Celso Roberto Pitta do Nascimento (; 1946–2009) was a Brazilian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He had a Bachelor in Economics by

Fluminense Federal University The Fluminense Federal University ( Portuguese: ''Universidade Federal Fluminense'', UFF, named after the state's demonym) is a public higher education institution located mainly in Niterói and in other cities of Rio de Janeiro state. It was f ...

, master in Economics by

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

and specialist in Advanced Administration by

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Mayor

Pitta was the second

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians ( pt, afro-brasileiros; ) are Brazilians who have predominantly African ancestry (see " preto"). Most members of another group of people, multiracial Brazilians or ''pardos'', may also have a range of degree of African ancestry. ...

mayor of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, after Paulo Lauro. Elected as mayor from 1997 to 2000, he succeeded

Paulo Maluf Paulo Salim Maluf (; born 3 September 1931) is a Brazilian politician with a career spanning over four decades and many functions, including those of State Governor of São Paulo, Mayor of the City of São Paulo, Congressman and Presidential cand ...

, under whom he was Municipal Secretary of Finance. Pitta was a member of the PPB party at that time, and faced corruption allegations like his predecessor, most notoriously with accusations coming from his ex-wife, Nicéa Camargo. On May 26, 2000, he was ousted from office by a decision of the São Paulo State Supreme Court, and Vice Mayor Régis de Oliveira succeeded to the mayoralty. Eighteen days later the court's decision was reversed, and Pitta returned to office with Régis de Oliveira as vice mayor. In 2002 and 2006, Pitta ran for a seat in the Federal Chamber of Deputies, but was defeated both times. The biggest corruption scandal which involved Pitta's administration was called, the “''Escândalo dos Precatórios''” and concerned the issue of municipal-guaranteed bonds (''precatórios'' in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

) to pay off debts resulting from judgments of claims against the city. At that time, the issue of municipal bonds for any other purpose had already been forbidden. To get around the budget limits, false ''precatórios'' were created so that bonds could be issued to get money to pay a variety of expenses.

Later life

Illegal financial operations made by Pitta were intercepted by the Federal Police during an Operation called Satiagraha, on 8 July 2008, leading to others' and the former mayor's arrest. The Satiagraha's Operation caught the former mayor illegal negotiations, between them, another ''precatóro’s'' negotiation with the liquid value of 92 million

reais The Brazilian real ( pl. '; sign: R$; code: BRL) is the official currency of Brazil. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil is the central bank and the issuing authority. The real replaced the cruzeiro real in 1994. ...

, more than US$170 million, at that time. Celso Pitta was indicted for money laundering and fraud, having already been convicted on two charges related to the ''precatórios'', before his arrest during the Satiagraha Operation. In November 2009, he died from colorectal cancer at the

Hospital Sírio-Libanês The Hospital Sírio-Libanês (Syrian-Lebanese Hospital) is one of the most important hospitals in Brazil and South America. The hospital was founded by the large Syrian and Lebanese community of São Paulo in 1921. It is one of the most well-kno ...

References

External links

Biographical Entry
at ''

BlackPast.org BlackPast.org is a web-based reference center that is dedicated primarily to the understanding of African-American history and Afro-Caribbean history and the history of people of Sub-Saharan African ancestry. In 2011 the American Library Associati ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitta, Celso 1946 births 2009 deaths Brazilian politicians of African descent Deaths from cancer in São Paulo (state) Deaths from colorectal cancer Mayors of São Paulo People from Rio de Janeiro (city) Progressistas politicians Brazilian Labour Party (current) politicians

Mayor

Later life

See also

References

External links