Pizzolato to be extradited to Brazil next week

Former Banco do Brasil Marketing Director Henrique Pizzolato, convicted as part of Criminal Action 470, known as the mensalão case, will be extradited to Brazil Wednesday (Oct. 7).

Sentenced by Brazil's Supreme Court to 12 years and seven months in jail for money laundering and peculation, Pizzolato fled to Italy in September, 2013, carrying a fake passport with his deceased brother's name in it.

According to the Prosecutor-General's Office, the Italian government reported to the Brazilian Foreign Ministry that the Federal Police has been given permission to bring the convict over from Rome to Brasília, where he is to be taken to the Papuda Penitentiary.

The authorization was officially granted on September 22 by Italy's Council of State, after a number of court rulings both for and against Pizzolato's extradition. The main issue raised by Pizzolato's defense concerned the conditions in Brazilian prison facilities. The judges deliberated and decided that security conditions in Brazil's jails are suitable for Pizzolato to serve his sentence.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira