Bicheiro Piruinha, daughter and PM are acquitted of charges involving the death of a trader | Rio de Janeiro

Bookkeeper José Caruzzo Escafura, the Piruinha, was acquitted of being responsible for the death of car dealer Natalino José do Nascimento Espínola. The trial took place this Thursday (25), in Rio de Janeiro.

In addition to the offender, his daughter, Monalizza Neves Escafuraand the military police Jeckson Lima Pereira were also tried for the crime. All were acquitted by the jury.

With the decision, the Court revoked the preventive arrests of Piruinha and her daughter. Precautionary measures that had been imposed against the three accused, including the seizure of assets and valuables, were also overturned.

Natalino José do Nascimento Espínola was killed in July 2021, in Vila Valqueire, in the West Zone of Rio. In the complaint, the Public Ministry of Rio (MPRJ) stated that the crime was motivated by a debt of R$500,000.

During the trial, the prosecutor suggested that the defendants be acquitted. He argued that there is a lack of evidence of the accused’s involvement in the crime.

At 94 years old, Piruinha participated in the trial via videoconference from a hospital bed. He was not interrogated. His defense denied the bookie’s involvement in the crime and said there was a lack of police investigation into the case.

Military police officer Jeckson Lima Pereira was interrogated. During the trial, he said that he did not participate in the crime and that he did not work for Piruinha.

Furthermore, the defense of the bookseller’s daughter also denied that she was linked to the merchant’s death.

The military police officer was accused of carrying out the crime, while Piruinha and her daughter were said to be the ones who ordered the murder, according to the complaint.

According to the MPRJ, the merchant who was murdered and Piruinha’s daughter were partners in a venture that did not work out.

The investigations showed that Piruinha and Monalliza had ordered several crimes against their former collaborator — threats, extortion, misrepresentation and embezzlement (total loss of possession) — until they decided to kill him.

Before joining the animal game, Escafura was a stocking driverin the 1950s. Afterwards, he started to manage the stalls in the Piedade, Abolição and Inhaúma regions, a region where he had a lot of influence at the height of the game – and where he still lives today.

Since the 1970s, when Rio’s territorial division was divided between the city’s main animal bankers, Piruinha controlled the game in the regions of Madureira, Cascadura, Abolição, Piedade, Inhaúma and Maria da Graça.

He was among the 14 bankers arrested and convicted by judge Denise Frossard, of the 14th Criminal Court, in 1993, for forming a gang or armed group. Piruinha and the other bicheiros received the maximum sentence of 6 years in prison.

In the same process, the bicheiros were responsible for drug trafficking and torture. But, in the final arguments of the trial, the prosecutor asked for these crimes to be excluded, due to lack of evidence.

The sentence, however, was modified by the Federal Supreme Court (STF), which reduced the sentence by half. Through appeals, lawyers managed to exclude the crime of an armed gang. Almost five years later, everyone was free.

Because he wasn’t linked to any samba school, like Castor de Andrade, for example, he didn’t have much visibility, but that didn’t mean he was considered any less violent.

Parallel to the game, I explored other activities, such as motels in neighborhoods in the West Zone.

The booker was also investigated for an alleged connection with a clandestine abortion ring.

For the police, the reason for the execution was the dispute over slot machine sales outlets.

He had been trying to recover the Jogo do Bicho territories that had been leased in the Cascadura and Abolição region.

Haylton was sentenced to 14 years for involvement in gambling.