Anísio Abraão David

Anísio Abraão David, better known as Anísio, is an illegal lottery operator (bicheiro) and the honorary president of the samba school Beija-Flor in Nilópolis. He has been the president of the Independent League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro (LIESA) from 1985-1987.

Bicheiro

Anísio controlled the game in Nilópolis and the Baixada Fluminense.[1] He was found guilty by judge Denise Frossard in 1993 of involvement in the Jogo do Bicho, along with 13 other bicho bankers such as Castor de Andrade and Capitão Guimarães. They were found responsible for at least 53 deaths. They were sentenced to six years each, the maximum sentence for racketeering.[2][3] But in December 1996 they were all back on the streets, granted parole or clemency.[2]

His family has significant political power in Nilópolis. His brother Farid Abrão David was the mayor of the city from 2001 to 2008. One of his nephews, Ricardo Abraão, was a Federal deputy and his cousin Simão Sessim currently is one.[4][5][6]

Fixing the 2007 Carnival

Anísio and other bicheiros Antonio Petrus Kalil, or Turcão, and Capitão Guimarães were among 24 people arrested on April 12, 2007, for alleged involvement with illegal numbers games, bingo parlors and the distribution of slot machines. Raids by the Federal Police have uncovered big payoffs to judges, police officers, prosecutors and lawyers from the bosses who run the game. Mounds of documents have been seized and US$6 million in cash has been confiscated.[7][8][9]

One of the charges was that bicheiros fixed the results of Rio de Janeiro's 2007 carnival parade. Press reports suggest that Anísio, the president of Beija-Flor that won the competition, used bribes and a hitman to buy and intimidate members of the carnival jury. According to extracts from a federal police report "some individuals who worked as carnival jurors and refused to accept benefits from Anisio were threatened or had their relatives threatened with death if the Beija-Flor school did not win the 2007 carnival".[10]

New arrest and conviction

He was released while appealing for a habeas corpus, but arrested again on January 11, 2012, for driving while accompanied by an armed security gang. Police were also investigating him for money-laundering. His detention followed a previous failed attempt in which a police helicopter swooped on his penthouse in Copacabana while he was out.[3]

On March 13, 2012, he was sentenced to 48 years in prison and a fine of BRL 11 million (about USD 6 million) for formation of armed gangs, money laundering, smuggling and corruption, together with other bicho bosses Capitão Guimarães and Antônio Petrus Kalil.[9] The sentence was annulled by the Supreme Federal Court, but in December 2012 Anísio, Capitão Guimarães, Kalil and 19 others were again convicted by the Criminal Court in Rio de Janeiro. Anísio was sentenced to 47 years and 9 months for conspiracy and corruption. The judge's sentence said that the bicheiros' criminal organisation had "an intense connection with the state, through the bribing of public officials, including in the police and the judiciary, and even with the political system, through the financing of political campaigns."[11][12]

References

  1. ↑ (Portuguese) Violência e narcotráfico no Rio de Janeiro, by Ricardo Veléz Rodrigues
  2. 1 2 (Portuguese) Contraventores já foram condenados há 14 anos, O Globo online, April 13, 2007
  3. 1 2 Brazil's illegal numbers game under pressure, BBC News, January 27, 2012
  4. ↑ (Portuguese) A vaidade de um Rei, Veja, March 12, 2011
  5. ↑ (Portuguese) Anísio opera e não consegue ouvir a Beija-Flor, O Dia online, February 21, 2012
  6. ↑ (Portuguese) Biografia Simao Sessim, Câmara dos Deputados
  7. ↑ Brazil police crack down on gambling, Associated Press, April 13, 2007
  8. ↑ Brazilian Numbers Game Ties Officials to Mobsters, The New York Times, June 7, 2007
  9. 1 2 (Spanish) La justicia brasileña cierra el cerco en torno a "capos" de lotería clandestina, AFP, March 20, 2012
  10. ↑ Top criminals fixed Rio carnival result, say police, The Guardian, June 12, 2007
  11. ↑ Rio police get tough on Carnival crime, The Financial Times, February 11, 2013
  12. ↑ Na sentença, ela ressalta que o bando, além de corromper inúmeros agentes públicos, dentre eles policiais e magistrados, também financiou campanhas políticas em nível estadual e federal. (In the sentence, she [the judge] points out that the organisation corrupted numerous public officials, including police and magistrates, and also funded political campaigns at the state and federal level.)(Portuguese) Contraventores condenados corrompiam agentes públicos e financiavam campanhas políticas, O Globo, December 11, 2012
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