Watch out, Cabral: former governor will pay for the use of aircraft.
The court has accepted a lawsuit filed by the Goiás Public Prosecutor's Office alleging administrative misconduct, questioning the irregular use of state aircraft by Alcides Rodrigues and his wife between 2006 and 2010. According to the lawsuit, 750 flights were allegedly made for private purposes, and a large portion of these flights were to locations where the couple owned property, such as the city of Santa Helena, where Raquel was also mayor.
MP-GO - Judge Zilmene Gomide da Silva Manzolli, of the 1st State Public Treasury Court, granted a preliminary injunction requested by prosecutor Fernando Krebs and ordered the freezing of assets belonging to the former governor of Goiás, Alcides Rodrigues Filho, and the former first lady, Raquel Mendes Vieira Rodrigues.
Filed in May of last year, the administrative misconduct lawsuit questioned the former governor's use of 750 private flights on state aircraft, at an approximate cost of nearly R$ 4 million. The prosecutor was notified today (August 13th) of the decision, issued in November 2012.
The judge ordered the freezing of assets worth R$ 3.821.575,00, for possible compensation for damages to public funds. Therefore, the immediate online seizure of bank accounts and financial investments was ordered, as well as the freezing of property registrations belonging to the couple in Goiânia, Santa Helena, Rio Verde, Santana do Araguaia (PA), and Conceição do Araguaia (PA).
The action
According to the prosecutor, the irregular and illegal trips, mainly to cities where the couple owns residences and farms, took place between 2006 and 2010. The prosecutor states that he had access to the official schedule of the then-governor and detailed travel reports. When compared, the documents indicate that 1.348 flights were made on official aircraft during his administration, 750 of which were for exclusively private purposes.
As Krebs explained, the former first lady had a significant role in these trips, as she appears as the sole passenger on 278 of these flights. The prosecutor also noted that the record destination, with 439 flights, was the city of Santa Helena, where Raquel held the position of mayor, having traveled to the location alone 226 times. "Santa Helena de Goiás is the former governor's hometown and where he owns seven properties in the municipality, mainly farms," he added.
In the lawsuit, the prosecutor revealed that another place frequently visited on private trips was Rio Verde. Alcides and Raquel Rodrigues own a farm in that municipality.
According to the prosecutor, the unauthorized trips violate administrative principles, especially those of morality and legality, and caused damage to public funds in the order of nearly R$ 4 million.
(Cristina Rosa and Cristiani Honório / Press Office of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Goiás)