Former Banco do Brasil director back in Brazil to serve jail time
Henrique Pizzolato
The only “Mensalão” scandal convict still at liberty, former Banco do Brasil Marketing Director Henrique Pizzolato, has arrived in Brazil.
His arrival closes a chapter in the cash-for-vote scandal known as the “Mensalão” (Portuguese for “monthly allowance”), which broke in 2005, a scam in which Congress members received bribes to support the government approving certain legislative measures.
Pizzolato was sentenced by the Supreme Court to 12 years and seven months in prison for money laundering and embezzlement, but fled to Italy in September 2013 on an Italian passport that belonged to his deceased brother.
He was arrested in Italy in February 2014, but was released in October 2014 by the Appellate Court of Bologna, which denied his extradition. However, subsequently, the Court of Cassation in Rome and the Ministry of Justice of Italy ruled for the extradition.
In order to ensure he could stay in Italy, Pizzolato's defense appealed the decision claiming human rights are not respected in Brazilian prisons. But on 6 October, the European Court of Human Rights rejected his last appeal against extradition.
Flying from Milan, Pizzolato landed in São Paulo International Airport around 6:45 am Friday (Oct. 23), escorted by three Brazilian Federal Police officers and a doctor.
In São Paulo, he boarded a Federal Police jet bound for Brasília, where is to serve jail time at the Papuda penitentiary.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Former Banco do Brasil director back in Brazil to serve jail time
