An operation by the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro carried out, this Thursday (15), arrest warrants against the councilor and former mayor of Itatiaia, Silvano Rodrigues da Silva; Édnei da Conceição Cordeiro, former secretary of Social Assistance and Human Rights of Itatiaia, and Fábio Alves Ramos, former chief of staff to the mayor of Itatiaia.
According to the Public Ministry, the full administration of the municipality located in the south of Rio de Janeiro was transferred to a criminal organization composed of public agents. With the lack of inspection by the Legislative Power, the group took over the management of the municipality, with the appointment of phantom employees, fraud in contracts and bids.
The criminal activity carried out by the organization was led by Clébio Lopes Pereira, who was also arrested this Thursday in Rio de Janeiro; Fábio Ramos, considered Clébio’s right-hand man; Imberê Moreira Alves and Silvano, as interim mayors.
Operation started last year
The first phase of the Apanthropía operation was carried out in April 2021 and arrested the then Secretary of Health of Itatiaia, Marcus Vinicius Rebello Gomes, and four others suspected of being part of a criminal organization that caused damage of R$ 3 million to public coffers, in a contract for the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to combat Covid-19.
The second phase took place in June 2021 and culminated in the removal of the then interim mayor, Imberê Moreira Alves; his chief of staff, Fábio Alves Ramos, and the municipal secretaries of Health, Raphael Figueiredo Pereira, of Education, Kézia Macedo dos Santos Aleixo, and of Administration, Gustavo Ramos da Silva, for administrative impropriety.
wanted by CNN, the city of Itatiaia informed that the investigations are related to members of the Municipal Legislative and refer to facts prior to the new administration of the executive, which took over the administration in April this year. He also informed that he is taking appropriate measures of internal investigation.
Source: CNN Brasil
