Imprisoned since 2022, accused of involvement in the death of a car dealer in Vila Valqueire, west zone of Rio, José Caruzzo Escafura, the Piruinha, will go to the popular jury this Thursday (25). Natalino José do Nascimento Espínola, the Neto, was killed in July 2021
Initially, the misdemeanor's popular jury was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, April 9, but was postponed at the request of the Public Ministry of Rio (MPRJ) until today.
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.
At the time, the case had great national repercussion, as for the first time, all the leaders of the Rio crime were convicted and arrested – the sentences reached six years in prison, but none of them served it in full. The judge responsible for the trial was Judge Denise Frossard, from the 14th Criminal Court of Rio.
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.
Haylton was back and forth from prison. At the time of the crime, he had only been on the streets for 5 months, after being released in January. In 2012, he had been arrested for fraud in the same machines that led to his execution.
During the execution, the two executioners of Piruinha's son and his wife broke down the couple's bedroom door and killed them both with pistol and rifle shots in the suite's bathroom.
The dead woman, PM Franciene, was assigned to the Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) in the Rocinha favela and had been with the corporation since 2014.
Death of son cited in Marielle case
The investigation into the death of the son of bicheiro José Caruzzo Escafura, known as Piruinha, the oldest offender from the former Jogo do Bicho summit, who is going to the popular jury for qualified homicide, was mentioned in the Federal Police's final report on the investigation of the Marielle Franco case .
According to the document, there is evidence that the Civil Police did not reach the conclusion of who killed Haylton Carlos Gomes Escafura due to possible interference by police chief Rivaldo Barbosa, who headed the Homicide Division at the time.
According to investigations, the reason for the execution was the dispute over slot machine sales outlets, as he had been trying to recover gambling territories in parts of the north zone of Rio.
Rivaldo Barbosa was arrested in the Marielle case.
fugitive daughter
In the demonstration to postpone the jury, the Public Ministry argued that two more cases were added to the jury, that of Monalliza Neves Escafura, Piruinha's daughter, who is on the run, and that of her security guard, PM Jeckson Lima Pereira, who has been in prison for two years.
In the decision, the Public Ministry revoked the PM's preventive detention, who will have to comply with precautionary measures.
Piruinha's defense asked for his preventive detention to be revoked, but the request was denied. He has been in prison for two years.
At the end of last year, the offender suffered a fall in the prison bathroom and, since then, has been under house arrest due to health problems.
At the time, the court considered Piruinha's age and health status. The offender had undergone surgery for a fractured femur after a fall at Casa do Albergado Crispim Valentino, in addition to being diagnosed with advanced osteoporosis.
Under the supervision of André Rigue. With information from Estadão Conteúdo
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
