Marconi admits to an "unforgivable mistake" in the sale of the house.
In an interview with Dora Kramer, the governor of Goiás says he failed to verify the identity of the person who wrote the checks for the purchase of his R$1,4 million mansion; it was a nephew of Carlos Cachoeira, and it was there that the illegal gambling operator was arrested; he promises to go to the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) with information against the PT and PMDB parties.
247 - The governor of Goiás, Marconi Perillo, intends to switch from defense to offense. In an interview with journalist Dora Kramer of the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper, he signaled his intention to go to the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) investigating Carlos Cachoeira's activities, adopting a "bombshell" tactic. He claims that the construction company Delta entered his state thanks to the PMDB party. He also states that he will expose the company's relationship with the PT party. Regarding his relationship with the illegal gambling operator Carlos Cachoeira, he claims it is "sporadic." However, he admits to making an "unforgivable mistake" by not verifying the checks of the person buying his house for R$ 1,4 million. It was a nephew of the gambling operator, and it was in this same residence that Cachoeira was arrested on February 29th of this year. Marconi, however, maintains that he did not know that the house, paid for by Cachoeira's nephew, was being purchased by the illegal gambling operator.
Read the text “Espalha brasa” by Dora Kramer below:
Whether summoned or not, Governor Marconi Perillo is ready to appear before the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry investigating the public-private connections of the Cachoeira organization, and this Tuesday he will decide, in addition to lifting the confidentiality of the Delta construction company's headquarters, whether or not to call the governors of Goiás, Brasília, and Rio de Janeiro to testify.
If the commission decides not to summon the governors, Perillo (GO) is strongly considering the possibility of still offering to testify. This position contradicts the opinion of his party (PSDB), which considers his appearance risky as it would expose the governor to a political onslaught sponsored by the PT.
Marconi Perillo partially agrees. He believes he is indeed the target of "a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry that was created with the aim of attacking the press, discrediting the public prosecutor, weakening the opposition, and diverting attention from the Mensalão trial."
Therefore, in principle, he would see no "objective reason" for being summoned. But, according to him, "subjective reasons" exist and cannot be ignored.
Of the three governors, he acknowledges, he is the one most affected. Therefore, it's better to go "and clarify everything at once" than not to go and risk being seen as a suspect in the public eye.
A kind of counter-attack that will include the presentation of a proposal for a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into Construction Companies. "That way, a fairly realistic picture of campaign financing in Brazil could be obtained."
Perillo's script for the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry is practically complete: from the initial presentation – in which he will emphasize the importance of oversight mechanisms such as commissions of inquiry – to the documents he will present showing that Delta's business dealings in Goiás began during the PMDB government and also prospered under PT administrations.
Regarding the sale of the house where Carlos Augusto de Almeida Ramos was arrested at the end of February, it will show an interview he gave at the time saying exactly what Wladimir Garcez Henrique - lobbyist for Delta and Cachoeira's right-hand man - told the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry last Thursday.
"There is no conflicting version," he asserts. In its March 3rd edition, the newspaper O Popular, from Goiás, reports that the governor said he was contacted by Wladimir, who was interested in buying the house. "When I went to transfer the deed, he informed me that (businessman) Walter Paulo would be the buyer. I received three checks and made the deposits as agreed."
Yes, but how does the governor explain receiving the three checks signed by Leonardo de Almeida Ramos, nephew of someone who had already been a protagonist in the Waldomiro Diniz scandal?
Well, that doesn't explain it. He attributes the failure to verify the identity of the person who signed the checks to an "unforgivable error." "Hence the extreme stress I've been experiencing."
According to him, this is unfair, since "it was Maguito (Vilela, from PMDB) who first brought Cachoeira into doing business with the government, in 1995, for the operation of the state lottery through the company Gerplan."
According to the governor, Delta entered Goiás through the same political party when Íris Rezende was mayor of Goiânia in 2005.
Perillo will present the committee with certificates from the court of accounts showing that between 2005 and 2011 the construction company received approximately R$ 300 million in contracts signed in Goiânia, Aparecida de Goiás, Anápolis, and Catalão, during administrations of the PT and PMDB parties.
With this, it intends to demonstrate the geographical and partisan "diversification" of Delta's operations in Goiás.
Let's return to Carlos Cachoeira, since Perillo is mentioned in the wiretaps of Operation Monte Carlo, which records a phone call between him and the now-imprisoned, at the time prestigious, businessman in the state - "he lived in the building where the richest people in Goiânia live."
The governor describes his relationship with him as "completely sporadic." And what does that mean?
"That I received him once at the request of Senator Demosthenes, that I met him at two or three dinners, and that I phoned him once to wish him a happy birthday."
What was the point, if they weren't close? "I was at a party, drinking wine with a group of friends who suggested it, and I called."