The company claims to have identified evidence of a “network of spurious influences” in the Government of Espírito Santo, led by Renato Casagrande ().
The conclusion appears in a report on conversations held by the magistrate, , and businessman Adilson Ferreira, indicted by the Civil Police of Espírito Santo on suspicion of acting as the “financial arm” of the Primeiro Comando de Vitória faction.
The dialogues were found on Adilson’s cell phone, seized in May 2025 in Operation Baest, launched by the Espírito Santo police, and show, according to the PF, the magistrate’s actions in favor of a company interested in bidding for the Department of Education.
They were shared with the PF with authorization from the minister, the (Federal Supreme Court), and the Espírito Santo Court.
According to the police, text and audio indicate that the federal judge followed the steps of an appeal made by a company within the PGE (State Attorney General’s Office), in addition to providing guidance on legal strategies to be adopted and stating that he was in contact with civil servants involved in the case.
When contacted, Casagrande’s press office stated that the answers would be given by the Department of Education and the PGE, bodies mentioned in the dialogues.
The secretariat stated that the entire bidding process “goes through rigorous internal control mechanisms and remains at the disposal of the competent authorities to provide clarifications”.
The Prosecutor’s Office stated that it rejected the administrative appeals of the company for which, according to the PF, the judge was acting in favor.
Lawyer Douglas Luz, who represents Adilson, said that the dialogues “do not have any illegality”. Contacted by message and telephone call, lawyer Fernando Fernandes, who represents Macário, did not respond to requests for a position on the topic.
The relationship between Casagrande and Macário is the target of the PF. The corporation filed a lawsuit against the governor after identifying conversations on the judge’s cell phone that could indicate an exchange of favors.
The PF report does not establish links between the relationship between the governor and the magistrate and the judge’s alleged “network of influence” in the administration. The representation requests the opening of two separate investigations.
However, the two themes were included in the same document sent to Moraes. Along with the report on the conversations, the PF points out that a request from Casagrande to the judge was essential to make the candidacy of an ally of the governor in 2024 legally viable.
Casagrande did not comment on this topic. Previously, he declared that the dialogue held with the magistrate was “institutional and republican”.
Second instance judge, Macário is arrested on charges of leaking investigation information to the removed president of the Rio de Janeiro Assembly, Rodrigo Bacellar (União Brasil).
The dialogues between Macário and Adilson, between 2023 and 2024, show, according to the PF, the magistrate’s actions in favor of Unique Serviços e Transportes against the rules of the tender notice from the Department of Education. The competition aimed to acquire up to R$10.5 million in air conditioning equipment.
In one of the audios, he says he was waiting for the “PGR” call. For the PF, it is a reference to the State’s attorney general, a position held at the time by attorney Jasson Amaral.
The PF claims that Macário’s influence in the body was through his brother, attorney Rodrigo Júdice. The magistrate shared his phone with Adilson, and there are records of conversations between the two mentioning the prosecutor’s name.
In a statement, Rodrigo Júdice expressed surprise and indignation at the mention of his name in the report. He denied having discussed the matter with his brother, the businessman, or any other attorney. There are no conversations with him in the records, and the PF did not find any calls from Adilson to the prosecutor.
During conversations about the processing of the appeal at the Prosecutor’s Office, Macário questions Adilson whether it would be possible to get “a good price” for a prosecutor identified as “Alexandre” who needed to buy eight air conditioning units. “It’s helping us a lot,” he says of the prosecutor.
The PF also found messages between Adilson and journalist Flávia Júdice, the federal judge’s wife. The dialogues indicate a close friendship, according to the PF.
All bidding goes through control mechanisms, says secretariat
The Secretariat of Education of Espírito Santo stated, in a note, that “the department’s entire bidding process goes through rigorous internal control mechanisms.” She also declared that she was “available to the competent authorities to provide clarifications”.
PGE declared, in a note, that it did not respond to the appeals presented by the company for which, according to the PF, the judge was acting in favor.
“PGE-ES informs that it acted firmly to safeguard the public treasury, rejecting the administrative appeals presented, without there having been any opinion or manifestation favorable to the company”, said the body.
The Prosecutor’s Office also stated that all the prosecutors mentioned in the report “are highly qualified professionals with an unblemished reputation.”
“PGE-ES reaffirms its total confidence in the aforementioned prosecutors, whose professional careers, within the scope of the Prosecutor’s Office, have always been marked by a commitment to integrity in public service.”
Rodrigo Júdice said that he had never in his career had “any conduct questioned, investigated or subject to disciplinary proceedings”. “I have never intervened, directly or indirectly, in bidding procedures, in administrative appeals or in the issuing of opinions by colleagues from the Attorney General’s Office,” he said in a note.
“As for my brother, I clarify that I never authorized, tolerated or gave any opening for him — or any other relative — to interfere in my professional acts.”
Understand the case
Main characters
- Renato Casagrande (PSB): governor of Espírito Santo
- Macário Judice: federal judge of TRF-2
- Adilson Ferreira: businessman investigated in Operation Baest
- Romualdo Gianordoli: former Undersecretary of Intelligence at the Secretariat of Security
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
- fev.2026: PF concludes analysis of conversations between Macário and Adilson and sees evidence of the judge’s ‘network of spurious influences’ in the Espírito Santo government
Other side
- Government states that tenders undergo ‘rigorous internal control mechanisms’ and that it denied appeals defended, according to the PF, by the judge
- The Secretary of Security, Leonardo Damasceno, says that he and the governor were not aware of the dialogues between the businessman and the magistrate before Romualdo’s dismissal
- He also said that Romualdo was dismissed due to wear and tear with the Civil Police and for having started political activity
- Casagrande declared that the dialogue held with Macário was “institutional and republican”
