With the decision, the sentence of 13 years and 9 months imposed on Garotinho in 2017 was invalidated and the former governor regained his electoral rights.
The Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Cristiano Zanin fully annulled the conviction of former governor of Rio de Janeiro Anthony Garotinho in the context of “Operation Chequinho”, which investigated electoral crimes that occurred in Campos dos Goytacazes (RJ). With the decision, handed down on Friday night (27), the sentence of 13 years and 9 months imposed on Garotinho in 2017 was invalidated and the former governor regained his electoral rights.
Zanin considered, when judging habeas corpus 242.021, that there was illegality in the collection of evidence on the computers of Campos de Goytacazes city hall. For the magistrate, there was a break in the chain of custody, since the data was obtained via pendrive without due technical expertise to guarantee its authenticity.
This failure was considered a direct violation of constitutional principles adversarial process, due legal process and the inadmissibility of illicit evidence. Even before the total annulment, Zanin had already granted an injunction suspending the effects of ineligibility, but Friday’s decision made this condition definitive in relation to this process.
“I granted the preliminary injunction to suspend the effects of the conviction handed down in Electoral Criminal Action No. 0000034-70 2016.6.19.0100, of the 100th Electoral Zone of Campos dos Goytacazes/RJ, with regard to the ineligibility of the patient (Garotinho) for the 2024 Elections, until further deliberation in this habeas corpus,” Zanin wrote. In other words, habeas corpus would have given the definitive word on the matter.
When contacted to confirm the information or to find out whether an appeal could be made, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) did not respond to a request for an interview until the publication of this report.
Little Boy’s Conviction
Little boy had been convicted in the first and second instances and the verdict had been confirmed by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) in March 2026, with defense appeals rejected.
The request made in the habeas corpus judged on Friday was based on a decision granted by minister Ricardo Lewandowskialso from the STF at the time, which declared the nullity of the conviction of Thiago Cerqueira Ferrugem Nascimento Alves, another defendant in the same “Operation Chequinho”.
Garotinho’s defense argued that the former governor’s conviction was based on the same electronic documents (a spreadsheet extracted from city hall computers) that were declared illegal in the case by Thiago Ferrugem due to the break in the chain of custody.
Previously, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) had denied the extension of this decision to Garotinho, claiming that there was no total factual identity and that there was other independent evidence, but Minister Zanin reformed this understanding by considering that all the probative elements derived from the annulled search and seizure measure.
Zanin’s decision also extended the effects of the annulment to other defendants – Thiago Virgílio Teixeira de Souza, Kellenson Ayres Kellinho Figueiredo de Souza, Lindamara da Silva, Jorge Ribeiro Rangel and Miguel Ribeiro Machado – invalidating convictions for crimes such as electoral corruption, criminal association and coercion during the process.
Launched by the Federal Police (PF) in 2016, Operation Chequinho revealed a vote-buying scheme in Campos dos Goytacazes (RJ) that used the municipal social program Cheque Cidadão as an electoral bargaining chip. Candidates for councilor supported by the political group of Garotinho (then Secretary of Government) and his wife, Rosinha Garotinho (then mayor), offered registrations in the social program in exchange for votes.
The program, which was supposed to serve vulnerable families with R$200 a month for food, saw an increase of 18,000 new beneficiaries in the months leading up to the 2016 elections by direct order from Garotinho. The investigations showed that many of the new registrants did not meet the low-income requirements and were included without any prior social study, just to meet political interests.
According to the Public Ministry, Anthony Garotinho controlled the scheme with an “iron fist”, guiding councilors and public agents on how to distribute benefits to guarantee victory for their allies.
*Estadão Content
