The Special Body of the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro, formed by the 25 most senior judges, decided to maintain the conviction for embezzlement of state deputy Lucia Helena Pinto de Barros, known as Lucinha.
By majority, the parliamentarian was sentenced to four years, five months and ten days in semi-open prison and the loss of her mandate. She was tried for appointing a person in her cabinet who provided her personal services.
The crime of embezzlement is when a public official appropriates or diverts public or private assets that he or she has possession of due to his or her position. The decision of the Special Body is still subject to appeal.
Complaint
The complaint was filed by the Attorney General’s Office (PGJ), which obtained a new favorable decision. According to the Court of Justice, the Special Body rejected the motion for clarification presented by the parliamentarian’s defense against the agreement of the collegiate body that decided on the conviction. The court did not provide further details about the decision “because the process remains with the rapporteur, judge Cláudio Brandão de Oliveira, for the drafting of the ruling”.
According to the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ), Lucinha has been a defendant in this process since 2017, when the Agency denounced the parliamentarian for appointing Baltazar Menezes dos Santos to a commissioned position in her office, from February 2011 to August 2015. During During this period, he provided private services to Lucinha as a bricklayer and canvasser in places of political interest to the parliamentarian.
In the complaint, the MPRJ stated that Baltazar “never held any role in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj), but provided services as a bricklayer and general service assistant on the parliamentarian’s private properties.” The loss to the treasury from hiring the ghost employee totaled R$173 thousand, considering the 56 months in which he received a net remuneration of around R$3 thousand.
The investigation concluded that the private employment relationship between the deputy and Baltazar was evident, since the bricklayer, after being dismissed from public office on August 31, 2015, filed a labor complaint against the parliamentarian.
THE Brazil Agency sought the deputy’s defense, but did not receive a response until the article was published.
