Who pays Thomaz Bastos' fees?
Apparently, neither the illegal gambling operator Carlos Cachoeira nor the amounts involved are those that have already been disclosed; the former Minister of Justice is there on an official mission, which is to contain a potential suicide bomber and protect other people.
247 - It is still not entirely clear what role former Justice Minister Marcio Thomaz Bastos played in the defense of illegal gambling operator Carlos Cachoeira. When he actually acted as a lawyer after leaving the federal government, Thomaz Bastos used the benefits of the law to protect his clients. This was the case, for example, with businesswoman Tânia Bulhões, who, at the suggestion of her lawyer, accepted the benefit of a plea bargain, attributed the entire tax evasion scheme in her luxury goods stores to her accountant, and thus escaped prison – in a similar, practically identical case, Eliana Tranchesi, who recently died, was sentenced to 97 years in prison.
Thomaz Bastos has already circulated the version that Cachoeira will neither make a plea bargain nor be a suicide bomber. Alongside him, an army of journalists has helped disseminate reassuring information. However, it seems that the former minister did not get involved in the Cachoeira case after being approached by the racketeer. Imprisoned in a maximum-security prison, and with his accountant on the run, Cachoeira was practically powerless. His real lawyer was Ricardo Sayeg, who traveled abroad when Thomaz Bastos entered the scene on a presidential mission.
Yes, the task of Brazil's most expensive lawyer is to control the illegal gambling operator and contain the damage he could cause to third parties. Furthermore, planting receipts related to fees, supposedly totaling R$15 million, was the lawyer's way of justifying his involvement in such a controversial case – and also validates his price with other private clients. Apparently, this is not the actual amount. And even if it were, it's not Cachoeira who is paying.
In this regard, Congressman Anthony Garotinho (PR-RJ) published an interesting text addressing the burning question: who pays Márcio Thomaz Bastos' fees? Read the congressman's text below:
Since Carlinhos Cachoeira's arrest, an uncomfortable question hangs in the air: Who will answer it? It has been widely reported that the former Minister of Justice in Lula's government, Márcio Thomaz Bastos, was hired for R$ 15 million by the racketeer to defend him and that he had already received the first installment of R$ 5 million while Cachoeira was still in the federal prison in Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte.
The question is: who paid this money, since the racketeer was languishing in a cell unable to sign checks? This is perhaps the first question the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry should ask Cachoeira. Where is the money coming from to pay for the most expensive lawyer in Brazil? Which of his allies is footing the bill?
The governor of Goiás, Marconi Perillo (PSDB)?
The governor of Rio, Sérgio Cabral (PMDB)?
The governor of the Federal District, Agnelo Queiroz (PT)?
Senator Demóstenes Torres (on leave from the DEM party)?
Your advisor for foreign business, José Dirceu (PT)?
Your partner Fernando Cavendish?
Who else?
So far, no one has given that answer.