"We were the ones who fought and put Marconi there."

247 - The net is closing in on the governor of Goiás, Marconi Perillo. In 2010, the illegal gambling operator Carlos Cachoeira was one of the main figures in his campaign. He donated resources, set up part of the structure, and then demanded payment. In the race against former governor Íris Rezende, Cachoeira recruited the spy Dadá and the journalist Alexandre Oltramari, formerly of Veja magazine. He provided his own resources and also those of the construction company Delta. And then, he demanded his share of the government. "We were the ones who fought and put Marconi there," Cachoeira told the former president of Detran (the state traffic department), Edivaldo Cardoso, in a conversation intercepted by the Federal Police.

Cardoso left his post precisely because of his connections with Cachoeira. In Goiás, Delta went from practically nothing to contracts worth R$ 450 million. Cachoeira appointed delegates and even participated in the nomination of some secretaries. Marconi Perillo, who has already admitted Cachoeira's isolated influence in his government, tried to regain the initiative and asked to be investigated by prosecutor Roberto Gurgel.

The situation of the governor of Goiás is becoming untenable.

Read more in the Globo article:

BRASILIA - Conversations recorded by the Federal Police show that illegal gambling operator Carlos Augusto Ramos, known as Carlinhos Cachoeira, demanded payment from the former president of the Goiás State Traffic Department (Detran), Edivaldo Cardoso, for his support in the election of Governor Marconi Perillo (PSDB). In the dialogue, the gambling operator and the former aide to the governor discuss the division of the Detran's advertising budget, which, according to Edivaldo, totaled R$ 1,6 million. Cachoeira mentions his participation in Perillo's campaign and demands the largest share of the pie.

"We were the ones who fought and put Marconi there," says Cachoeira.

The conversation was intercepted by the Federal Police on March 2nd of last year, right at the beginning of the governor's term. Cachoeira discovered that a newspaper in Anápolis, opposed to the governor, would receive a more substantial sum than his own newspaper, which, according to Operation Monte Carlo, is registered under the name of a front man for the illegal gambling operator. Displeased, Cachoeira says the distribution is incorrect and should be reviewed.

"That newspaper was against Marconi," says Cachoeira.

In one of the excerpts, Cachoeira specifically mentions Channel 5 in Anápolis, contracted to broadcast the sessions of the Municipal Chamber and whose director is Carlos Nogueira, nicknamed Butina, who assured GLOBO that he owns the station. The same group owns the newspaper "Estado de Goiás". The racketeer gets straight to the point:

— Is the newspaper “O Anápolis” going to win against Detran? That newspaper was against Marconi the whole time. Butina said he saw (the document) in the guy's (government) hand — Cachoeira argues.

The former head of the Department of Motor Vehicles denies the veracity of the information.

"No, you didn't see it. I closed that yesterday. There were television stations (and other newspapers)," said Edivaldo, before adding that he paid special attention to Carlinhos' newspaper.

"I asked to include your (newspaper) there," said Edivaldo.

From that moment on, in a dialogue lasting three minutes and fifteen seconds, the offender questions the former head of Detran about the division of profits and compares the share taken by competitors and by vehicles linked to the group.

"Ours has to be much more. We were the ones who fought and put Marconi there!" says Cachoeira.

The head of the Department of Motor Vehicles was fired after a scandal. Under pressure, Edivaldo even agrees with Cachoeira that the funding for newspapers that oppose the government of Marconi Perillo "is not justified." Cachoeira then again demands the supposed partnership with the government of Goiás.

"A partner who's only good for conversation, there's no way around it. You have to show us the numbers," the racketeer concludes.

Edivaldo was dismissed at the beginning of April this year, after other recordings surfaced in which he appears in conversations with Cachoeira. The topic of the conversation was a possible meeting to be scheduled between the governor and Cachoeira.

Butina maintained that he owns the newspaper "Estado de Goiás" and Canal 5. Governor Marconi Perillo's lawyer, Antônio Carlos de Almeida Castro, known as Kakay, stated that he does not comment on excerpts taken out of context from the Operation Monte Carlo report.