The state Secretary of Transport of , (), was the target of a Federal Police operation this Friday morning (13) on suspicion of buying votes in the municipal election. In addition to him, the mayor of Duque de Caxias, Wilson Reis (MDB), and the city’s elected mayor, Netinho Reis (MDB), are targets of the investigation.
Operations Têmis also targets a group of councilors whose names appeared on a list seized from a businessman arrested with R$1.9 million days before the . One of those investigated is councilor Fernanda da Costa (MDB), .
A Sheet He reached out to Reis and Costa through messages, but there was still no response.
According to the PF, the investigation indicated that the group “transferred millions of dollars to illegally finance the campaigns of candidates for political office.”
“There is evidence that companies hired by the public authorities were used to favor political agents in their campaigns, with the aim of maintaining the group’s hegemony in these municipalities. The crimes investigated include criminal organization, electoral misrepresentation and money laundering”, says the PF.
Reis is a strong ally of Jair Bolsonaro (). He is the leader of the political group involved in the former president’s campaign through the City Hall of Duque de Caxias, a city of which he was once mayor.
In 2022, he was nominated as vice-president on the governor’s ticket (PL), despite being ineligible. He was later replaced by the current vice-governor Thiago Pampolha (MDB) and awarded after the election with a secretariat considered as the governor’s personal quota.
The operation is an offshoot of the arrest in the act of businessman Eduardo Penha Ribeiro. He was arrested leaving a bank branch with R$1.9 million. Attached was a list of councilors.
One of those mentioned in the document is Fernanda da Costa, daughter of Beira-Mar and convicted on charges of involvement in the criminal organization led by her father. Despite the bond, she participated in .
The PF also found dozens of bank receipts with the businessman, indicating sequential withdrawals totaling R$14.4 million.
The PF also pointed out that Eduardo’s company, Centro de Imagem e Diagnóstico São Jorge, has already received around R$80 million from Duque de Caxias City Hall.
