Picciani says son's arrest is "cowardly"

Rio 247 - State deputy and president of the Legislative Assembly of Rio, Jorge Picciani, released a statement this Tuesday (14) criticizing the action of the Federal Police, which coercively took him in and arrested his son Felipe. The involvement of Alerj with embezzlement of money in the transport sector of Rio is being investigated.

"What happened to my son today is an act of cowardice intended solely to target me," he said. "Felipe is an animal scientist, a good father, a good son, a good friend, who works from sunrise to sunset and has no political involvement. Everyone who knows him respects him and knows his character and integrity," he added.

Picciani also said that he "never" received "any advantage in exchange for favors."

Read the full note:

What happened to my son today is an act of cowardice intended solely to hurt me.

Felipe is an animal scientist, a good father, a good son, a good friend, who works tirelessly and has no political involvement. Everyone who knows him respects him and is aware of his character and integrity.

Our family has been in the livestock business for 33 years, a field I joined before being elected to Congress. Through hard work, we have become one of the leading names in high-quality genetics in the country. Thirty-three years is not thirty-three days.

The nomination of Representative Edson Albertassi to join the TCE (Court of Accounts) was made by Governor Luiz Fernando Pezão and occurred because the three auditors who would have been entitled to the nomination decided not to compete due to still being in their probationary period, which they considered to create legal uncertainty. Given the court order requesting 72 hours for clarification, I had already suspended the vote on the nomination that was scheduled for today in the plenary session.  

Throughout my career I have never received any benefit in exchange for favors. The Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro does not act in service of special interest groups, does not interfere in fare increases (which are authorized by Agetransp), and did not vote for IPVA exemption for buses, because that was done by decree by the former governor (decree 44.568 of 01/17/2014), when I did not even hold office. Therefore, the accusations disseminated are false.

For those who don't understand how the Alerj (Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro) works, it's necessary to clarify:

1. The Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj) is a pluralistic body. There are a series of decision-making bodies prior to the plenary session, beginning with the Permanent Technical Committees, such as those on Constitution and Justice, Health, Education, Transportation, Human Rights, etc. The members of the Technical Committees are nominated by the party leaders, and the presidency of each committee is elected by this body. There is also the College of Leaders, convened whenever there are complex agendas or a large number of amendments. The discussions in the College of Leaders, which aim to obtain minimum consensus for plenary votes, bring together dozens of deputies. Finally, there is the Plenary session, where all 70 deputies vote, and whose sessions are televised and open to the public and the press.

2. Secondly, during my six terms as president of the Alerj (from 2003-2010 and from 2015 to the present), I established institutional relationships with organized sectors of society, especially the business sector. It was with this objective that, in 2003, I created the Permanent Forum for the Development of Alerj, which today brings together 41 entities from organized civil society. Since the Forum's creation, there has never been a single complaint about Parliamentary Inquiry Commissions attempting to extort money from businesspeople, which were common in the past. Through the Forum, we have established a channel for institutional dialogue that did not exist before.

3. The legislative output of the Alerj (Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro) is the greatest proof of its independence from the interests of groups and sectors, with the public interest prevailing. Some examples specifically regarding the transportation sector:

* Free transportation for public school students, people with disabilities, and those over 65 years of age (Law 3.339/99, expanded by Law 4.291/04) and reserved seats exclusively for pregnant women and people with disabilities (Law 1.768/90);

* Law 6.712/14, which mandates the provision of WiFi networks in all state transportation terminals, with installation being the responsibility of the companies operating the terminals;

* Free bus fares for students (education voucher) and for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses (social voucher) on intercity buses (Law 4.510/05, expanded by Law 7.123/15);

* Biometric control of free passes and single tickets on public transport (Law 7123/15);

* Overturning of the governor's veto on a paragraph of Law 5.628/09, which allocates surplus funds from electronic cards to the State Transportation Fund. This measure had been included by the Alerj (Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro) in December 2016. The veto was overturned in April 2017 (Law 7.506/16);

* Exclusive carriages for women on Supervia and Metro trains (Law 4.733/2006)

* Extension of the deadline for income verification for users of the Bilhete Único (Single Ticket), from 60 to 90 days, preventing the loss of entitlement for users who earn up to R$ 3.209. (Law 7.605/2017).

3. The constant vigilance exercised by the parliamentarians themselves and by society, through the press, digital media, and existing control mechanisms, leaves us permanently under public scrutiny, on whom we depend every four years to renew our mandates.

I don't have and have never had an account abroad. I don't know Álvaro Novis, I've never seen him, nor do I know where his office is located. I also don't know his employees.  

My assets are entirely consistent with the income derived from my business activities, and this has already been proven in an investigation that lasted two years and was duly closed in 2006 by the unanimous vote – I repeat, by the unanimous vote – of the Superior Council of the State Public Prosecutor's Office.

Time will take care of exposing this ongoing cowardice. The attempt to implicate me cannot outweigh the facts.

Best Regards,

Jorge Picciani