The conviction of the former governor of () to ineligibility adds to the list of legal problems involving all those recently elected to head the Guanabara Palace.
Rio de Janeiro has already had a governor arrested during his term, a former occupant of Guanabara detained five times and another who served more than 400 years in prison.
The list of former governors of Rio who have already been arrested includes: Moreira Franco (1987-1991), (1999-2002), Rosinha Garotinho (2003-2006), (2007-2014) and (2014-2018). The latter was acquitted after five years and the former had the charge overturned.
Wilson Witzel (2019-2020) was suspected of being impeached by the STJ (Superior Court of Justice) — in the country since redemocratization.
The only former governors without a history of criminal investigation or arrests are Leonel Brizola (1991-1994), Nilo Batista (1994) and Benedita da Silva (2002), Anthony Garotinho’s deputy, who had resigned in the last year of his term to run for President.
Remember the legal problems of each head of the Guanabara Palace:
Cláudio Castro (2020 – 2026)
He took over the government on an interim basis after Witzel’s departure in August 2020. He was also the target of searches in the Federal Police investigation. He took office permanently, after his predecessor’s impeachment.
Throughout his term, the governor was the target of developments in other investigations targeting him. The main one is the one that investigates deviations in contracts in the Rio government’s social assistance area and bribe payments to public agents between 2017 and 2020.
The TSE decided this Tuesday (24) to condemn the ineligibility due to the , revealed by UOL in 2022. He is accused of participating in the creation of a scheme to create to allocate political sponsors on the eve of the campaign, circumventing administrative and electoral rules, including the use of ghost employees and cash.
Wilson Witzel (2019-2020)
He was temporarily removed by the STJ in August 2020 on charges of . The PGR (Attorney General’s Office), but it was denied by STJ minister Benedito Gonçalves, rapporteur of the case.
He was impeached in April of the following year, formed to try him — the process was opened with the support of 69 of the 70 deputies.
The four criminal cases opened against Witzel are still ongoing in the Federal Court, some of which have been suspended for discussion on which court they should be judged in.
He was prevented from running for Government of Rio de Janeiro in 2022, as he was punished with five years of ineligibility in the impeachment process.
Luiz Fernando Pezão (2015-2018)
He was arrested 32 days before the end of his term, in November 2018, by decision of the STJ. He was accused of receiving a R$150,000 bribe from the scheme attributed to his predecessor, Sérgio Cabral.
He was detained for a year and was detained by judge Marcelo Bretas. It was through the TRF-2 (Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region). In 2024, he was elected mayor of Piraí (RJ), his hometown.
Sérgio Cabral (2007-2014)
He was arrested in November 2016 and was detained for more than six years. He is accused of having charged 5% bribes on large contracts under his management. The investigations discovered in the name of “oranges”, in addition to being used, according to the Federal Public Ministry, for money laundering.
In the first interrogations, the . Two years after his arrest, . At the end of 2019, he got it from the Federal Police, in May 2021. After leaving jail, in December 2022, he denied them again.
He still responds to 34 criminal cases, having been convicted in 17 of them, whose combined sentences reach 274 years, 3 months and 24 days in prison.
Rosinha Garotinho (2003-2006)
She was accused of electoral fraud and embezzlement of public funds in Campos dos Goytacazes, where she was mayor. Each time, she was released days later by decisions of the higher courts.
The processes that led to the arrests ended up being annulled.
Anthony Garotinho (1999-2002)
He was preventively arrested five times on charges of electoral fraud and embezzlement of public funds in Campos dos Goytacazes during the administration of his wife, former governor Rosinha. Each time, he was released days later by decisions of the higher courts.
The processes that led to the arrests ended up being annulled. But Garotinho was considered ineligible in 2018, when he tried to run for Government of Rio de Janeiro.
Moreira Franco (1987-1991)
He was arrested in March 2019 by decision of judge Marcelo Bretas on suspicion of involvement in corruption, embezzlement and money laundering due to embezzlement at the state-owned Eletronuclear for the construction of the Angra 3 plant. In the same operation, former president Michel Temer was arrested.
The former governor was released four days later. Subsequently, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), annulled Bretas’ decisions. The Federal Court of the Federal District, where the case was sent, archived the accusation.
