Cachoeira's relationship with the press in Goiás.

Goiás 247 - The report in the newspaper O Globo last Sunday (15) revealed a profile of how the city of Anápolis (GO) is doing in the face of the scandal triggered by the Federal Police recordings about Carlos Cachoeira. Yesterday, Goiás 247 deepened the view. The Goian municipality is the birthplace of the racketeer arrested by the PF since the end of February.

That Cachoeira's tentacles didn't choose a direction, penetrating governments, political mandates, and companies of all kinds, is practically all revealed now. However, the report in the Rio de Janeiro newspaper further reinforces the close relationship that Cachoeira's group maintains with the government of Goiás under the command of Marconi Perillo (PSDB).

An excerpt from O Globo reads:

Carlinhos Cachoeira never risked running for office, but he knows very well how to navigate the powerful. He is close to the strongman of communication in Anápolis, Carlos Nogueira, known as Butina, director of Channel 5 and the newspaper "Estado de Goiás," who completely ignore the national scandal. Considered by the Federal Police to be one of his front men, Butina also controls the advertising budget of the Perillo government in Anápolis, and has received almost R$ 13 per month since 2009 to broadcast live sessions of the City Council.

"This company has been mine for 19 years. Everything is documented," Botina told GLOBO last Thursday.

In the city, several newspapers – all weekly – were frequently analyzed by Butina, and an informal report was passed on to the command of the Goiana Communication Agency, responsible for distributing the State Government's advertisements to all media outlets. Acting as an "authorized agent" for Agecom, Butina served as the link between Agecom and Cachoeira's interests in the city.

Cachoeira was arrested, but the scheme continues. If a particular media outlet speaks well of the government as expected, or if its directors have a good personal relationship with Butina, then it may be favored with government media coverage. But if it doesn't follow Cachoeira/Marconi's playbook, it's excluded from the state media's programming, which should serve to inform the population about the actions of the State.

One of the pieces of evidence proving the political manipulation of Agecom's decisions under Cachoeira's control is found in the "Jornal Estado de Goiás," controlled by Butina, who acts as a front for the imprisoned racketeer. The bi-weekly newspaper isn't the most widely read in the city, but it's still one of the newspapers that receives the most advertisements from the Government of Goiás, due to the direct influence of Cachoeira's group within Agecom.

Cachoeira's sphere of influence in the media in Goiás was not limited to Anápolis. On Tuesday the 17th, the newspaper O Popular published a report detailing its reach. The Observatório da Imprensa website also features a discussion about its coverage in the state. Here is an article by Cileide Alves., publisher of O Popular; and Here is an article by Alberto Dines.Regarding Cachoeira's connections with the Estado de Goiás newspaper, see more information at [link/website address]. Cleuber Carlos' Blog.

Follow the report from Popular:

Carlos Cachoeira sought influence in the press. 

Recordings intercepted by the Federal Police show that businessman Carlos Cachoeira's scheme also had influence in the media. Dialogues revealed yesterday by the Blog Cleuber Carlos show a conversation between Cachoeira and journalist João Unes, editor-in-chief of the online newspaper A Redação, on April 10, 2011. Former editor-in-chief of POPULAR, João Unes left the newspaper on December 2, 2010.

In the conversation, they apparently discuss invitations made to journalists to join the website's team, including reporter Fabiana Pulcineli. At the time, João Unes invited the reporter to work for the site, but she declined. Cachoeira and João Unes also comment on the headline of the newspaper's front page, published on April 10th of last year.

In a statement sent to the newspaper, Unes emphasizes that the recording is from the first half of 2011, months after he left O POPULAR. He states that, at the time of the conversation, he worked as a communications consultant for large private companies. “Carlos Ramos presented himself as a friend of the board of directors of one of my clients and liked to talk to me about journalism. He liked to give his opinions, but he never influenced me professionally,” he stated. According to João Unes, at the time of this recording, he was a few days away from ending his activities as a consultant. In July 2011, he says, he assembled his team and even invited the journalist mentioned in the recordings, but she declined. “I didn't speak to Carlos Ramos again nor did I know about his activities. A month later, on August 18, 2011, I launched the newspaper A Redação. It is a family business that exclusively publishes news online,” he states.

