The police chief will confirm that Morato committed suicide.
Based on informal conversations with the civil police investigating the death of businessman Paulo César de Barros Morato, the Communications Manager of the Pernambuco State Government's Secretariat of Social Defense, Otávio Toscano, told Agência Brasil this Saturday that "everything leads to believe" that the death of the businessman, investigated by the Federal Police's Operation Turbulence, was a suicide; "It is absurdly impossible that the businessman was murdered," he added.
Pedro Peduzzi - reporter for Agência Brasil
Based on informal conversations with civil police officers investigating the death of businessman Paulo César de Barros Morato, the Communications Manager of the Pernambuco government's Social Defense Secretariat, Otávio Toscano, told Agência Brasil today (2) that "everything leads to believe" that the death of the businessman investigated by Operation Turbulence, by the Federal Police, was suicide. "It is absurdly impossible for the businessman to have been murdered," he added.
"In informal conversations, investigators have said it could only have been suicide. I believe that this week the delegate [Gleide Ângelo] will confirm this. The hypothesis of a heart attack has already been ruled out after a type of rat poison called 'chumbinho' was detected in the viscera," said Toscano.
According to him, Morato was seen alone – by the motel staff where he was found dead – upon arriving at the location. "After entering the room, the only thing he did was fiddle with a glass and a water bottle. In fact, when he was found, his shirt was tucked into his pants, exactly as one imagines he arrived," Toscano added. "But everything I'm saying, and it's very important to make this clear, is my personal opinion, based on what I've seen and heard here," he added.
He explained that the forensic examination conducted today was at the request of the expert responsible for analyzing the images recorded by the motel's cameras. "He needed more information about the positioning of the cameras to support the report that is being prepared," he added.
Businessman Paulo César de Barros Morato was found dead on June 22nd in a motel located in Olinda (PE). Under investigation in Operation Turbulence, he was a fugitive. The Federal Police suspect he was a front man for a criminal money laundering organization that moved R$ 600 million since 2010.
The network acted as a financier of political campaigns. Among them was that of the former governor of Pernambuco and presidential candidate Eduardo Campos (PSB). Morato identified himself as the owner of Câmara e Vasconcelos Locações e Terraplenagem, classified by the Federal Police as a shell company. The company was one of the buyers of the plane that exploded in Santos (SP), killing Eduardo Campos, his advisors, and crew. In the same year of the purchase, the construction company OAS transferred R$ 18,8 million to the establishment for services related to the transposition of the São Francisco River.