Councilman negotiated death of broadcaster for 30,000 reais

Prosecutor Luiz da Silva Souza, from the of city of Braganca, in the state of Para, filed a complaint against 11 people involved in the murder of broadcaster Jairo de Sousa, among them councilman Cesar Monteiro Gonçalves, accused of being the mastermind of the crime. According to the investigation records, the death was ordered to an extermination group and would have cost 30,000 reais. The reason would be the resentment of a political group in the face of the broadcaster's complaints. According to witnesses heard in the investigation, the group chipped in to collect the amount agreed with Josf Roberto “Calar” Costa de Sousa, the boss of the group of killers. Councilman Cesar Monteiro was responsible for negotiating the assassination.

The broadcaster was killed when he climbed the staircase that gives access to Radio Perola FM on June 21, 2018, at around 4.50 am. Sousa arrived at work to present his morning show “Show da Perola,” which aired from 5 am to 9 am. After locking the iron gate and climbing some steps, he was shot by Dione de Sousa Almeida, with two shots that hit his chest. 

The murder of broadcaster Jairo de Sousa was the second case dealt with under the Tim Lopes Program, developed by Abraji (Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism), with support from Open Society Foundations, to combat violence against journalists and impunity for those responsible. Whenever there is a crime related to the exercise of the profession, a network of traditional and independent media outlets is activated to follow the investigations and publish reports on the allegations in which the journalist worked until he or she was killed. Currently, the network includes Public Agency, Post Office (BA), O Globo, Poder 360, Ponte Jornalismo, Projeto Colabora, TV Aratu, TV Globo, and Veja.

The first case dealt with in the program was the murder of broadcaster Jefferson Pureza in Edealina, in the state of Goias, on January 17, 2018. Pureza was killed with three shots to the face while resting on his home's porch. The crime was negotiated for 5,000 reais and a revolver 38. The six accused of involvement in the crime remain in prison. Three teenagers carry out socio-educational measures, as determined by the law. In essence, one would be the sniper, the other would have driven the motorcycle, and the third would have referred the other two for the service. Councilman Jose Eduardo Alves da Silva – accused of ordering the killing –, Marcelo Rodrigues dos Santos, and Leandro Cintra da Silva were accused in the district of Jandaia, at the end of December 2018. 

Complaint about embezzlement in Braganca

According to the investigation, Sousa was murdered because of his work as a radio broadcaster, "who made serious criticisms of politicians in the Bragantina region, due to alleged deviations from public funds." After the political group decided on the murder, city councilman Cesar Monteiro negotiated the price, and José Roberto “Calar” started monitoring Sousa's routine and visit old addresses where Sousa lived. One of the witnesses said he knew about the crime a week earlier because Calar himself had said that he would ambush to execute the broadcaster. However, the ambush did not have the effect expected by the criminals.

According to the records of the investigation, one of the reasons for the involvement of city councilman Cesar Monteiro in the crime was the fact that the broadcaster revealed irregularities carried out by the company Torre Forte, which is registered in the name of two councilman nephews.

Dione Almeida was chosen as the sniper because she was unknown in the city of Braganca, unlike Calar. According to the document, the defendants Edivaldo “Maozona” Meireles da Silva, Jadson Roberto “Jaco” Reis de Sousa, Jedson “Nego do Mozar” Miranda da Silva, João Carlos “Joazinho” Lima de Castro, Madson “Macio” Aviz de Melo, Moisanil “Mozar” Sousa da Silva, Otacilio Antonio da Silva, and Sidiny Raymond da Silva Reis were also part of the group. This group is responsible for the practice of several homicides in the Bragantina region.

According to the investigations, Otacilio Antonio, Calar's son-in-law, was a scout, monitoring the victims, as well as providing guns for the group. Moisaniel acted as a gunsmith and also provided a vehicle for the hired killings. The other members participated directly in the murder.