The Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ) and the Civil Police launched, on the morning of this Tuesday (30), an operation against casinos and stands playing the game of José Caruzzo Escafura, known as Piruinha. According to the prosecutor's office, search and seizure warrants were executed at 14 addresses of individuals and legal entities linked to the group headed by the bicheiro.
Among the addresses are the headquarters of Clube Ospiração and Clube Grêmio Recreativo Vera Cruz, both in the north of the capital of Rio. According to the Specialized Action Group for Combating Organized Crime (Gaeco), illegal casinos operate in these two locations.
Also targets of the operation are addresses of people responsible for promoting and managing illegal gambling houses, as well as bars and businesses, which have slot machines. Also according to Gaeco, all the targets of the operation, called “Bancarrota”, are linked to the criminal organization led by the criminal Piruinha.
The warrants, issued by the Court of the 2nd Court Specialized in Criminal Organization of the Capital, are being served in the neighborhoods of Engenho Novo, Bento Ribeiro, Jacarepaguá, Realengo, Madureira, Cascadura, Brás de Pina and Cavalcanti.
Who is the Piruinha bugger?
At 94 years old, Piruinha is the oldest offender still alive at the top of the carioca game.
The almost centenarian José Caruzzo Escafura, or Piruinha, got into crime in the 1950s, when he began managing stalls in the region of Abolição, Piedade and Inhaúma, an area that exerted a lot of influence during the animal's heyday – and where he still lives today. Before entering into the misdemeanor, Escafura was a commuter driver.
From the 1970s onwards, he was already considered one of the main bicheiros in the city, also having under his control the neighborhoods of Madureira, Cascadura and Maria da Graça, all in the North Zone of Rio.
In 1993, Puruinha and 14 other individuals were arrested and sentenced to 6 years for conspiracy.
Unlike his contemporaries, Piruinha was never the leader of a samba school and gained less fame than his colleagues.
In June 2017, his son Haylton Carlos Gomes Escafura, aged 37, was murdered with PM soldier Franciene de Souza in a hotel in Barra da Tijuca. The reason, according to investigations, would be a dispute over slot machine points in the city.
In April this year, the 3rd Jury Court of Rio de Janeiro acquitted Piruinha for the murder of businessman Natalino José do Nascimento Espíndola, in July 2021. Piruinha's daughter, Monalliza Neves Escafura, and military police officer Jeckeson were also tried and acquitted. Lima Pereira.
Source: CNN Brasil
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