Paulo Cesar Siqueira Cavalcante Farias (September 20, 1945 – June 23, 1996) commonly known as Paulo Cesar Farias or PC Farias, was the political campaign treasurer of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian President

Fernando Collor de Mello Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (; born 12 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician who served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate. Collor ...

and a central figure in the corruption scandal that resulted in Collor's 1992 removal from Brazil's presidential office.

Corruption scandal

PC (as he was colloquially known) was a successful and famous campaign treasurer in

Alagoas Alagoas () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is ...

and a relatively unsuccessful businessman before associating himself with Collor in 1981. As campaign treasurer, PC typically collected much more than he spent on the campaign. The remainder (which was estimated to be over 50 million US

dollar Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...

s) was invested in his own businesses (such as an

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. History The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermor ...

service) or hidden in anonymous overseas accounts. Once Collor was elected, PC Farias masterminded the vast corruption scheme that rendered Collor's presidency a high-priced toll booth for government favors. He set up dummy companies to collect bribes, with 30 percent of the money going to him and 70 percent to Collor. Politics, Passion and Graft at Issue in Rio Slayings
The New York Times, June 28, 1996 As much as US $9 million went to PC's accounts between 1990 and 1992. As the corruption scandal emerged in 1992, it was revealed that a fraction of money from PC's businesses was sent directly to Collor to finance the president's personal expenditures, including household staff and extensive landscaping at his home in

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

. After Collor's impeachment, PC fled to the UK and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, where he was arrested by the

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

and extradited back to Brazil. In 1994, he was condemned to 7 years in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

. In December 1995, the Supreme Court (STF) granted a conditional release.

Death

In 1996, PC and his young girlfriend

Suzana Marcolino Suzana may refer to: *Suzana Al-Salkini (born 1984), Macedonian model *Suzana Alves (born 1978), Brazilian sex symbol *Suzana Amaral (1932–2020), Brazilian film director and screenwriter *Suzana Ansar (born 1978), English singer and actress *Suza ...

were found both dead, shot by a .38 Special caliber Rossi revolver in PC's beach house in

Maceió Maceió (), formerly anglicised as Maceio, is the capital and the largest city of the coastal state of Alagoas, Brazil. The name "Maceió" is an Indigenous term for a Spring (hydrology), spring. Most maceiós flow to the sea, but some get trapped ...

. Local police ascribed the deaths to a crime of passion, where Suzana, fearing the imminent dissolution of the relationship, shot PC and then herself. Others would claim it was a form of "destruction of evidence" over what PC may know and subsequently reveal. In 1999, both their bodies were exhumed and subjected to another round of forensic examinations by three separate experts from three different institutions. Their conclusions were that while there was not enough evidence to rule out suicide, there was evidence to suggest it was not a suicide.Caso PC Farias
/ref> Subsequently PC Farias' brother, Augusto Farias, and eight others were charged with the murder.New twist in Brazil murder case
BBC News, November 18, 1999 Four former police officers who were working as PC's bodyguards were put on trial for failing to prevent the killing, the jury found the four men not guilty. The jurors also ruled that the death was a double homicide. Farias is depicted in the 2024

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

''Morcego Negro''.

References

External links

Caso PC Farias
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farias, Paulo Cesar 1945 births 1996 deaths Brazilian criminals Brazilian escapees Brazilian politicians Brazilian prisoners and detainees Deaths by firearm in Brazil Fugitives Murdered Brazilian criminals People murdered in Brazil Prisoners and detainees of Brazil Unsolved murders in Brazil

Corruption scandal

Death

See also

References

External links