In a conversation on August 10th of last year, Cachoeira stated that he instructed Geovani to deposit R$ 43 into João Unes' account. The journalist confirmed receiving the money in his account. He claimed, however, that the deposits were related to consulting work performed in the first half of 2011 for legitimate companies, with all taxes duly paid.

Other cases

Journalist Jorge Kajuru, presenter of programs on TV Esporte Interativo, also appears in the wiretaps of Operation Monte Carlo. On April 14 of last year, he provided bank account details to the gang's treasurer, Geovani Pereira da Silva, for the transfer of R$ 5 to Melissa Garcia, then editor of the blog TV Kajuru.com.

According to the investigations, the money allegedly came from one of the accounts of the shell company Alberto e Pantoja Construções e Transportes Ltda., owned by Carlinhos Cachoeira. The journalist stated that the money was used to pay for advertising for Vitapan Indústria Farmacêutica Ltda., which was controlled by Cachoeira. According to Kajuru, the advertising campaign began in December 2010 and ended the following year. He said he was unaware of the scheme.

The wiretaps also show that, on July 15, 2011, Carlinhos instructed the treasurer to ignore a call from Kajuru and transfer R$ 10 to journalist and lawyer Alípio Nogueira, a presenter on Rádio Jornal. Geovani says: “Kajuru is calling here, should I answer?” Cachoeira replies: “No, leave him alone. Write it down, send 10 there, to Cláudio there, to Alípio Nogueira's account, Alípio Ferreira Nogueira...”.

Alípio confirmed receiving the money and said it was to pay for merchandising from the company Delta Construção. "At the time, the company sponsored Anapolina and Atlético Goianiense. I work with merchandising and I contacted Delta to do this, but I have no connection whatsoever with Cachoeira," he stated.

In a phone call on August 12th, Rogério Diniz, one of Cachoeira's advisors, tells Geovani that he will stop by the Diário da Manhã newspaper to deliver R$ 10. The newspaper's editor, Batista Custódio, told POPULAR that the money is related to "an advertisement in the special Goiânia anniversary supplement." However, he did not disclose the advertiser's name.

The network of influence also allegedly extended to the Anápolis-based newspaper Estado de Goiás. A phone call from June 21st shows the gambling businessman instructing the newspaper's owner, Carlos Antônio Nogueira, known as Botina, not to publish the Saturday edition. However, the newspaper owner, who also owns the company WCR Comunicação e Produção, told the POPULAR newspaper that the racketeer does not interfere in the newspaper's editorial decisions. "He (Cachoeira) is a high-society guy, he's just a good source," he stated.

Also mentioned in the wiretaps, Marco Bakura, a social columnist for the Estado de Goiás newspaper and Cachoeira's cousin, said that he borrowed money from the businessman whenever necessary. "It was a little help to get out of a tight spot," he reflected.

Wiretaps from Operation Monte Carlo also indicate an attempt by Carlos Cachoeira's network to interfere with journalist Renato Alves of Correio Braziliense. According to one of the interceptions, on July 27 of last year, André Teixeira Jorge, known as Dada, and Cachoeira's right-hand man, Lenine Araújo de Souza, discussed a conversation they had with the reporter about the Bingo Online story.

In the recording, Dada says: “We talked here and stuff... it was fine. And now we've agreed with whoever... whoever is there to make it work, to have another conversation, you know... in another place, because he also knows the people here... then he raises the issue, you know! ... Renato asked for exclusivity, not to talk to anyone, because he wants to do the business alone.” Lenine continues: “It's good for Renato too. It gets him publicity, you know.” In the report, published by Correio 11 days after the alleged meeting, Renato reveals the workings of the world's first live bingo game via the internet, a competitor's move that would pose a risk to Cachoeira's business. Contacted by POPULAR, the journalist said that editor Marcelo Tokarski would comment on the case, but, as of the closing of this edition, there has been no response.