust, with Dr. Alan. Since he didn’t have one, who did he put in? His most trusted person, who is the institution’s 02. To break things off.”
Damasceno also said that Soares left the Homicide Department to take over the Narcotics Department, “just as important.”
A Sheet sent a message to lawyer Fernando Fernandes, who represents Macário, but received no response.
Lawyer Douglas Luz, who represents Adilson Ferreira, stated that the accusations against his client are “unfounded under the heading of political interest and self-promotion”.
“All of them are being duly rejected. This is a unilateral report and to date, almost six months after its preparation, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has not even agreed with the undue imputations made there, as there has been no complaint filed,” he said.
He also stated that the businessman’s dialogues with the magistrate do not contain “any reference to illegal acts”. “Referring any dialogue to the PF was just a precautionary measure.”
Understand the case
Main characters
- Renato Casagrande (PSB): governor of Espírito Santo
- Romualdo Gianordoli: former Undersecretary of Intelligence at the Secretariat of Security
- Macário Judice: federal judge of TRF-2
- Adilson Ferreira: businessman investigated in Operation Baest
Main events
- May 2025: Civil Police of ES launches Operation Baest, against the “financial arm” of trafficking; one of the targets is Adilson Ferreira
- set.2025: Operation report ends with indictment of Adilson Ferreira
- out.2025: Romualdo Gianordoli is dismissed from his position as undersecretary by Renato Casagrande
- jan.2026: Public Ministry of ES asks the Court to share with the PF suspected dialogues with Macário Júdice found on Adilson Ferreira’s cell phone. In the same month, the PF requests the opening of an investigation into the relationship between Renato Casagrande and Macário Júdice
Other side
- The Secretary of Security, Leonardo Damasceno, states that he and the governor were not aware of the dialogues between the businessman and the magistrate
- He also said that Romualdo was dismissed due to wear and tear with the Civil Police and for having started political activity
- Casagrande said that the dialogue held with Macário was “institutional and republican”
