Gurgel is already gaining a reputation for burying things.
Brazil's Attorney General, Roberto Gurgel, has been criticized for his slow processing of cases against politicians forwarded by the Federal Police; in the Demstenes case, he only acted after public pressure; his predecessors have been called the "general file-aways" of the Republic.
247 - The Public Prosecutor's Office, which should be the most interested party in the swift processing of criminal investigations, is now accused of being primarily responsible for delays in investigating cases of national importance. According to IstoÉ magazine, the Attorney General of the Republic, Roberto Gurgel, already has 4.346 stalled cases against politicians. He faces accusations of negligence regarding accusations forwarded by the Federal Police and investigations in the Supreme Federal Court that depend on the analysis of the head of the Public Prosecutor's Office. In the case of Senator Demóstenes Torres, he only acted due to public pressure.
Read the IstoÉ report.
More than four thousand cases are stalled in the Attorney General's office.
By Izabelle Torres
More than four thousand cases are stalled in the Attorney General's office, hindering investigations against politicians accused of corruption.
During Fernando Henrique Cardoso's government, the then Attorney General of the Republic, Geraldo Brindeiro, became known as the one who shelved cases and accusations against politicians and high-ranking people. In his hands, everything stopped, and the feeling was that those in power would never become defendants. Nine years have passed since Brindeiro left office, but the story of slowness—and consequent impunity—in the proceedings is repeating itself. Now under the command of Roberto Gurgel, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office is once again seen as an obstacle to the conclusion of criminal proceedings. The difference between the prosecutor chosen by FHC and the one appointed by President Dilma Rousseff lies in their way of acting. While the former archived investigations without hesitation with a simple stroke of the pen, Roberto Gurgel remains inert in the face of accusations forwarded by the Federal Police. In the case related to Senator Demóstenes Torres (DEM-GO), Gurgel only acted after being pressured by public opinion.
On the Attorney General's desk are 4.346 stalled cases. Among them are lawsuits filed by the Federal Police against at least two governors and a dozen parliamentarians. One of the cases involves Governor Pedro Dias (PP), of Amapá. In September 2010, Operation Clean Hands led to his imprisonment on charges of leading a scheme to embezzle public funds. The operation will soon complete two years without Gurgel even filing charges against the alleged gang led by Dias. In the Federal District, former governor José Roberto Arruda also continues his life in tranquility thanks to the inaction of the prosecutor's office. In November 2009, a video in which Arruda appeared receiving R$ 50 resulted in the arrest of the DEM politician, who had popular support ratings nearing 80%. Arruda lost his position, his party, and his freedom for two months. Today, more than two years later, the symbol of the scheme that shook the GDF (Government of the Federal District) has still not faced any formal charges from the Public Prosecutor's Office.
The list of politicians who benefit from the shelving of cases is not limited to those whom Gurgel fails to denounce. Parliamentarians who are defendants in lawsuits or who are under investigation by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) gain time when the cases reach the Public Prosecutor's Office for analysis by the Attorney General. Senator Marta Suplicy (PT-SP) is one example. Since August of last year, a case investigating the participation of the former mayor of São Paulo in bid-rigging has been stalled at the Public Prosecutor's Office. The Attorney General has also not analyzed the case accusing Senator Romero Jucá (PMDB-RR) of malfeasance and the one denouncing Senator Lobão Filho (PMDB-MA) for forming a criminal organization and using false documents.
The importance of the Attorney General in the progress of cases against authorities was summarized by Minister Ayres Britto in 2011 when judging a request made by Gurgel to dismiss a case involving Senator Valdir Raupp (PMDB-RO). “In cases of crimes that give rise to public criminal action, when the head of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office pronounces in favor of dismissing the investigation or any pieces of information, the jurisprudence of the Supreme Federal Court understands that such a pronouncement must be accepted without possibility of questioning,” wrote Ayres Britto. Precisely for the reason pointed out by Ayres Britto, the conduct of the current Attorney General has caused controversy behind the scenes at the Supreme Federal Court. Ministers complain that the more than four thousand stalled cases in Gurgel's office are hindering investigations.