Antonio Palocci will have to return R$ 1 million.
The unanimous decision of the 7th Chamber of Public Law of the Court of Justice of São Paulo: the former Minister of the Civil House acted with abuse of power and violated the principles of legality, morality, and impartiality by spending on propaganda and personal promotion while mayor of Ribeirão Preto.
Fernando Porfírio _247 - Former Chief of Staff Antonio Palocci, likely campaign coordinator for the PT candidate for mayor of São Paulo, will have to reimburse public funds for expenses related to illegal advertising and personal promotion. The irregularity occurred during Palocci's second term as mayor of Ribeirão Preto (2001-2002). The amount that the former mayor must pay to the public treasury will be more than R$ 1 million.
The unanimous decision comes from the 7th Chamber of Public Law of the Court of Justice of São Paulo. The panel denied an appeal filed by Palocci against a decision by Judge André Carlos de Oliveira, of the 2nd Public Treasury Court of Ribeirão Preto. The São Paulo court understood that Palocci acted with abuse of power and violated the principles of legality, morality, and impartiality.
According to the lawsuit, the then-mayor used a logo featuring a red sun on billboards, newspapers, television, inauguration plaques, and pamphlets. In some locations around the city, a stylized "A" with a red background was displayed – the letter "A" allegedly standing for Antônio.
According to the court decision, other advertisements spread throughout the city allegedly used slogans and phrases such as "Ribeirão Preto Modern and Humane" and "Ribeirão, a year of many achievements" without any educational or informative character.
"These are, therefore, advertisements with an evident personal, self-promotional nature, in clear violation of the Federal Constitution and the axiological principles that recommend that administrators act impartially, always focused on fulfilling purposes of public interest," stated the rapporteur of the appeal, Judge Magalhães Coelho.
In his defense, Palocci stated that the "A" did not correspond to the first letter of his name, but to a stylized central viaduct. The former minister emphasized that there was never any form of misuse of purpose in the advertising disseminated by the Ribeirão Preto City Hall.
In the trial, the Public Prosecutor's Office argued for the rejection of the appeal filed by Palocci. According to the prosecutor, the evidence was clear that the then-mayor, aiming to be remembered for his works and services, promoted personal propaganda using public resources.