Former Chief of Staff now serving house arrest
From now on, Dirceu is entitled to serve the remainder of his sentence of seven years and 11 months at home
José Dirceu, former Chief of Staff of the Presidency and one of those involved in the “mensalão” corruption scandal (explained below) will start serving house arrest, following a decision by the Supreme Court last week.
From now on, Dirceu is entitled to serve the remainder of his sentence of seven years and 11 months at home. He was found eligible for a partial imprisonment benefit for having served one-sixth of the sentence, a legal requirement to obtain the benefit. He had been jailed since November 15, 2013, and had 142 days written off his original sentence in appreciation of his working at day time in a law firm in Brasília and studying while in prison.
Dirceu was found guilty of masterminding a kickback scheme whereby Congressmen were bribed to vote bills in alignment with the government in 2005-2006, during the first administration of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Worker's Party). The leading figures in the scandal included some members of Lula's government, members of the Workers' Party and of other parties.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Former Chief of Staff now serving house arrest
